'Ye pitch nahi, road hai', PCB boss Ramiz Raja slammed for 'flat' Rawalpindi track for first PAK vs ENG Test

Pakistan bowlers suffered in hands of the English batters on the opening day of the first Test at Rawalpindi. As many as three England batters smashed tons on the first day of the Test match as the likes of Haris Rauf, Zahid Mahmood continue to get pelted all around the park. The pitch has already been rated as pathetic and terrible by the fans who are watching the Test or present at the Pindi Cricket Stadium. PCB boss Ramiz Raja has been receiving hate for producing another bad pitch for home Test series. The same pitch has already been questioned after the Test vs Australia. 

Also Read | PAK's Haris Rauf bowls a JAFFA to clean up Zak Crawley for 1st Test wicket - WATCH

Back then, Ramiz had made a promise, via a video, to the fans that the Rawalpindi pitch will get better from here. However, things have not changed so far. Former Pakistani bowler Shoaib Akhtar too tweeted on the pitch, saying that 'Indus Valley Civilization roads probably juicier & had more life in them.'

Check Shoaib's and other angry reactions on the Rawalpindi track here:

Pitch Report#PAKvENG #PAKvsENG #ENGvsPAK #ENGvPAK #Pakistan #ENGLAND #Rawalpindi #PindiTest pic.twitter.com/YYtuhHjzDL

— Muhammad Saad Zafar (@SaadZafar_2000) December 1, 2022

Can't believe why the PCB went with this type of wicket! Same happened in the the Pak v Aus series! They made the Rawalpindi pitch a road! — Jhangir Ahmed (@jhangir_ahmed) December 1, 2022

Pathetic stuff from @TheRealPCB once again for preparing a dead pitch in Rawalpindi once again. SALUTE & APPRICIATION post for the #ChairMan@iramizraja #PAKvENG # — Adnan Raja __ (@AdnanRaja1997) December 1, 2022

Indus Valley Civilization roads probably juicier & had more life in them. https://t.co/7ADUvXz8tI — Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) December 1, 2022

Agree sir senior players ki need thi yaha bcz wo want to win this test match but yeh pitch nae road hai flat — Usman Mughal (@UsmanMu78018413) December 1, 2022

Earlier, England won the toss and opted to bat first on this flat track. Openers Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett slammed tons before getting dismissed by debutants Zahid Mahmood and Haris Rauf. Root was then dismissed for 23 by Zahid again. After the fall of third wicket, Ollie Pope and Harry Brook combined for a massive stand that saw them score runs at rapid pace. The pair also broke the record of making the most runs in the first session of a Test match, surpassing India's tally. 

Pope reached his hundred in no time and Brook too was inching towards the hundred at the time of writing of this article. Needless to say that England played 'Bazball' at Rawalpindi and they were massively helped by the road-like pitch on offer.