Welcome back to the detailed updates of 1st Test Day 3, which is taking place in Manchester at Old Trafford.
Weather
The weather is promising according to forecast and we can see a full game today. England has a lot of work to do on damage. They ‘re 92/4 in answer to the 326 of Pakistan & will face a stern challenge from the professional assault of the tourist.
Day 3 Kick Starts
Day 3 of Manchester’s First Test Kickstarts. England has a difficult job ahead as 234 runs track the visitors. Ollie Pope at the crease with Jos Buttler, Shaheen on the offensive.
Critical Session
For both teams the current session is very critical. Pakistan has allowed just two runs in the first four overs of the day, both taken by Pope. Pak are getting a wicket.
Fifty
In a total of 11 tests, Ollie Pope brings up his fifth split-century test. His 50 comes at a very critical test point and he celebrates it by raising his bat, only to find that there is no crowd. Instead, he turns towards the dressing room.
Intense Bowling
Having reached fifty, Pope moves ahead with Buttler. Hosts strongly depend on their partnership. Pope faces heavy bowlling. Mohammad Abbas is a superb bowler. For 23 percent of his deliveries, he’s given a miss or an edge, tossing the ball around last night (0.5 degrees v 0.2 degrees), seaming it just as much. England is 106/4 on 39 overs.
Drinks
After an hour of Test, cricket drinks are on the floor. So far, not much to ponder on the scoreboard. Pope brought up his half-century and is about to complete a 50-run with Buttler partnership at the crease. Pakistan is continuing its wicket-search.
50-Run Partnership
A cautious first hour of the day brings up a 50-run partnership between Pope and Buttler, who only really attacked the ball when in these innings it was very full, defending and leaving when the Pakistan bowlers were more on a decent channel pace. After 43 overs ENG is 115/4.
Out
The exceptional bowling of Naseem Shah gives Pakistan the much-needed breakthrough as Ollie Pope departs for 62 after a 50-run partnership with Buttler. Woakes enters the crease. ENG after 45 overs are 127/5.
Woakes Takes A Blow
Chris Woakes takes a thumping blow on his head when he dives into a Naseem Shah bouncer, and England’s sub fielders not only pull out a set of helmets but a whole kitbag.
Rain Stops Play
Manchester has begun to pour. Play was stopped because the covers came on. Buttler battling hard: Woakes 29 (89): 7 (7). After 47.2 overs ENG is 141/5
Lunch
It stopped raining and manchester play resumes, but only for a short time. Lunch was announced. After 52 overs ENG is 159/5. It was just a good cricket game. Pakistan claimed the wicket of Pope but Woakes (15 *) and Buttler (38 *) are looking to create a partnership.
Outrage Over Sarfaraz Ahmed Carrying Shoes, Drinks
After Mohammad Rizwan ‘s dismissal on Day 2 and later water bottles for his teammates, Sarfaraz was first seen carrying a pair of shoes for Shadab Khan, as the visitors kept a tight grip on the proceedings. The incident, however, brought strong criticism against team management, with former Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Akhtar disrespectfully terming it.
Ready For Session 2
In the first session on Day 3 England scored 62 runs for the loss of one wicket. As both the days before, in the morning session the home team gave a strong showing. Abbas was also on the money today, conceding 1 runs at one point in a 7-over game. Naseem Shah has claimed Pope’s wicket. That leaves the lower order of Buttler and England, with a mission at hand. Still trail by 167 runs, but yesterday at 12/3 a long way from the nightmare they had found themselves in.
Session 2 Starts
After Lunch Naseem Shah begins proceedings. Woakes, on 15, who had taken an earlier knock, and Buttler, 38, walked out to restart the England innings. And in the first over after restart, Naseem Shah subjects Woakes to a stiff examination. Healthy bowler lines, and one very fortunate Woakes slash-and-miss.
Wicket
Yasir Shah gets Buttler clean! Following Lunch, Pakistan strike. England was losing its big wicket. Buttler will go for 38. England now 159/6 Buttler leaves a big gap between bat and pad and Yasir Shah goes through after having done so well to defend for so long. Bess enters Woakes to join. The only ones left after that, were Archer, Broad and Anderson.
Pressure On Woakes And Bess
Intesne moments of strain prevailed after Buttler’s wiket was down. Naseem Shah is suing Woakes with a lbw appeal. Yasir Shah also has a lot of bounce and turn triggering a few flutters. There’s bright sunshine and clear blue sky in an rare sight for Manchester (given by what we’ve seen over the last month! ENG 161/6: 56
7th Wicket
Yasir Shah strikes once more! Bess is getting a big edge from outside. Asad Shafiq is catching a flying catch at slip. Bess went for 1. After Lunch Yasir has hit twice now. Archer follows Woakes. ENG 164/7: 58
Yasir Shah Strikes Again
Naseem Shah makes the batsmen look very hesitant. Woakes goes for a run that isn’t there and fractures his elbow in plunging back into the crease when Yasir Shah throws a fraction of the stump and misses it. Direct strike, and that wicket should have been an 8th. Because of that elbow Woakes looks to be in some discomfort. And in the next he’s All over! Yasir Shah walks his defense and bowls him out. 8th Down Wicket! Third wicket to Yasir. Upon lunch 3rd. Woakes is running for 18. ENG 170/8 on 61.4
4,4,4 From Broad
Shaheen Afridi comes into the attack with Wide joining Archer in place of Naseem Shah. England is still far from safety. Yet Broad would then make his presence known. Four, four, four, four to finish the Over. 12 Runs are coming off the line. Shaheen Afridi goes for a length that is overpitched and Wide runs toward him. Two edges inside for four, but the last one was a confident whack over additional cover. At the other end Yasir Shah is searching for a 5-wicket haul. Archer with some potent bat heaves against Yasir. Attacking is all-round strategy. ENG 187/8: 64
Shadab Khan Bowls For The First Time – Leg Spin From Either End
For both Broad and Archer getting swings at both, Pakistan is taking Shadab Khan in place of Shaheen for the first time in the match. Spin from both ends as visitors look to make a mistake. Archer bat him four times through the sheets. Pakistan is evaluating for a Trapped behind Archer’s appeal but don’t let it go their way. Pakistan is evaluating for a Trapped behind Archer’s appeal but don’t let it go their way. This 9th pair of wickets produce more mischievous runs for England. ENG 195/8: 66.
Wicket
Shadab Khan strikes again! Jofra Archer gloved it over to the keeper. A ripper of a Shadab delivery. A ripper of a Rizwan catch, standing up to the stumps. England loses their 9th place. Anderson follows Broad and England fails to trail by 129 runs.
Pakistan Appealing For Everything
Jimmy Anderson is made straight up by a google Shadab Khan. And in the next, Yasir Shah sweeps in reverse for four! England’s No 10 and No 11 have shown some signs of struggle over the last month-with an extravagant touch from time to time. With that shot England cross 200. At the other hand, Shadab Khan begins. In this Test, Sky Sports displays a montage of Rizwan’s albums, comparing it with the misfortunes of Dowrich in the West Indies series. Rizwan has done brilliantly to deal with the Duke’s ball wobble so far. Pakistan is appealing for all now. The call from Umpire saves Broad as Pakistan goes after 69 to challenge ENG 205/9, 121.
Six, Four From Broad
Stuart Broad’s underwent some kind of pandemic transformation! He has to see the ball like it’s a football right now. Sweeps powerfully toward Yasir Shah. Clears both the fielder and the ropes at deep midwicket. Sixth! Follow it with one more slog. That goes straight to Shadab Khan the fielder who drops the catch. Opportunity flapped! Yasir had his 5th wicket denied.
England All Out For 219
This is it. This is the Wicket 10th. Shadab Khan is compensating for the catch missed by catching Anderson plumb lbw. Broad stays not out of 25 balls on 29-soon need a batting promotion for him-as England will be rejected for 219. Pakistan gets the lead in the first innings with 107 runs.
Pakistan 2nd Innings Begins
A lead of 107. Around 40 minutes remaining before the break in the Tea. Currently Pakistan on top. Will the tide change in this second innings at Manchester? Ben Stokes saw the team huddle with some animated words as the teams entered. Can Stokes be fit enough in the 2nd Innings to bowl? Anderson starts out. Face to Masood.
Shan Masood Falls For A Duck
Anderson begins on a woman. Stuart Broad bowls from the opposite end. Abid Ali, Masood ‘s opening partner, scores a small drive for a single on the first run of the second innings. The first boundary comes in a rather unorthodox manner-through four byes via Jos Buttler’s scuttled set. Further strain on the keeper for England. But he makes up the last over the ball! Shan Masood, the hero of the first innings, went for a duck. Buttler takes the catch. Broad takes the wicket. PAK 6/1 by 2.
Root Goes Off Injured
Anderson has some great swing bowling to keep the pressure going. Azhar Ali is also trying to get his first Test runs in at 3. He’s edging in! But, in the slips, the ball falls short of Root. With that though, Root has hurt his finger. He walks off the field. Stokes to act as captain. Broad nearly got a second over there. Broad, honing in on the pads, is currently proving to be a tough customer. PAK 8/1 to 4.
Tea – PAK lead by 127
James Anderson to bowl to Tea what’s going to be the last over. And his mood isn’t brightened by how Abid Ali starts over-with a four-fold crash through the offside. Abid Ali almost draws in to give the outer edge later in the over. Broad has so far conceded just 2 runs in his opening spell. Anderson has gone for more, but when Stokes dropped a catch at slip he was denied a wicket. At Tea, Pakistan reaches 20/2 and leads by 127 runs.
Session 3
It all set for Day 3’s last session. It has to be said, this next session will win and lose the match. If England can rattle this batting order they will go with a shout of getting back into the final two days. Pakistan will run away with this match if they can get their lead over 200 without losing more than a wicket or two. Wide starts 10th over. Azhar Ali, still on a pair, faces, tries to get that elusive single for him.
Bess Introduced Early – And He Gets A Wicket!
A mix-up in running between the wickets between Abid Ali and Azhar Ali, with Nasser Hussain remembering the risks of running the captain out in the comm window. In the 14th over, Dom Bess is brought into the attack, which is a relatively early Root introduction to spin. Until then, Azhar Ali has not scored another run again, despite spurting into life with two consecutive boundaries. But the one that has an immediate effect is Bess! Abid Ali was captured when he was having a top bottom. England are finally getting something going! PAK 33/2 to 14.
Babar Azam Is Out
Azam Babar is gone. Five. Woakes cheaply gets big man! This time, Stokes makes no error on the second fall. Asad Shafiq reaches 5. Three wickets down Pakistan now need to ensure they stave off further damage. We now have a game at Manchester! Pakistan Nerves. Bess reappears. Pakistan 48/3 on 20, 155 on lead.
Azhar Ali Is Out
Azhar Ali leaves. Woakes hits once more. The Captain is gone for 18 runs. For Woakes, reverse swing does the trick. After being caught plumb, Azhar Ali was playing forward and did not bother Checking. Rizwan comes out in a spot of trouble at 6 with Pakistan. PAK 64/4: 25.
Woakes Making Things Happen
Asad Shafiq cuts with determination and at the reverse stage, James Anderson fluffs a hard chance. A hard chance but that’s a wasted opportunity. Woakes is the one who makes this final session possible, another chance for his bowling. Rizwan is looking tense in his crease. Wasim Akram says Rizwan got a 100 this past month in a warm-up match in England. As Archer takes a tumble in the outfield and takes time to get up, some worry for England. PAK 69/4 to 27.
Poor Fielding By England Today
Rizwan firmly sweeps Bess down to fine leg for four. And then there’s another poor effort from England on the field, this time Broad the Guilty. Crying over ‘pick’ but Wide is not making a good effort to get to the ball. Anderson and Stokes have already dropped catches during this session. James Anderson back to bowl the 30th over into the attack. PAK 79/4 to 30.
PAK’s Lead Crosses 200
Both batsmen go off against Bess for their shots. Shafiq attacks the spin on him and gets three runs offside. Rizwan takes a couple more times and gets two more. Rizwan slaps the spinner for a further three runs through the third man. Buttler drops another catch-it looked like an inside edge-but there was no replay show, luckily for the keeper of the underfire. Asad Shafiq sweeps Bess for four to start the 33rd over. Takes Pakistan’s lead across 200. PAK 95/4 after 33
Asad Shafiq Gets Run Out
Rizwan starts in attacking mode on the 34th over from Anderson, dragging him down the ground for four. But in the over there is a wicket to the flow of play. A direct hit on Sibley from the infield! And England is calling for a wicket! And the replays are giving them the wicket. Too, unfortunately, Asad Shafiq runs out for 29 off 43 bats. England gets its 5th wicket. PAK 101/5 to 34.
Last Half Hour – Stokes Comes On
Anderson goes in over for 10 runs as Pakistan’s lead continues to extend. To finish the over, Shadab places it between the slips and the gully. There is a lot of anticipation to be seen bowling in the comm-box over Stokes. A break of drinks is taken, indicating that more than half an hour is left in the day. And, finally, it is time for Stokes! Lead PAK by 223.
Stokes Strikes With His Pace
There’s one reason why Ben Stokes is probably the world’s most highly rated cricket! In his second over it hits! Mohammad Rizwan has lbw out. He ‘s going in for 27. The ball had stayed low on the batsman. Pakistan Reviewed, in those dying minutes, it was vital for them to have one batsman in the middle, but the on-field decision remains.
Umpire’s Call Remains A Grey Area
Michael Keeping on the decision of Mohammad Rizwan “He was unfortunate, there must be continuity. It should not be just the decisions of the umpires calling. As an umpire, you can’t be sure whether the stumps were hitting.
Shadab Gets Out
One more wicket! Shadab Khan is falling over to Big! And Pakistan is just down to the tail. Will we see them today as All Out? At 9, Shaheen Afridi walks out to join Yasir Shah. Today Mercurial Pakistan has shown their full selection of crickets. Thirty minutes ago they had the game in their hands. Now, the contest is even. PAK 122/7 on 40, lead 229.
End of Day 3 – PAK 137/8
The day was no less than a pendulum swinging in the storm, 14 wickets have fallen. Pakistan is entering the pavilion with the score at 137/8, for them Yasir Shah and Mohammad Abbas the batsmen, leading England by 244 runs. On day 4, in Manchester, it’s game on.
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