On the third day of the second Test in Multan, 16 wickets were lost, and it is the third consecutive day that more than 16 wickets were lost in a day of play in Pakistan. With 261 still needed by England and with only eight wickets left, the pitch is proving to be tricky as it is assisting consistent spin, uneven bounce, and reverse swing.
Sajid Khan Took Seven Wickets In The First Innings
Sajid Khan added only three to his overnight total at the start of the day but finished up with seven wickets in what proved a significant bowling effort to bowl England out for 291. This gave Pakistan a really useful lead of 75 runs, frustrating though a last wicket stand of 29 runs between Shoaib Bashir and Jack Leach proved to be. Noman Ali was also significant, having taken three wickets, and that of Jamie Smith, who became crucial in those circumstances for England.
Sensational Sajid is successful in the first over! ⭐
Centurion in the first innings, Ben Duckett is dismissed for nought ☝️#PAKvENG | #TestAtHome pic.twitter.com/JBLOnpZrqL---Advertisement---— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) October 17, 2024
In Pakistan’s second innings, they were building up their lead to 118 runs by the morning session but lost three wickets in the process. England decided to start with spin from both ends and Shoaib Bashir made crucial breakthroughs. Getting rid of Abdullah Shafique and Shan Masood, he put England into the fray just before lunch by getting rid of Saim Ayub.
Agha Salman Late Flourish
In the second session, Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan fell, but Pakistan added 91 runs for the loss of two wickets. Jack Leach and Bashir, again under pressure, have to continue taking wickets quickly. At 156/8, the lead was just 231. But Agha Salman celebrated his strokeful 63 off 89 balls to gradually levelled the innings and thereby combined for an unbeaten ninth-wicket partnership of 65 runs.
End of a fine innings from @SalmanAliAgha1.
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) October 17, 2024
He falls after scoring 63, being involved in a 65-run partnership for the ninth wicket 🏏#PAKvENG | #TestAtHome pic.twitter.com/9lfHuSyalg
England’s Shaky Start To The Chase
England’s chase began very erratically. The first innings centurion, Ben Duckett, ended up leg before Sajid Khan off the very first ball of the chase. Noman Ali was quick enough to stump Zak Crawley, and the score stands at 11/2. Joe Root, along with Ollie Pope, needs to steady the ship against a pretty testing pitch on what can be considered, for all practical purposes, the fourth and final day of the Test.
Brief scores: Pakistan 366 & 221 (Salman 63; Bashir 4-66, Leach 3-67) lead England 291 & 36/2 (Pope 21, Root 12; Sajid 1-27, Noman 1-9) by 260 runs.
Also Read: IND Vs NZ, First Test Day-2: New Zealand’s Rampant Performance Leaves India Reeling
