England vs Pakistan, first Test: Key moments of Day 3
Pakistan disarrayed the England batting line-up as the hosts were restricted to 219 on Day 3 of the opening Test. Although the likes of Ollie Pope and Jos Buttler stuck around for a while, a brilliant spell from Naseem Shah broke the stand. However, England bounced back later in the day even after conceding the first-innings lead. We present the top moments.
How did Day 3 pan out?
England resumed from the overnight score of 92/4 with Pope and Buttler leading the charge. The duo added 65 runs for the fifth wicket before a ripper from Naseem Shah produced a breakthrough. Leg-spinners Yasir Shah and Shadab Khan did the rest for Pakistan, dismantling England's lower middle order. England bounced back as Pakistan finished on 137/8 with a 244-run lead at stumps.
Naseem's raw pace grabs eyeballs
The young Pakistani speedster Naseem Shah impressed on Day 3 with his express pace. He regularly notched over the 140 KPH-mark throughout the day. The 17-year-old provided Pakistan the crucial breakthrough in the form of Ollie Pope. This was Naseem's only scalp of the innings, however, his searing deliveries continued to perturb the England batsmen. He now has 14 Test wickets to his name.
Leg-spin does the trick for Pakistan
Pakistan's move of playing two wrist-spinners in overcast conditions had raised quite a few eyebrows. However, the tactic paid off as Yasir Shah and Shadab Khan shared six wickets between them. While Yasir scalped a four-wicket haul, the latter finished with bowling figures of 13/2. Interestingly, this was the fourth time when Yasir took 4 or more wickets in an innings in England.
Woakes dismisses Azhar Ali twice in the Test
England fast bowler Chris Woakes removed Azhar Ali for the second time in the ongoing Test. In the first innings as well, Woakes trapped the latter on front and sent him packing for a duck. The English seamer has now dismissed Ali on five occasions in Test cricket. Former Pakistan skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed (6) is also called Woakes' bunny.
Stokes strikes again!
All-rounder Ben Stokes yet again proved the differential after providing two pivotal breakthroughs for England in the day's final hour. Bowling only his second over of the match, Stokes was right on the money. Having kept the ball away from the batsmen initially, he brought one back into the stumps that uprooted wicket-keeper Mohammad Rizwan. Later on, Stokes removed Shaheen Afridi too.
