England 291 (Duckett 114, Sajid 7-111) and 36 for 2 need 261 more to win Pakistan 366 and 221 (Salman 63, Bashir 4-66)
Sajid may be an unassuming player on paper, and something of an afterthought in the selection: he described himself as “always the first to be dismissed” after taking four England wickets on the second night to put his team at the top. But with his shaved head, abundant facial hair and colorful celebrations, he has brought much-needed character to Pakistan’s attempts to break a winless streak at home stretching back to 2021.
Salman did most of the scoring, making his third 50-over score of the series to take the target to 300, and England’s pain on the field was only increased by the knowledge that they could have been dismissed twice in single figures. Brydon Carse was the unlucky bowler, as two chances were missed in the space of three balls: Jamie Smith failed to sustain a regulation cut behind the stumps before Joe Root bowled another to his right, the fact that he was wearing a helmet and was standing nearby. only a partial mitigation.
When Shakeel was caught lbw by Jack Leach, the first of three wickets that fell in the space of five overs after tea, England were hopeful of ending the innings quickly. But Salman responded immediately, hitting three fours off his next seven balls and moving on to his half-century bowling Leach cleanly for six. The ninth-wicket pair needed less than eight overs to raise the 50th stand as England’s target rose rapidly, ultimately leaving them needing the second-most successful chase in Pakistan and by far the highest overall in Asia.
Sajid survived being caught at long-on, when Duckett was forced to pitch the ball inside as he crossed the rope, then turned over and took lbw to a full toss from Matt Potts when UltraEdge detected an inside edge; They could have been out in the 20th over, but with DRS momentarily disabled, England were unable to review as they were trapped behind.
Carse finally broke through when Salman hit a pull towards midwicket, a late reward for the fast bowler’s perseverance and skill in demanding conditions, and Potts bounced it to Sajid. But the spinner once again took center stage with ball in hand, eyes bulging like a cartoon supervillain after Duckett had pulled off an upsweep to depart for a two-ball duck in the first over of the chase.
Noman Ali then played a beautiful delivery that stumped Zak Crawley, the opener falling to his knees even as he turned to see Mohammad Rizwan break the bails, as England slipped to 11 for 2. Ollie Pope and Root did it. until the end, but there was still a lot of work to be done on an increasingly losing pitch if England were to extend their winning streak in Pakistan.
It was all a far cry from the first Test at this ground, when only 13 wickets fell in the first three days; the tally now stands at 32 at the same stage in the second release incarnation.
England’s prospects had been undermined by Sajid’s four-wicket explosion on the second night, and he did not have to wait long for his second Test five when play resumed. Carse holed out too far before Potts got tangled up trying to remove his pads only to be bowled between his legs. Noman then claimed his 50th wicket in the Tests as Smith, looking to hit in the company of the tail, could only err from high to long.
A last-wicket stand of 29 between Leach and Bashir took the lead, before Sajid’s seventh brought the innings to an end. Then it was Pakistan’s turn to get nervous as the top three departed in the space of 15 overs before lunch.
Bashir had not enjoyed much success on tour to date but rose to the occasion after Ben Stokes threw the new ball at him. His third over produced the breakthrough, and Abdullah Shafique was adjudged to have taken a catch behind the leg side, although some protracted deliberations were required by the third umpire, Sharfuddoula, after England went to DRS. Shafique’s dismissal ended Pakistan’s opening stand at 9 – the ninth time in ten innings that he and Saim Ayub failed to reach double figures together.
Shan Masood did not last long, faced by one who ripped a length to hit the junction and catch Pope, close under the helmet at second slip. There was plenty of spin and bounce for England’s spinners and with the last delivery before the break, Bashir dislodged Ayub, who leaned forward to give Pope an easier chance.
Pakistan needed solidity and they got it in the form of tenacious three-overs in the 30s with Shakeel. Debutant Kamran Ghulam showed further signs of his ability, after his first innings hundred, before being caught by Leach. Rizwan then resumed his battle with Carse and finally fell to him during the third consecutive innings after England got the ball to reverse swing. Whether they can reverse the course of this Test may depend on keeping Sajid at the top of the billing on day four.
Alan Gardner is deputy editor of Pak Gazette. @alanroderick
