Sajid Khan claimed six wickets, while Noman Ali took three to help Pakistan bundle England for 267 after Jamie Smith’s gutsy 89 on the first day of the third Test here on Thursday.
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.
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.
