Pakistan vs England, 3rd Test Day 1: Leach and Ahmed put England in strong position

England spinners Jack Leach and Rehan Ahmed shone on the opening day of the third and final Test against Pakistan in Karachi, taking a total of six wickets between them to help dismiss the home team for 304.

Match Summary

Pakistan 304/10 (79 ov)

England *7/1 (3 ov)

Day Break : Day 1 England trail by 297 runs.

SCORECARD

 Azhar Ali, who was playing in his final Test match, joined Shan Masood at the crease and the two batsmen formed a partnership.

After a period of inactivity, England decided to use the tactic of bowling short-pitched deliveries and it paid off for them. Wood dismissed Masood with a short ball and Robinson, also using the short ball tactic, dismissed Azhar Ali just before lunch. Babar, on the other hand, looked composed and in control at the crease.

After the lunch break, Rehan Ahmed bowled much better and was eventually able to dismiss Saud Shakeel, thanks to a great catch by the fielding team at short-leg. Babar and Agha Salman then came together on the field after Rizwan was dismissed by a full-toss. Both batters were solid until Salman made a poor call that resulted in the run-out of Babar, who was well-set for a century. That wicket provided England with an opportunity to make further inroads, and Jack Leach took four wickets as the lower order of the Pakistani team was unable to put up much resistance.

Pakistan's total of 304 runs on that wicket was at least 100 runs short of a competitive score, but Abrar Ahmed gave them hope by dismissing Crawley for a duck. However, on the final ball of the day, Pakistan wasted a review when they challenged a delivery that pitched outside the leg stump.

England had a comfortable day of play, and the pitch did not offer much assistance to the bowlers. Wood bowled a lot of short-pitched deliveries but many of them did not even reach the wicketkeeper, Foakes. There was also not much spin on the pitch. Therefore, England will likely come out and attack on the second day of play. However, with the sun beating down and the cracks on the pitch widening, the pitch is expected to turn on days four and five of the match.

England will be hoping to establish a substantial first innings lead while Pakistan will be relying on Abrar and the other bowlers to deliver strong performances.

“The pride you must have in your heart this week watching your 18 year old son playing cricket in the National Stadium, Karachi, is incomparable.” ??

A very special presentation of Test cap 710 ??

???? #PAKvENG ?????????????? pic.twitter.com/YKPMFThXGF

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) December 17, 2022

 

Match Stats

Pakistan Fall of wickets: 1-18 (Abdullah Shafique - 5.2 ov), 2-46 (Shan Masood - 12.3 ov), 3-117 (Azhar Ali - 25.2 ov), 4-162 (Saud Shakeel - 41.6 ov), 5-196 (Mohammad Rizwan - 48.6 ov), 6-219 (Babar Azam - 58.6 ov), 7-237 (Faheem Ashraf - 66.3 ov), 8-285 (Nauman Ali - 74.5 ov), 9-300 (Agha Salman - 78.3 ov), 10-304 (Abrar Ahmed - 78.6 ov)

England Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Zak Crawley - 0.5 ov)

Playing XIs

Pakistan:  Abdullah Shafique,Shan Masood, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam (C), Mohammad Rizwan (WK), Agha Salman, Saud Shakeel, Faheem Ashraf, Nauman Ali, Mohammad Wasim, Abrar Ahmed

England: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Ben Stokes (C), Harry Brook, Ben Foakes (WK), Rehan Ahmed, Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood, Jack Leach

Match Details:

Date: Saturday, December 17, 2022 05:00

Venue: National Stadium, Karachi

Toss: Pakistan won the toss & elected to bat