PAK vs ENG: Spinners stage comeback for Pakistan as England manage 239/6 on Day 2
Pakistan's spinner's staged a late comeback towards the end of the second day of the second Test against England in Multan on Wednesday.
England had dominated the earlier sessions of the day bowling Pakistan out for 366 runs. Their batsmen continued to score runs at a rapid pace before the Pakistani spinners struck in quick sucession, slowing down their run rate.
At the loss of 6 wickets, England stand at 239 runs after 53 overs with wicketkeeper Jamie Smith and Brydon Carse on the crease.
Sajid Khan leads the Pakistani bowlers with 4 wickets in a fine bowling display. His wickets included Englad centurian Ben Duckett who scores a brisk 114 off 129 deliveries. Khan also bowled out Ollie Pope, Joe Root and Harry Brook.
Spinner Noman Ali also chipped in taking the wickets of England opener Zak Crawley and captain Ben Stokes.
Pakistan were earlier bowled out for 366 runs in their first innings during the second Test match against England.
The Green Shirts had resumed their innings today at 259-5, and lost their sixth wicket early in the day, with wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan dismissed for 41 runs after just five more runs were added to the total.
Sajjid Khan was then dismissed for just 2 runs, while Aamir Jamal scored 37 runs. Meanwhile, Noman Ali added 32 runs before being bowled out.
Another wicket that fell before the drinks break earlier during the day was of Salman Agha. Salman Agha edged an extra bounce outside off, caught by Smith off Mathew Potts, ending his innings at 31 runs from 53 balls.
Day One Recap
On the first day of the Test, Pakistan's opening batsmen struggled, losing Abdullah Shafique for just 7 runs. Captain Shan Masood (3) and Saud Shakeel (4) also fell cheaply, leaving the team in a precarious position at 19-2.
However, debutant Kamran Ghulam and opener Saim Ayub mounted a strong recovery, adding 149 runs for the fourth wicket. Ghulam went on to score an impressive 118 runs, while Ayub contributed 77 before losing his wicket.
England’s Jack Leach led the bowling with two wickets, while Shoaib Bashir, Matthew Potts, and Brydon Carse picked up a wicket each.
Toss and Teams
Pakistan's captain Shan Masood won the toss and elected to bat first, aiming to build a solid score and put pressure on England. England, led by Ben Stokes, entered the match with high confidence following their victory in the first Test.
Stokes returned to the lineup after recovering from injury, replacing Chris Woakes and Gus Atkinson.
Pakistan Squad:
Shan Masood (c), Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Agha, Kamran Ghulam, Nauman Ali, Zahid Mahmood, Sajid Khan
England Squad:
Ben Stokes (c), Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir