Pakistan hold a lead of 244 with one wicket in hand at the end of what was a breathless day of Test cricket at Old Trafford on Friday.
England’s bowlers managed to bring the hosts back into the game towards the end of the final session of Day 4 after their own batsmen were found wanting against a clinical performance from the Pakistani bowlers.
Pakistan’s batsmen looked to keep a good flow of runs going but England kept chipping away at the visitors’ batting lineup. It however looked like Pakistan could manage a lead of over 300 runs in during the fifth wicket partnership between Asad Shafiq and Mohammad Rizwan.
Shafiq was finally dismissed when Dom Sibley managed a direct hit from covers while the batsmen went for a quick single. Replays showed that Shafiq was not even in the frame when the ball hit the stumps.
The flow of runs however continued when Shadab Khan came to the crease and Root finally had to resort to calling on Ben Stokes who managed to whizz the ball past Rizwan’s outside edge with the first delivery he bowled.
Broad then set up Shadab with consecutive shortpitched deliveries before sending in a full one that crashed into the batsman’s knee roll. While the umpire did not raise his finger, England reviewed and the replays showed that the ball would have taken the leg stump.
It left Yasir Shah to fetch as many runs as he could with the wobbly tail that Pakistan possess. Stokes struck again with the wicket of Shaheen Afridi and that delivery was also the last of the day.
It was the spinners Yasir Shah and Shadab Khan who closed off the England innings. While Shadab picked two, Yasir led the team off after England were dismissed on 219 with a four-wicket haul. Yasir will now be back on the field on Day 4 with Pakistan’s no.11 Mohammad Abbas, batting on 12 off 15 balls.
Brief Scores: Pakistan: 326 and 137/8 (Asad Shafiq 29, Mohammad Rizwan; Chris Woakes 2/11) vs England: 219 all out (Ollie Pope 62, Jos Buttler 38; Yasir Shah 4/66)