A pitch perfect plan? Aaqib Javed's video goes viral after Pakistan win Multan Test

Pakistan vs England, 2nd Test: Aaqib Javed's 'formula' to win a Test match in Pakistan has gone viral after the home team fought back to win the Multan Test on Friday, October 18. Pakistan spinners picked all 20 wickets after debutant Kamran Ghulam's match-winning hundred.

In Short

• Aaqib Javed had suggested Pakistan a formula to win home Tests
• Pakistan won a Test at home for the first time in nearly four years on Friday
• Pakistan relied on spin on a dry pitch to outfox England in Multan

A video of former Pakistan fast bowler Aaqib Javed laying out a confident plan for Pakistan to win a Test match at home has gone viral after Pakistan ended their nearly four-year winless run. Before the start of the second Test between Pakistan and England, Aaqib Javed questioned why Pakistan were not playing to their strengths and urged the home team to prepare a dry pitch and target England with their spin-bowling resources.

As it turned out, the formula suggested by Aaqib Javed worked wonderfully well as Pakistan spun a web around England on a used pitch in Multan.

PAK vs ENG, 2nd Test: Day 4 Highlights | Full Scorecard

"What's your formula for a Test match? Do you have 3 spinners? Play them. Remove all the grass, and make it a dry pitch. Make it rough. Keep brushing it. They will lose, won't they? They will. 100 percent, they will lose. The second thing is the reverse swing. Again, dry out the square -- it will spin and it will reverse. They can't win," Aaqib Javed had told Public Digital.

The pitch for the first Test in Multan was in the spotlight as Pakistan were criticised for laying out a road that offered nothing for the bowlers. England went on to make 823 runs after Harry Brook's triple hundred and Joe Root's double hundred. Pakistan lost the Test by an innings despite posting 550 in their first innings.

However, it all changed for the second Test. The pitch was reused, and the dryness aided the home team.

Pakistan opted for a three-man spin attack and the move worked as off-spinner Sajid Khan and left-arm spinner Noman Ali picked all 20 wickets between them, helping the home team win the second Test by 152 runs and force a decider.

Interestingly, Aaqib Javed was part of the newly-appointed selection committee, which took a few bold calls after Pakistan suffered a humiliating innings defeat in the first Test against England in Multan last week. Pakistan dropped their best batter Babar Azam along with fast bowlers Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah amid their poor run of form.

Pakistan backed their strengths, picking as many as three spinners in the line-up and handed a debut to Kamran Ghulam, rewarding his consistent performances in domestic cricket.

All the replacements worked in favour of Pakistan as Kamran scored a hundred in his first innings on debut. Noman Ali and Sajid Khan were at their brilliant best, bringing back memories of Pakistan spinners dominating touring teams at home. While Noman finished with 11 wickets, including an 8-wicket haul in the second innings, Sajid ended the game with 8 wickets.

England head coach Brendon McCullum said Pakistan deserved credit for bouncing back after a few tough losses and stresed he had no issues with the pitch in Multan for the second Test.

"I don't mind [the pitch], actually. I quite like the quirk of it. When you're playing at home, you should have home advantage. I guess after the first Test match, we were able to go 1-0 up. Something had to give, and they took a punt on it. I don't have a problem with it at all," McCullum said.

Pakistan will look to ride on their new-found confidence and eke out a series win when the two teams meet in the third Test from October 24 in Rawalpindi.