MULTAN:England’s cricket team strengthened its grip on the match after destroying Pakistan’s batting line before the first session on the second day game, leading the target with 281 with five wickets in hands before the start of the third day.
The England bowlers destroyed Pakistan’s batting line and proved them a wall of sand by dismissing all eight wickets of the Pakistan team before the first session of the second day of the second test match being played at Multan Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
Pakistan entered the day two proceedings with 107/2 on board aiming to cross the modest 281 first innings total of visitors but they fell flat losing all eight remaining wickets and adding just 95 to finish 202, thanks to spin magic by leach and fiery attack by Mark Wood.
Pakistan started the day at 107/2 with sipper Babar Azam on strike at 61 and Saud Shakeel at 32. Batting collapse set in when Ollie Robinson dismissed Babar on the second ball of the 6th over of the session at an individual score of 75 when the total was 142.
Saud Shakeel was later dismissed at 63 after 16 more were added to the total. England bowlers kept pulling up pressure on Pakistan batters with another dismissal of Muhammad Rizwan at 165, Muhammad Nawaz at 169, Salman Ali Agha at 169, Muhammad Ali at 169, Zahid Mahmood at 179, and final dismissal at 202.
The battling line returned to the pavilion after facing only 30 overs in the first session on the second day of second test match.
England resumed the second innings with an advantage of 79 run lead with ambitions to give the host a formidable target.
From England Jack Leach took four wickets, Mark Wood took two, Joy Root two and Anderson and Robinson took one wicket each.
Following the second inning, the England team added 202 runs by losing five wickets and made a lead of 281 runs while having five wickets in hands before the start of the third day of the match. The opener batsman Zak Crawley returned to the pavilion after being run out in the fourth over of the inning at a total of five runs then the last-day performer of Pakistan’s debutant Abrar Ahmed came in and bowled Will Jacks in his first over at the total of 25 runs.
The third wicket of the England team fell at 79 runs with Joy Root’s catch on Abrar Ahmed’s tricky delivery. The debutant kept dismissing England batters and bowled Ben Duckett when he was moving toward his century and returned to the pavilion by scoring 79 runs at a total score of 147 runs.
The England batsman Ollie Pope was run out at 155 runs and then England team skipper Ben Stokes came in and joined Brook; both will start the next day’s game at 16 runs of Stokes and 74 of Brook.