Gay, Brook put England into lead over Pakistan on opening day of third Test

BIRMINGHAM: Half-centuries from Emilio Gay and Harry Brook helped England finish the opening day of the third Test with a slender 23-run lead over Pakistan here at Edgbaston on Wednesday.

At the stumps on Day 1, the hosts were well placed at 156/4, with Brook and Dan Lawrence unbeaten on 52 and five, respectively.

England resumed their first innings in response to Pakistan's 133 all out from 24/2 after the tea break through opening batter Gay and captain Joe Root, but they could stretch their third-wicket partnership to just 15 runs as debutant Razaullah trapped the latter lbw in the second over of the final session.

Top-ranked batter Brook then joined Gay in the middle, and the duo excelled against the momentum-filled Pakistan bowling attack to raise 104 runs for the fourth wicket.

Razaullah eventually broke the century-plus stand in the dying minutes of the opening day by dismissing Gay, who remained England's top-scorer in the first innings thus far with 60 off 114 deliveries, laced with nine fours.

Following Gay's dismissal, Brook and Lawrence batted cautiously in the closing minutes and put together an unbeaten 13 runs for the fifth wicket to ensure closing out the pulsating opening day of the third Test with England on top.

Razaullah has been the standout bowler for Pakistan in the first innings, having taken two wickets, while Abbas and Ali have picked up one apiece.

The home side got off to a shaky start to their innings as Ali got Ben Duckett (11) caught in the slip cordon in the fourth over with just 12 runs on the board.

England suffered another setback 13 balls later as Abbas trapped top-order batter Jordan Cox (six) lbw, bringing the total further down to 24/2.

Following the back-to-back dismissals, skipper Joe Root joined opener Emilio Gay in the middle, and the duo batted sensibly to put together an unbeaten 11-run partnership for the third wicket, which closed out the pulsating second session.

The visitors, resuming their first innings after the lunch break from 100/7 through middle-order batter Saud Shakeel and No.9 Razaullah, could add 33 runs to their total and were ultimately bowled out for 133 in 33.5 overs.

Ollie Robinson ensured retaining the momentum in England's favour after the break as he struck on just the third delivery, dismissing Razaullah, who made a run-a-ball 11 with the help of two fours.

Set-batter Saud then shared a brief six-run stand for the ninth wicket with Mohammad Abbas until eventually being cleaned up by Josh Tongue. The left-handed batter remained the top-scorer for Pakistan with a gutsy 43 off 47 deliveries with the help of seven fours.

Abbas then frustrated England's bowling attack with a 36-ball 21 until eventually falling victim to Jofra Archer, who finished with three wickets for 25 runs in 7.5 overs.

Tongue was the standout bowler for England as he picked up four wickets for 42 runs in his 10 overs, while Robinson chipped in with three scalps.

Put into bat first, Pakistan suffered an early setback in the third over when Robinson dismissed returning opener Saim Ayub for a 10-ball duck after trapping him lbw.

Jofra Archer then removed Pakistan's other opener, Azan Awais, who departed for nine off 20 deliveries, including two boundaries, leaving them reeling at 14/2 after 5.5 overs.

The wickets continued to tumble as Robinson struck again to dismiss Abdullah Shafique for three off 16 balls. Archer followed in the very next over, removing former captain Shan Masood for five off seven deliveries, reducing Pakistan to 28/4.

Pakistan lost half of their side in the 15th over when Josh Tongue bowled captain Babar Azam for seven off 18 balls. Babar struck one boundary during his brief stay at the crease as Pakistan slipped to 48/5.

Debutant wicketkeeper-batter Ghazi Ghori opened his Test account with a boundary off Tongue's bowling. However, his innings was short-lived as Tongue dismissed him for four off five deliveries, claiming his second wicket of the innings.

Another debutant, Imran Randhawa, also endured a brief outing as Tongue claimed his third wicket by dismissing the batter, leaving Pakistan in deep trouble at 84/7 after 20.4 overs.