Pak vs Eng: Sajid, Noman bamboozle England as visiting side finish day 2 on 24/3
by By AFP & Sports DeskRAWALPINDI: England received three early blows as they began their batting against Pakistan on the second day of the third and final Test at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Friday.
In just six overs, the visiting side had lost both of their openers — Ben Duckett to Sajid Khan and Zak Crawley to Noman Ali.
Their bad luck continued as the dependable Ollie Pope was also dismissed by Noman, leading England to 20/3 in just eight overs of the innings.
The match had to be suspended due to light concerns after England had just batted for nine overs and ended the day on 24/3. The side trails by 53 runs.
Earlier, Saud Shakeel crafted a gritty century to haul Pakistan back into the contest as the hosts bundled out on 344 runs.
The 29-year-old left-hander held Pakistan's innings together with an unbeaten 107, built run-by-run with 75 singles, and only four boundaries.
He defied England with an eighth wicket stand of 88 alongside Noman Ali who made 45 before falling in the final over before the break to spinner Shoaib Bashir.
At the break, Sajid Khan was the other unbeaten batsman on one. Pakistan still have two wickets to build up a lead in their bid for a series-clinching win.
The visitors looked to be in control when young spinner Rehan Ahmed bagged three quick wickets to leave Pakistan teetering at the end of the first session.
England were eyeing a lead after Ahmed's burst left Pakistan on 187-7 at lunch but the Shakeel-Noman stand turned those expectations into frustration.
Shakeel batted with composure and reached his fourth Test hundred with a single off Rehan in a resistance-packed 250 minutes of batting.
Noman — surviving a leg-before decision on review and a dropped catch off Joe Root — assisted Shakeel admirably, hitting a six and two fours as the duo helped Pakistan add 80 in the second session.
Rehan's 3-54 sent Mohammad Rizwan (25), Salman Agha (one) and Aamer Jamal (14), back to the pavillon and threatened to derail Pakistan.
England's frontline spinners Jack Leach and Bashir could not extract the same sharp turn from the pitch as rival Sajid Khan, who took 6-128 to dismiss the visitors for 267 on Thursday.
Pakistan resumed the day at 73-3 in search of a lead to press for a series win.
But Shakeel was the only batter able to press on after reaching double figures. He added 53 for the fourth wicket with captain Shan Masood who fell to Bashir for 26.
It was England´s first breakthrough, as Masood edged to slip. Pakistan looked to be getting their innings back on track as Rizwan joined Shakeel and the pair put on 52 for the fifth wicket.
Rehan trapped Rizwan and Agha leg before in successive overs and then bowled Jamal to give England the edge.
The three-match series is tied at 1-1.
This is a developing story and is being updated with more details.