MULTAN: Pakistan are well-positioned to win the second Test and level the series after dismissing both England openers on a challenging Multan pitch on Thursday, with spinner Sajid Khan playing a pivotal role.
The hosts set a formidable target of 297 for England, with Sajid removing Ben Duckett (zero) and fellow spinner Noman Ali dismissing Zak Crawley (three), leaving England at 36-2 at the end of day three.
Ollie Pope and Joe Root remained unbeaten on 21 and 12, respectively, with 261 more runs needed and two days left in the match.
Noman highlighted that the cracks on the pitch—used for the first Test, which England won by an innings—will pose further difficulties for the visitors.
“We’re getting good spin from the rough patches as well as the middle, so it’ll be a tough chase. We’ll give it our all to win this Test,” Noman said.
Despite the challenges, England assistant coach Paul Collingwood believes his team is capable of “special things.”
“It’s going to be a tough chase tomorrow, effectively playing on what feels like the ninth day on this wicket,” said Collingwood, the former England all-rounder. “But this team has some special batters who can put pressure on the bowlers in these conditions.”
Earlier, Salman Ali Agha, who survived two dropped catches, played an aggressive knock of 63 as Pakistan were bowled out for 221 in their second innings in a spin-dominated game.
England, needing 297 for victory and a 2-0 series lead, found themselves struggling against Pakistan’s spinners, who excelled on the turning track.
Vice-captain Pope and key batsman Root will be crucial to England’s chase when play resumes on Friday.
Earlier, Sajid’s seven-wicket haul helped Pakistan bowl England out for 291, giving the hosts a vital 75-run lead at the Multan Cricket Stadium.
England, starting the day at 239-6, lost their last four wickets in the first hour, with Sajid dismissing Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts, and Shoaib Bashir, finishing with impressive figures of 7-111. Noman took the remaining three wickets, with England losing all 10 wickets to Pakistan’s spin-heavy attack.
Recognizing the conditions, England captain Ben Stokes opened with spin from both ends, deploying off-spinner Shoaib Bashir and left-arm spinner Jack Leach.
Bashir struck first, dismissing Abdullah Shafique for four after England successfully reviewed a not-out decision. He later removed Shan Masood (11) and Saim Ayub (22) as Pakistan’s top order crumbled. Kamran Ghulam added 26 before falling lbw to Leach, while Salman’s aggressive knock was eventually cut short by Carse.
England stumbled in their chase, with Duckett falling for a duck to Sajid and Crawley stumped after being deceived by Noman. Root’s reverse-sweep for four in the final over of the day showed England’s intent to fight back, but Collingwood acknowledged the difficulty of the task ahead.
“We’ve got to be realistic, it’s a tough ask,” Collingwood said, though he remains optimistic about his team’s chances.
SCOREBOARD
Pakistan 1st innings: 366 (Kamran Ghulam 118, Saim Ayub 77; J. Leach 4-114, B. Carse 3-50)
England 1st innings (overnight 239-6):
Z. Crawley c Rizwan b Noman 27
B. Duckett c Salman b Sajid 114
O. Pope b Sajid 29
J. Root b Sajid 34
H. Brook b Sajid 9
B. Stokes c Abdullah b Noman 1
J. Smith c Saim b Noman 21
B. Carse c Saud b Sajid 4
M. Potts b Sajid 6
J. Leach not out 25
S. Bashir c Shan b Sajid 9
Extras (B-7, LB-1, NB-4) 12
Total (all out, 67.2 overs) 291
Fall of wickets: 1-73 (Crawley), 2-125 (Pope), 3-211 (Root), 4-224 (Duckett), 5-225 (Brook), 6-225 (Stokes), 7-248 (Carse), 8-256 (Potts), 9-262 (Smith)
Bowling: Aamer 6-0-39-0 (3nb); Sajid 26.2-1-111-7; Noman 28-5-101-3 (1nb); Zahid 6-0-27-0; Salman 1-0-5-0
Pakistan 2nd innings:
Abdullah Shafique c Smith b Bashir 4
Saim Ayub c Pope b Bashir 22
Shan Masood c Pope b Bashir 11
Kamran Ghulam lbw Leach 26
Saud Shakeel lbw Leach 31
Mohammad Rizwan c Root b Carse 23
Salman Ali Agha c Stokes b Carse 63
Aamer Jamal b Leach 1
Noman Ali c Stokes b Bashir 1
Sajid Khan c Smith b Potts 22
Zahid Mehmood not out 0
Extras (B-9, LB-5, NB-3) 17
Total (all out, 59.2 overs) 221
Fall of wickets: 1-9 (Abdullah), 2-25 (Shan), 3-43 (Saim), 4-77 (Kamran), 5-114 (Rizwan), 6-145 (Saud), 7-150 (Aamer), 8-156 (Noman), 9-221 (Salman)
Bowling: Leach 17-3-67-3 (2nb); Bashir 19-0-66-4; Root 4-0-13-0; Carse 9-1-29-2 (1nb); Potts 5.2-0-19-1; Stokes 5-1-13-0
England 2nd innings:
Z. Crawley st Rizwan b Noman 3
B. Duckett c Rizwan b Sajid 0
O. Pope not out 21
J. Root not out 12
Extras 0
Total (for two wickets, 11 overs) 36
Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Duckett), 2-11 (Crawley)
Still to bat: H. Brook, B. Stokes, J. Smith, M. Potts, B. Carse, J. Leach, S. Bashir
Bowling: Sajid 6-0-27-1; Noman 5-0-9-1
