RAWALPINDI: Pakistan lost three wickets as England took an edge on day 1 of the third Test here at Pindi Stadium.
Came to bat at a trail of 267 runs, Pakistan lost Abdullah Shafiq (14), Saim Ayub (19) and Kamran Ghulam (3) early. Shan Masood, the skipper, saw the dismissals at the other end which will help him come out tomorrow with better planning.
Shan and Saud Shakeel, both on 16, remained not out at stumps on the opening day. Jack Leach, Gus Atkinson, and Shoaib Bashir took a wicket each for England.
Earlier, Jamie Smith played a solid knock under pressure to take out England from immense pressure before tea.
England, who were reduced 118-6 right after lunch, saw Smith and Atkinson partnering strongly to score 107 runs together at the seventh wicket partnership. The two batters took charge of Pakistani spinners who were roaring at one stage, taking all six wickets initially.
Just before the tea, Pakistan managed to break the partnership with Noman and Zahid taking two back-to-back wickets. Atkinson, who played a patient knock of 39 runs off 71 balls, gave a straight catch to Noman who took his third of this innings. Zahid, who went for plenty of runs, managed to trap Smith on a flighted delivery. Smith fell in nervous nineties, contributing 91 crucial runs to the visitors’ total.
Noman and Sajid shared seven wickets whereas Zahid bagged one wicket as Pakistan walked off for tea with some ease.
Previously, Sajid took no time after lunch to take the wicket of England's skipper Ben Stokes as the hosts were forced to struggle at 120-6 on day 1 of the third Test here at Pindi Cricket Stadium.
Sajid alongside left-arm spin partner Noman Ali didn't give any space to England batters after getting their first wicket on 56.
England, who decided to bat first on an 'expected' spin wicket, suffered a major collapse despite having a decent opening start between Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley.
The two batters initially enjoyed batting perks at the wicket, but Noman and Sajid had other plans. The spin duo took charge from the point where they left in Multan last week.
Noman removed Zak Crawley after he scored 29 runs. Duckett, in his unique 'bazball' style, kept ticking the scoreboard but didn't get any support at the other end.
Duckett completed his half-century meanwhile England kept on losing wickets. Ollie Pope (3), Joe Root (5) and Harry Brook (5) fell prey to Noman and Sajid before lunch on day 1.
England walked out for lunch at 110-5 in 30 overs. All these overs were bowled by Sajid and Noman who were getting all the assistance from the pitch as expected.
After lunch, Stokes tried to settle down a bit but Sajid got him caught in the first slip where Salman Ali Agha took a well-judged catch.
TOSS
England's skipper Ben Stokes won the toss and decided to bat first against Pakistan in the series-decided Test.
England made two changes to their side. Gus Atkinson and Rehan Ahmed came in for Brandon Carse and Mathew Potts.
Whereas, Pakistan went with the same playing XI with an aim to seal the three-match series 2-1.
PAKISTAN: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (captain), Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan and Zahid Mehmood
ENGLAND: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wk), Gus Atkinson, Rehan Ahmad, Jack Leach and Shoaib Bashir
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