On the first day of the series-deciding third Test at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Pakistan ended at 73-3, trailing England by 194 runs. Spinner Sajid Khan was the star of the day, taking six wickets to restrict England to 267 runs.
Pakistan’s Saud Shakeel and Shan Masood walked back to the pavilion unbeaten on 16 each, with the home team struggling at 73-3 at the close of play.
Key Highlights:
- Sajid Khan finished with impressive figures of 6-128, while Noman Ali chipped in with 3-88.
- England’s Jamie Smith played a vital innings, scoring 89 runs to help his team recover from 110-5 at lunch to a respectable 267.
- On a dry and spin-friendly pitch, 13 wickets fell on the first day, with spinners dominating the proceedings.
- England’s slow bowlers also made their mark, with Shoaib Bashir dismissing Abdullah Shafique for 14 and Jack Leach accounting for Saim Ayub, who scored 19. Gus Atkinson was the only fast bowler to take a wicket, dismissing Kamran Ghulam for three.
- Jamie Smith’s aggressive innings included six sixes and five fours in his 119-ball knock before he was caught off Zahid Mahmood in the last over before tea.
Sajid Khan continued his stellar performance after tea, removing Rehan Ahmed for nine to complete his third five-wicket haul before also dismissing Leach for 16. England lost captain Ben Stokes early in the session, but Smith and Atkinson’s 105-run partnership for the seventh wicket provided a much-needed boost to the English innings.
In the morning session, Sajid and Noman bowled unchanged for 42 overs, taking advantage of the pitch that offered turn and low bounce from the start. England’s openers, Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, gave a confident start but soon found themselves in trouble, losing three quick wickets.
Noman dismissed Crawley and Duckett, while Sajid trapped Ollie Pope and Joe Root leg before. Harry Brook, who scored a triple century in the first Test, was bowled behind his legs by Sajid for five, failing to connect on a sweep shot.
Both teams opted for three spinners on the grassless pitch, which was prepared using fans and heaters. Sajid and Noman had earlier shared all 20 wickets in Pakistan’s second Test win to level the series at 1-1 after England’s victory in the first Test in Multan.
Teams:
- Pakistan: Shan Masood (captain), Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Agha, Aamer Jamal, Sajid Khan, Noman Ali, Zahid Mehmood.
- England: Ben Stokes (captain), Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Gus Atkinson, Rehan Ahmed, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir.
Officials:
- Umpires: Chris Gaffaney (NZL) and Sharfuddoula Saikat (BAN)
- TV umpire: Kumar Dharmasena (SRI)
- Match referee: Richie Richardson (WIS)
