RAWALPINDI: Sajid Khan and Noman Ali took three wickets to put England under pressure after Saud Shakeel’s century helped Pakistan take a crucial 77-run lead on the second day of the third Test here on Friday.
At the Stumps on Day 2, England were 24/3, trailing Pakistan by a further 53 runs with Harry Brook and Joe Root unbeaten on three and five respectively.
Sajid Khan drew the first breakthrough for Pakistan when he trapped Ben Duckett (12) lbw in the fourth over. Noman Ali emulated his spin partner as he dismissed Zak Crawley (2) in a similar fashion in the next over.
England, having lost both their openers with just 15 runs on the board, suffered another blow in the dying minutes of the second day of the decider Test when Noman struck again by getting Ollie Pope (1) caught at slip by Salman Ali Agha.
Sajid Khan remained unbeaten as Rehan Ahmed castled Zahid Mahmood on the first ball to end Pakistan’s innings at 344. Sajid struck two fours and four sixes during his run-a-ball 48.
For England, Rehan Ahmed claimed four wickets, while Shoaib Bashir took three. Gus Atkinson managed two and Jack Leach grabbed one each.
Sajid added 72 runs for the ninth wicket with Saud Shakeel, who played a dominant knock of 134 runs from 223 balls before falling off a short ball from Atkinson.
Earlier in the second session, Saud Shakeel and Noman Ali constructed a crucial partnership of 88 runs for the eighth wicket, during which the former completed his fourth Test hundred.
Noman on the other hand played a gusty 45-run knock before Shoaib Bashir removed him at the stroke of Tea to break the partnership.
Sajid Khan joined Saud and they helped Pakistan level the scores at Tea.
Pakistan started their innings at 187-7 after Lunch with Saud Shakeel (72*) and Noman Ali (6*) at the crease. Prior to that, the hosts lost four wickets for 104 runs in the first session on Day 2.
Saud started the day with captain Shan Masood by his side, however, the latter fell victim to Shoaib Bashir early on the day, leaving Pakistan struggling at 99-4.
Mohammad Rizwan joined Saud and together they constructed a solid partnership of 52 runs to take Pakistan’s total to 151.
However, England captain Ben Stokes made a strategic bowling change that quickly paid off, introducing leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed to the attack.
Ahmed wasted no time and captured three wickets in rapid succession, significantly shifting the momentum in favour of his team.
He removed Rizwan, who was playing at 25, followed by a similar dismissal of Salman Ali Agha (1) in the next over.
Aamir Jamal struck 14 runs off 28 balls before Rehan Ahmed’s googly crashed his stumps after clipping an inside edge.
Meanwhile, Saud Shakeel waged a lone war from the other end with a patient knock of 72 runs, which featured four boundaries. Noman Ali joined him and survived the final moments before Lunch.
The home side got off to a shaky start to their innings yesterday as their opener Abdullah Shafique’s poor form continues. The right-handed batter could score 14 before being trapped lbw by Shoaib Bashir.
His opening partner Saim Ayub had a similar fortune as he fell victim to Jack Leach after scoring 19.
Pakistan then suffered another blow to their batting expedition as Kamran Ghulam (3) perished cheaply, reducing them to 43/3.
Following the early debacle, skipper Shan Masood was joined by his deputy Saud Shakeel and the duo made sure to bat through the remaining overs without further damage.
For England, Leach, Shoaib and Gus Atkinson made one scalp each.
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England captain Ben Stokes opted to bat first on a tricky Rawalpindi pitch. The visitors got off to a decent start as opening batters Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett stitched a 56-run partnership.
However, Pakistan spinners Sajid Khan and Noman continued from where they left in the last match, sparking a middle-order collapse that saw England lose six wickets in quick succession for 62 runs.
Duckett remained the only top-order batter who posed any threat, scoring 52 off 84 with the help of four boundaries and one six.
Jamie Smith and Gus Atkinson then raised a 105-run partnership to get England out of the trouble much to the frustration of Pakistan bowlers.
Atkinson, who missed the second Test, played a gutsy knock on his return to the side and scored 39 runs from 71 balls with the help of five boundaries before miscuing one back to the Noman Ali.
Jamie Smith top-scored for England with a stellar innings of 89 runs, which ended with him getting stumped off Zahid Mahmood.
The visiting side ultimately bundled for 267 with Sajid Khan taking six wickets and Noman Ali bagging three. Zahid Mahmood chipped in with one wicket.
Pakistan Playing XI: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (c), Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel (vc), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Zahid Mahmood.
England Playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Gus Atkinson, Rehan Ahmed, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir.
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