LONDON: Salman Ali Agha took a sublime catch at slip on day one of the second Test against England to provide Pakistan with a vital breakthrough at Lord’s Cricket Ground on Thursday.
Salman, who captained the side in the first Test, was not part of the playing XI for the second Test and came in as a substitute.
England had recovered well from early blows as Jordan Cox and Jamie Smith had stitched together a 61-run partnership.
However, soon after tea, Cox was caught after scoring 55 off 105 balls, including seven fours.
The right-hander fell to Khurram Shahzad’s bowling as Agha timed his leap perfectly to his right and held on with his outstretched right hand to complete the remarkable catch.
Agha’s stunner came after Pakistan had fielded poorly in the afternoon session and had dropped a couple of catches.
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Courtesy of the outstanding catch, England were reduced to 187/6.
In the morning session, Mohammad Abbas tore through the English top order. He first removed Emilio Gay, also caught brilliantly by Mohammad Rizwan, and Ben Duckett before dismissing Joe Root, leaving the home side reeling at 36-3.
Harry Brook and Jordan Cox then counterattacked; however, Mohammad Ali removed Brook, further denting England’s progress.
At this stage, England 77-4. Dan Lawrence then joined Cox and added a brief 43-run stand before being run out after a mix-up with the former.
This left England 120-5 as Smith and Cox managed to launch a stiff recovery.
Playing XIs
England: Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Jordan Cox, Joe Root (c), Harry Brook, Dan Lawrence, Jamie Smith (wk), Ollie Robinson, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue.
Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Ali Usman, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Ali, and Mohammad Abbas.
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