Shan Masood, bowlers put Pakistan on top
On the third day of first cricket Test against Pakistan at Old Trafford, England will resume their first innings at the overnight score of 92 for four today.
The match will start at 03:00 pm Pakistan Standard Time.
Earlier, Pakistan in their first innings were all-out for 326.
Shan Masood made 156 runs while Babar Azam scored 69 to become the main scorers of Pakistan.
Masood spent almost eight hours at the crease as his career-best knock lifted the tourists to 326 and the bowlers made good use of the platform to leave England 92 for four at Old Trafford.
Openers Rory Burns and Dom Sibley were then taken care of inside four overs as Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Abbas dovetailed perfectly with the new ball. The latter struck a killer blow when he cleaned up Ben Stokes for duck and by the time Joe Root was undone by Yasir Shah’s leg-spin, his side were staring down the barrel.
But Ollie Pope made 46 not out before the close and will continue his fightback on the third morning.
The thrilling late action – and that is the only way to describe the buzzing brilliance that Pakistan brought in the field – owed much to Masood’s hard work in the first innings.
The opener battled with England for more than 107 overs, facing 319 deliveries as he made his third Test hundred in a row, a streak dating back to December and including tons in Karachi and Rawalpindi. Jos Buttler, who missed a catch and a stumping when he had just 45 to his name on day one, will need no reminder of the debt he now owes when he resumes on 15 not out alongside Pope.
