RAWALPINDI: Saud Shakeel remained firm with his gusty 72, however, Rehan Ahmed stunned Pakistan with three quick wickets to keep England on top at Lunch on the second day of the third Test here on Friday.
Pakistan will continue their innings at 187-7 after Lunch with Saud Shakeel (72*) and Noman Ali (6*) at the crease.
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 last match centurion 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.
Shan and Saud, both unbeaten on 16, will now resume Pakistan’s first innings at 73/3, trailing England by 194 runs.
For England, Leach, Shoaib and Gus Atkinson made one scalp each.
England could add only 25 runs after the Tea, thanks to Jack Leach’s 16 as Sajid Khan took the final two wickets to claim his second five-wicket haul of the series.
Rehan Ahmed became Sajid’s fifth victim as he came down the track only to get deceived by the spin. Meanwhile, Leach got out stumped in an attempt to hit a short ball by Sajid.
Other than Sajid’s six wickets, Noman Ali got three while Zahid Mahmood bagged one.
England scored 242-8 at Tea with Rehan Ahmed (2) and Jack Leach (1) on the crease.
Ben Stokes (6) and Jamie Smith (5) resumed England’s innings after the Lunch with 110-5 on the board.
However, Stokes was soon dismissed by Sajid Khan after scoring 12 runs, bringing Gus Atkinson to the crease.
Smith and Atkinson 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.
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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’s spinners continued from where they left in the last match and Noman Ali provided the first breakthrough, removing Crawley after he scored 29.
Duckett continued to anchor through the innings while new batters Ollie Pope (3) and Joe Root (5) fell prey to Sajid Khan.
The left-handed opener completed his second half-century of the series but soon became Noman Ali’s victim. Duckett departed after scoring 52 off 84 with the help of four boundaries and one six.
Sajid Khan castled Harry Brook (5) to leave England in a struggling position with the scoreboard reading 98-5.
Stokes was then joined by wicket-keeper Jamie Smith and they ensured that the English side did not suffer any further damage in the first session.
It’s worth noting that the three-match Test series is currently levelled 1-1 and the deciding third match is currently underway at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
Pakistan suffered a humiliating defeat by an innings and 47 runs in the series opener, consequently, the home side made an array of changes including dropping their star batter Babar Azam and ace pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Domestic performer Kamran Ghulam made his long-awaited debut, while spin bowlers Sajid Khan, Noman Ali and Zahid Mahmood made their return to the Test side.
The changes proved fruitful as Kamran scored a century on his debut, while Sajid and Noman shared 20 wickets to steer Pakistan to their first Test victory at home since February 2021.
It’s worth noting that Pakistan have announced an unchanged Playing XI for the ongoing match, while England have added an additional spinner to take advantage of the conditions.
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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