Record-breaking Root, Brook both pass 200 as England pile up 658-3

Record-breaking Joe Root and Harry Brook smashed career-best double centuries Thursday as relentless England piled up 658-3 against Pakistan by lunch on the fourth day of the opening Test in Multan.

Root was on an epic 259 not out and Brook on 218 at the interval to give England a lead of 102 with seven wickets in hand and the chance to set up a declaration with a large first-innings advantage.

The pair’s unbroken stand of 409 is the highest in any England-Pakistan Test, beating the 363 of Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan at Leeds in 2006, and it saw the visitors comfortably eclipse the hosts’ first innings 556.

England resumed on 492-3 and looked for quick runs, which Root and Brook provided despite Pakistan’s defensive leg-side bowling, adding 166 runs in 29 overs in the session.

Root, who went past Alastair Cook’s 12,472 to become England’s highest Test run scorer on Wednesday, has so far batted for a marathon 601 minutes, cracking 17 boundaries.

His previous best of 254 was also against Pakistan at Manchester in 2016.

Brook was equally dominant, hitting 20 boundaries and a six in his maiden Test double hundred, which came off just 245 balls.

His previous best was 186, scored against New Zealand at Wellington last year.

Pakistan’s only chance came in the first hour when Root, on 186, failed to keep down a pull shot off pace bowler Naseem Shah but Babar Azam shelled the regulation chance at mid-wicket.

Root took full advantage and with a single off spinner Agha Salman completed his sixth Test double-century, which came in 517 minutes off 305 balls.

Pakistan were without frontline spinner Abrar Ahmed who suffered a fever and did not take the field on Thursday. (BSS/AFP)