Costly dropped catches and struggles against spin left England deep within the mire on day three of the second Test against Pakistan.
On an increasingly untrustworthy Multan pitch, into its eighth day of service after the controversial decision to reuse it for back-to-back games, the tourists were 36 for 2 chasing a dim and distant fourth-innings goal of 297.
Twenty-four hours after making a tremendous century Ben Duckett fell for a two-ball duck, while Zak Crawley overbalanced to be stumped for 3. Over the course of the the day, England lost 88 for six against the house spinners and might expect the trial to proceed as the sport approaches its conclusion.
The best any England side has ever hunted down in Asian conditions is 209, a record dating back to 1961 in Lahore, however it might have been a much closer ask had they not paid an expensive price for 2 handling errors within the three balls in the course of the afternoon session.
Despite conceding a 75-run first-innings lead, England scrapped hard with the ball to offer themselves a likelihood. They’d five wickets and were still lower than 200 behind when the bullish Brydon Carse found Salman Agha’s outside twice in an over.
Missed Probabilities
Wicketkeeper Jamie Smith shelled the primary with Salman on 4, inexplicably letting the best of probabilities come out of his gloves, before Joe Root didn’t cling to a low likelihood just a few moments later.
Carse, busting a gut on a pitch that was overwhelmingly favouring spin, dropped to his haunches and brought a hand to his mouth in disbelief. He didn’t comprehend it on the time but Salman was initially of a potentially match-winning knock of 63.
England’s spinners enjoyed patches of success, Shoaib Bashir taking out the highest three in seven overs before lunch as he banked 4 for 66 and Jack Leach adding three for 67, but after watching Sajid Khan claim seven wickets of their first innings, that they had good reason for concern.
English morale ebbed away as Salman and Sajid placed on 65 in only 73 balls for the ninth wicket, however the umpires were forced to issue two warnings as Pakistan’s batters encroached on the protected area.
Bating Woes
The day began because it ended, with England batting under pressure. Resuming at 239 for six they were all out for 291, completing the previous evening’s collapse as they lost their last eight wickets for 80.
Sajid was the the person responsible, topping up his overnight haul of 4 with the scalps of Carse, Matthew Potts and Bashir. Potts, on his first overseas innings, was probably the most memorable as Sajid nutmegged him with a raging turner out of the rough.
Sajid wrapped up figures of seven for 111 and can be back later to make Duckett his eighth of the match.
The 75-run gap between the edges was already significant but Bashir did his best to show the tables as he sent Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood and Saim Ayub back to the pavilion before the primary break.
Shafique was given on DRS to a debatable nick down the leg side but Bashir unpicked the pair of left-handers in authentic fashion as Ollie Pope picked up each at second slip. Ayub was out to the very last ball of the session, putting a spring in England’s step despite the still perilous position.
Carse Causing Problems
Pakistan reasserted themselves between lunch and tea, adding 91 for 2, but that was a harsh reflection on Carse’s efforts.
There had not been a single over of pace until he got here on but he found a method to cause problems as he ploughed away relentlessly around off stump.
Saud Shakeel fenced him past Root’s head at a sophisticated slip position, justifying the fielder’s decision to wear a helmet, before Mohammad Rizwan fed him a catch.
Had he also removed Salman, England’s eventual chase could have been rather a lot smaller, but Smith’s clanger behind the stumps and Root’s trickier fumble proved painful.
Leach accounted for Shakeel and Aamer Jamal after tea, and Bashir made Noman his third left-handed victim within the cordon, however the hosts rallied again from 156 for eight to 221 all out. Salman and Sajid threw caution to the wind against tiring opposition, piling on a crushing partnership that made an already difficult task look out of bounds.
Carse and Potts ended the innings for England but seam was never going to be on the menu for Pakistan. As a substitute it was spin all the best way as Duckett and Crawley fell by the wayside.
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