| 0.0 : Hello and a warm welcome for our coverage of the 1st Test between England and Pakistan to be played at Lords. Just the two-match series. It is pretty important to start well and get that early advantage in such a short series. The visitors will be having good memories of playing at this venue. They won here in 2016 but had an experienced side back then. Now, the pressure will be on the young guns to replicate similar kind of performance and relive those moments. |
| England, on the other hand, have always been a strong side playing at home and they will be heading into this series with the hopes of crushing the Asian side. News from the English camp - Dominic Bess, the right-arm off spinner from Somerset gets his Test cap and he is all set to make his debut. Do stay tuned as we bring you the toss and the other updates shortly. |
| TOSS - England win the toss and they have decided to bat first. |
| England team - Alastair Cook, Mark Stoneman, Joe Root(c), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow(wk), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Stuart Broad, Mark Wood, Dominic Bess, James Anderson. |
| Pakistan team - Azhar Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Haris Sohail, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Sarfraz Ahmed(wk/c), Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Abbas. |
| We are all set to get rolling. The visiting team is out in the middle along with the two umpires. For England, Alastair Cook and Mark Stoneman walk out to open the innings. Mohammad Amir has the new red cherry and he will be hoping to make it talk early in the morning. Three slips and a gully in place. Here we go... |
| 0.1 : M Amir to Cook, Amir starts with a short of a length delivery wide outside off, Cook doesn't offer a stroke to that one. Harmless delivery from the left-arm seamer. He failed to generate any swing. |
| 0.2 : M Amir to Cook, Some shape for Amir, he bowls it touch fuller and it swings away every so slightly. The batsman covers the line of it and dabs it towards gully. |
| 0.3 : M Amir to A Cook, The southpaw goes on the back foot and opens the bat face. Guides it straight to the fielder at gully. |
| 0.4 : M Amir to Cook, Play and a miss! Tentative poke from Cook! Good length ball, drifts in and moves away nicely after pitching, the batsman goes feeling for it and he nearly ends up edging it. |
| 0.5 : M Amir to Cook, Uses the depth of the crease and defends it with a straight bat. |
| 0.6 : M Amir to Cook, Spears in a delivery on the leg stump line, Cook pushes it to mid on. Good start from Amir, maiden over to start the Test match. |
| Mohammad Abbas to share the new ball. Three slips and a gully for him as well. |
| 1.1 : M Abbas to Stoneman, Misjudgement from Stoneman! Superb start from Abbas, he gets his line right straightaway, bowls a seam up delivery which nips back in a little. The batsman tries to leave it but he gets hit on the back leg. |
| 1.2 : M Abbas to Stoneman, FOUR! Opens the account with a lovely square drive. England are on their way. Fullish delivery outside off, the southpaw leans into the drive and drives it past backward point for a boundary. The fielder chases the ball only to come second. |
| 1.3 : M Abbas to Stoneman, Bowls it on the channel outside off, covers his stumps and decides to leave it. |
| 1.4 : M Abbas to Stoneman, Well judged by Stoneman, he covers his off stump and shoulders arms to it. |
| 1.5 : M Abbas to Stoneman, Slanting away from the stumps and left alone. |
| 1.6 : M Abbas to Stoneman, Pulls his length back a little and attacks the stumps, Stoneman goes back to flick that but he misses it on the back leg. |
| 2.1 : M Amir to Cook, Innocuous delivery outside off, the batsman doesn't play at it. |
| 2.2 : M Amir to Cook, FOUR! Wrong line and Cook says thank you very much. He gets off the mark with a neat deflection. Slipping it down the leg side and the batsman glances it away to the fine leg boundary. |
| 2.3 : M Amir to Cook, Oh, nearly gets the outside edge! Good comeback from Amir, he bowls a good length ball closer to the off stump and makes the batsman play at that one, who tries to defend that but is beaten by the late away movement. |
| 2.4 : M Amir to Cook, Bowls from wide of the crease, outside off. No shot offered. |
| 2.5 : M Amir to Cook, Wide delivery and easily left alone by the batsman. |
| 2.6 : M Amir to Cook, FOUR! Elegant cover drive from Cook. Overpitced delivery outside off, the veteran gets right to the pitch of it. Bends his front knee and caresses it through the covers. No stopping that one. Both the openers have looked assured so far. |
| 3.1 : M Abbas to Stoneman, Fuller length ball on middle and off, the batsman gets right behind it and defends it solidly. |
| 3.2 : M Abbas to Stoneman, Mark looks to punch that but the ball goes off the inner half and rolls to mid on. |
| 3.3 : M Abbas to Stoneman, Fuller length ball on middle, swings away sharply, Mark looks to defend that but he plays down the wrong line. However, he doesn't go fishing at it and misses it by some distance. |
| 3.4 : M Abbas to Stoneman, Lovely delivery, Abbas needs to be on that channel quite regularly. Bowls it fuller on the off stump line and makes the batsman play, who is beaten once again. |
| 3.5 : M Abbas to Stoneman, And again, he bowls another away swinging delivery, Stoneman is beaten neck and crop as he looks to play the drive. |
| 3.6 : Abbas to M Stoneman, OUT! Jaffa from Abbas, he has been on that probing channel and has been troubling Stoneman regularly. He deserves this wicket. Coming to the ball - Bowls it on a length closer to the off stump, nibbles in just a little, Stoneman plays across the line but he fails to make contact with the ball. It brushes his back leg and hits the top of off stump. An early breakthrough for the visitors, they need to pick few more with the new ball and use the overcast conditions to the |
| Joe Root is the next man in. The skipper has to face the music now. He has pushed himself at number 3 and it would be interesting to see, how he goes about in his new role. |
| 4.1 : M Amir to Cook, FOUR! Good shot, Amir dishes out a half volley on the leg stump line and Cook flicks it with disdain to the square leg good. |
| 4.2 : M Amir to A Cook, FOUR! Outside edge rolls past the man at gully. Cook played with the soft hands which is the key. The ball finds the gap between the third slip and gully. Races away to the third man fence. |
| 4.3 : M Amir to Joe Root, Badly judged single from Cook, he sold his skipper down the river. Defends it closer to the man at short extra cover and calls for a suicidal single. Root obliges the call and hares across to the other end. Luckily for England and their fans, Haris misses the stumps. Direct hit would have given Pakistan another quick wicket. Will their rue this opportunity? Root is not the man you want to be handing too many chances. |
| 4.4 : M Amir to Root, The batsman defends it from within the crease. |
| 4.5 : M Amir to Root, Root goes on the back foot and defends it down the track. |
| 4.6 : M Amir to Root, Widish delivery and Root leaves it all alone to the keeper. |
| 5.1 : M Abbas to Cook, Bowls a delivery away from the off stump and Cook is happy to leave those. |
| 5.2 : M Abbas to Cook, Fuller length ball on off, the batsman lets it through. |
| 5.3 : M Abbas to Cook, Cook covers the line of the delivery and defends it. |
| 5.4 : M Abbas to Cook, Another easy leave for Cook. |
| 5.5 : M Abbas to Cook, Pushes it down the track, the fielder from extra cover runs to his left and makes a good stop. |
| 5.6 : M Abbas to A Cook, That one kept a little low and Cook tries to punch that but the ball sneaks through and goes underneath the bat. |
| 6.1 : M Amir to Root, Root stands tall and punches it to the man at point. |
| 6.2 : M Amir to Root, Root gets off the mark with a single. He pushes it to the right of the fielder at point and gets off the mark. |
| 6.3 : M Amir to Cook, Fullish delivery, Cook lunges on the front foot and guides it to gully with the bat face opened. |
| 6.4 : M Amir to Cook, Amir bowls a good length ball outside off which goes straight on. Cook doesn't play at it. |
| 6.5 : M Amir to Cook, Bowls from wide of the crease, angling it in, Cook covers the line of it and defends it back to the bowler. |
| 6.6 : M Amir to Cook, Runs in and delivers it on middle and leg, Cook moves across and pushes it to mid on. |
| 7.1 : M Abbas to Root, Leg bye! Spraying it down the leg side, Root looks to glance that but misses it. The ball kises the pads and rolls to square leg. They steal a leg bye. There is an optimistic shout for an LBW but the umpire is unmoved. |
| 7.2 : M Abbas to Cook, Fails to correct his line, dishes out a wide delivery outside off and Cook doesn't need to play at those. |
| 7.3 : M Abbas to Cook, Tight leave from Cook, he trusted the bounce on that occasion! Good length ball on the stumps, he goes back and decides to leave it. The ball just bounces over the wickets and goes through to the keeper. |
| 7.4 : M Abbas to Cook, Cook hangs back and defends it on the off side. |
| 7.5 : M Abbas to Cook, Slanting away from the stumps, Cook sits in his crease and decides to leave it. |
| 7.6 : M Abbas to A Cook, Short of a length ball on off, the southpaw opens the bat face and guides it square towards cover-point. |
| Hasan Ali comes into the attack. The young lad who promised a lot in the limited overs cricket at the start of his career but he needs to cement his place in this format. Will this be his game? |
| 8.1 : H Ali to Root, Hits the deck hard and starts with a back of length ball, Root decides to let it go. |
| 8.2 : H Ali to Root, Roots hops on the back foot and taps it on to the leg side. |
| 8.3 : H Ali to Root, Ohhh... that one nips back in sharply! Root just didn't expect that one to seam in so sharply, he goes back aiming to punch that but ends up getting an inside edge on the back leg. |
| 8.4 : H Ali to Root, Repeats the shot and this time he manages to hit it wide of the fielder at backward point. They steal a quick single. |
| 8.5 : H Ali to Cook, Angling away from the stumps, Cook lets it through to the keeper. |
| 8.6 : H Ali to Cook, Pushes it gently to the left of the mid on fielder. Calls for a quick single and gets it safely. Cook retains the strike. Decent start from Hasan Ali! |
| 9.1 : M Abbas to Cook, Good delivery, fuller in length and in line with the stumps, Cook covers the line of it and defends it right under his eyes. |
| 9.2 : M Abbas to Cook, Pulls his length back a little and pushes Cook on the back foot, who defends it with ease. |
| 9.3 : M Abbas to Cook, Nearly, another wicket! He has been excellent throughout this morning and almost gets rewarded once again. He dishes out a fullish delivery closer to the off peg, Cook lunges forward in a hope to defend that but he gets beaten by the away swing. |
| 9.4 : M Abbas to Cook, Similar delivery and similar end result. Play and a miss from Cook to an away going delivery from Abbas. |
| 9.5 : M Abbas to Cook, Cook covers the line of it and defends it solidly. Well-played, after couple of miss, this defensive stroke will give him lots of confidence. |
| 9.6 : M Abbas to Cook, Offers the straight bat and blocks it down the track. |
| 10.1 : H Ali to Root, Some away movement for Ali but it is too wide and doesn't trouble the batsman who lets it go. |
| 10.2 : H Ali to Root, Angles it in from outside off, Root plants his front foot across the stumps and decides to leave it. |
| 10.3 : H Ali to Root, Touch too wide and Root is happy in leaving those. Hasan Ali needs to make him play against this semi new ball. |
| 10.4 : H Ali to Root, There he goes, bowls a delivery in line with the stumps and makes Root play at it. He defends off the back foot to mid on. |
| 10.5 : H Ali to Root, Root lifts his bat and decides to leave another one. |
| 10.6 : H Ali to Root, Shoots through, that one kept low? Definitely. Going by the reaction of the batsman. Root hangs back and brings his bat down just in the nick of time and defends down the track. |
| 11.1 : M Abbas to Cook, Wide outside off stump, the batsman leaves it alone. |
| 11.2 : M Abbas to Cook, Fullish delivery outside off, the batsman defensively pushes it on the off side. |
| 11.3 : M Abbas to Cook, Delivers a wide delivery and gives the batsman an easy delivery to leave. |
| 11.4 : M Abbas to Cook, Comes round the wicket and serves another wide delivery. Cook lets it go. |
| 11.5 : M Abbas to Cook, This is not working for Pakistan. Are they playing with the patience of Cook? If yes, then it will be a long vigil for them. Cook is not the player to run out of patience. |
| 11.6 : M Abbas to A Cook, FOUR! Well played by Cook, he stands tall and plays with soft hands. Guides it right between third slip and gully. The ball speeds away to the third man fence. |
| Faheem Ashraf gets the ball. |
| 12.1 : F Ashraf to Root, Gets to the pitch of it and drives but fails to beat the man at covers. |
| 12.2 : F Ashraf to Root, Uses his wrists and works it to mid-wicket. They take a single. |
| 12.3 : F Ashraf to Cook, Quick single, good running! There is no confusion whatsoever, just a look at each other and off they go. Dabs it wide of the man at point. They sneak a quick single. |
| 12.4 : F Ashraf to Root, This is smart from the English pair, they are rotating strike regularly and not allowing Faheem to settle. Dabs it in the gap on the off side and they take a quick single. |
| 12.5 : F Ashraf to Cook, Angling away from the batsman who doesn't play at it. |
| 12.6 : F Ashraf to Cook, Much fuller from Faheem, Cook defends it right under his eyes off the front foot. |
| Change of ends for Hasan Ali. |
| 13.1 : H Ali to Root, Bowls from over the wicket, full outside off and Root leaves it to the keeper. |
| 13.2 : H Ali to Root, Fuller length ball on the stumps, Root blocks it back to the bowler. |
| 13.3 : H Ali to Root, Ahhh... Hasan Ali thinks he nearly gets through the defenses of Root. Length ball, tailing in a little, the batsman looks to defend that but the ball goes off the inner half on the leg side. |
| 13.4 : H Ali to Root, Drives it nicely but he fails to find the gap through the covers. |
| 13.5 : H Ali to Root, Wide! Poor poor delivery from Hasan, he loses his radar completely. Bowls a short delivery well down the leg side. The keeper had to rush across to collect that one. |
| H Ali to Root, OUT! Loose, very loose from the English skipper. He goes for just four and his side is in some trouble. England are 33/2 by the end of first hour. A passage that has belonged to the visitors. Hasan Ali dishes out a sucker ball which lures the batsman into playing at it. Root just can't resist it. Reaches out for it by playing a drive away from the body. He is in no control of that one and gets a thick edge as it shapes away late after pitching. Sarfraz takes the catch almos |
| Dawid Malan is the next man in. |
| 13.6 : H Ali to Malan, Malan whips it off his pads behind square leg for a brace. Malan is off the mark. |
| 14.1 : F Ashraf to Cook, Cook defends it with the straight bat on the track. |
| 14.2 : F Ashraf to Cook, The batsman chooses to leave the ball outside his off stump. |
| Review from Pakistan for an LBW appeal. Cook is the man in question. Pretty close than most anticipated, might be a narrow escape for Cook. |
| 14.3 : F Ashraf to Cook, Cook survives a close call. That was a 50-50 call and Pakistan could have got the wicket had they got the on-field decision in their favor. Length ball on the leg stump line, angling into the batsman who looks to defend that but the ball hits him below the knee roll. There is an appeal for LBW but turned down by the umpire. Pakistan decide to call for a review. Replays show wickets hitting is umpire's call. Pakistan won't lose a review though. |
| 14.4 : F Ashraf to A Cook, FOUR! Short ball and Cook pulls it away with ease. He gets on top of the bounce and hits it away to the mid-wicket boundary. |
| 14.5 : F Ashraf to Cook, The batsman chooses to leave the ball outside his off stump. |
| 14.6 : F Ashraf to Cook, Goes on the back foot and defends it to end the over. |
| 15.1 : H Ali to Malan, FOUR! Easy pickings for Malan, he gets a delivery on the pads and whips it away to the square leg boundary. |
| 15.2 : H Ali to Malan, OUT! Edged and taken! Brilliant delivery from Hasan Ali, he gets his 2nd wicket of the morning. So far, it has been a great spell from the pacer. He hits the good length closer to the off stump, Malan with his minimal footwork tries to defend that but he gets a feather touch through to the keeper who accepts it gleefully. Pakistan have taken three already, can they get few more before lunch? Why not, they definitely can with the way they are bowling. |
| Jonny Bairstow in the next batsman. |
| 15.3 : H Ali to Bairstow, The batsman chooses to leave the ball outside his off stump. |
| 15.4 : H Ali to Bairstow, Tight leave from Bairstow. The ball nearly kisses the top of off. It is an incoming delivery from Ali which the England wicket-keeper batsman fails to judge but luckily goes unscathed. |
| 15.5 : H Ali to Bairstow, FOUR! Down the leg side and Bairstow glances it to fine leg. The fielder in the deep tries to stop it with a slide but he fails as the ball touches the ropes. |
| 15.6 : H Ali to Bairstow, The batsman lets the ball go outside his off stump. |
| 16.1 : F Ashraf to Cook, In the probing off stump channel, nipping away a shade after landing. Cook knows where his off stump is and makes an assured leave. |
| 16.2 : F Ashraf to Cook, Back of a length ball outside off, Cook plays a mistimed cut shot to the point region. |
| 16.3 : F Ashraf to Cook, Wide outside off, Alastair is in no mood to flirt with it. |
| 16.4 : F Ashraf to Cook, Streaky! Length delivery, going across Cook. He plays at it tentatively and gets a thick outside edge through the gap between third slip and gully. Gets a couple for doing so. |
| 16.5 : F Ashraf to Cook, The batsman flicks it away with a wristy shot. |
| 16.6 : F Ashraf to Cook, Some extra bounce on this occasion! Takes off from a length and goes past the opener's defense to strike him on the thigh pad. |
| 17.1 : H Ali to Bairstow, Nicely played! Fuller in length outside off, Bairstow leans ahead and caresses it through covers. The fielder chases it down and manages to save a run for his side. |
| 17.2 : H Ali to A Cook, Full length ball attacking the stumps, patted gently to the mid off region. |
| 17.3 : H Ali to Cook, Ali drags his length back a touch and gets this one to shape back in. Alastair punches it towards the bowler who dives athletically to his left but fails to stop it. However, no run conceded. |
| 17.4 : H Ali to Cook, Trying to tuck up Cook with a shortish ball. He hops and works it towards fine leg to rotate strike. |
| 17.5 : H Ali to Bairstow, That's a peach! Ali is bowling with great rhythm and is keeping the batsmen on their toes. He steams in hard, goes wide of the crease and angles in a length ball. After pitching, the ball seams away and foxes Bairstow who fails in attempt to push it through covers. |
| 17.6 : H Ali to Bairstow, Brilliant over from Ali, he has been right on the money. This one swings in prodigiously which induces an inside edge onto Bairstow's pads. |
| 18.1 : F Ashraf to Cook, Pitched up delivery, played with soft hands to mid on. |
| 18.2 : F Ashraf to Cook, Good length delivery on off, moving away from the southpaw. He points his bat skywards to let it be. |
| 18.3 : F Ashraf to Cook, Ashraf keeps it full and Cook is up to it. Drives it nicely to the man at mid on. |
| 18.4 : F Ashraf to Cook, Beaten on the inside! Pakistan have been terrific from the word go. Ashraf bowls a skiddy length ball on middle and off, Cook prods forward to keep it out but the ball sneaks in between his bat and pad and goes over the off stump. |
| 18.5 : F Ashraf to Cook, Substantial away movement on this fuller length ball as Cook keeps his bat inside the line to let it be. |
| 18.6 : F Ashraf to Cook, Foxed again! Ashraf is making the ball talk. Swinging away sharply and goes past Cook's exaggerated front foot defense. |
| 19.1 : H Ali to Bairstow, Perfect Test match bowling! It is in the avenue of apprehension and moves away after landing. Bairstow is circumspect in approach and makes a good leave. |
| 19.2 : H Ali to Bairstow, A bit wider this time, Jonny doesn't fiddle with it. |
| 19.3 : H Ali to Bairstow, Right on target! Fuller in length in the corridor of uncertainty and moves away. Jonny plants his front foot across and lets it go. |
| 19.4 : H Ali to J Bairstow, This one comes back in to catch Bairstow off guard. He plays it tentatively towards the point region. |
| 19.5 : H Ali to Bairstow, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 19.6 : H Ali to Bairstow, Angling in from a length around off, Bairstow stands tall and pushes it to covers. Two maidens in a row, good stuff from the visitors. |
| 20.1 : F Ashraf to Cook, Angling across the southpaw who doesn't flirt with it. |
| 20.2 : F Ashraf to Cook, FOUR! A welcome boundary for Cook. The pressure was building up and this stroke will relieve it a bit. Slightly overpitched on off, Cook goes for a booming drive down the ground but the bat turns in his hands. He still gets enough on it and the ball is racing towards the long off fence. The fielder from mid on chases it but the ball wins the race. |
| 20.3 : F Ashraf to Cook, In the zone around off, Alastair lets it go. |
| 20.4 : F Ashraf to A Cook, Good shot and equally well fielded! Full length ball outside off, Cook drives it elegantly towards Azam at extra cover who dives to his right and makes a great stop. Saves certain runs for his side. |
| 20.5 : F Ashraf to Cook, Continues to pitch it up, Cook mistimes his drive past the right side of the bowler and gets across to the other end. |
| 20.6 : F Ashraf to Bairstow, Brilliant! Angling in substantially, Bairstow tries to block it but gets late. Somehow, he manages to keep it away from the inner half of his bat. |
| 21.1 : H Ali to Cook, Ali comes from around the wicket and bowls a good length ball outside off. It is intially coming in but at the last moment, it hits the seam and swirls away. Cook does well to keep his bat inside the line and evade it. |
| 21.2 : H Ali to Cook, Similar length ball, Cook hangs back and stonewalls it. |
| 21.3 : H Ali to Cook, In the corridor of uncertainty, moving in sharply. Cook knows where his off stump is and makes a brave leave. |
| 21.4 : H Ali to Cook, Prodigious movement again! Hasan Ali's wrist position is the key for him and enables him to shape the ball both ways. Coming in sharply, Cook covers his off stump and lets it go. |
| 21.5 : H Ali to Cook, Once again it is almost a replica of the previous delivery and Cook is now assured in leaving it. An away moving delivery might be the way to go for Ali. |
| 21.6 : H Ali to Cook, Loses his radar a bit and strays it on the pads, Cook helps it down to fine leg for a single. |
| 22.1 : F Ashraf to Cook, On a length outside off, not much movement on this one. Cook doesn't fiddle with it. |
| 22.2 : F Ashraf to Cook, Ashraf gets carried away and bowls a sharp away swinger. The line is not correct and it allows Alastair to see it through safely. |
| 22.3 : F Ashraf to Cook, FOUR! That is right out of the textbook! For all the kids out there, this is how you play straight down the ground. Fuller length ball around off, Cook leans into it and offers the full face of the bat. Times his drive to perfection and the ball whistles across the turf to the long off fence. |
| 22.4 : F Ashraf to Cook, In the channel outside off, left alone. |
| 22.5 : F Ashraf to Cook, FOUR! Sublime! He is flowing freely at the moment. The balance was the key in that stroke. Slightly overpitched outside off, Cook comes forward and caresses it through covers. Strong hands and a good base from the opener and the ball races to the fence. |
| 22.6 : F Ashraf to Cook, The batsman shoulders arms to let that one through. 8 runs from the over. |
| Mohammad Amir comes back for a bowl. Can he give his side a wicket before Lunch? |
| 23.1 : M Amir to Bairstow, Tight stump-to-stump line, Bairstow makes use of the depth of the crease and blocks it. |
| 23.2 : M Amir to Bairstow, Similar delivery, Jonny has no trouble in keeping it out. |
| 23.3 : M Amir to Bairstow, Fuller in length this time, Bairstow prods forward and defends it. |
| 23.4 : M Amir to Bairstow, Very full delivery outside off, inviting Bairstow for an ambitious drive. He goes at it with hard hands and mistimes it to the cover region. |
| Shadab Khan is warming up. |
| 23.5 : M Amir to Bairstow, Poor from Bairstow! Gets carried away and almost gifts his wicket away. Fuller in length outside off, shaping away. Bairstow goes at it with minimal foot movement and is lucky not to edge it behind. |
| 23.6 : M Amir to Bairstow, Outside off, left alone. A maiden for Amir. |
| As expected, Shadab Khan comes into the attack. Let's see what he has got up his sleeve. |
| 24.1 : S Khan to Cook, Starts off with a delivery down the leg side, Alastair tucks it gently towards square leg and takes a single. |
| 24.2 : S Khan to Bairstow, Slips in the googly around off, Bairstow probably picks it late off the pitch and eases it through covers. A run taken. |
| A slip and a short leg in place for Cook. |
| 24.3 : S Khan to Cook, Slow through the air, Alastair prods forward in defense. |
| 24.4 : S Khan to Cook, Shorter in length, helped away through mid-wicket for a run. |
| 24.5 : S Khan to Bairstow, The slider from Shadab, Bairstow goes deep in his crease and places it to the deep cover region. A single taken. |
| 24.6 : S Khan to Cook, On middle and leg, defended to the leg side. |
| Nasser Hussain makes a good point on air. He says that Mohammad Amir makes very good use of the crease and keeps the batsmen guessing with his subtle variations. He points out that Hasan Ali has been on the money in this game but he can use the crease to better effect to create even more trouble for the batsmen. Perhaps, take a leaf out of Amir's book. |
| 25.1 : M Amir to Bairstow, On a length outside off, Bairstow points his bat skywards to allow it through. |
| 25.2 : M Amir to Bairstow, Extravagant movement! On a length on middle and off, pitches and moves away prodigiously. Bairstow is on the move as he tries to clip it across the line but only manages to connect with thin air. That was a risky attempt from him to play against the line. |
| 25.3 : M Amir to Bairstow, Good play from Jonny! Taps this one to covers and pinches a single. |
| 25.4 : M Amir to Cook, Tentative! In that tight off stump channel, Cook pokes at it and gets beaten. |
| 25.5 : M Amir to Cook, This one is well outside off, left alone. |
| 25.6 : M Amir to Cook, Fuller length ball outside off, moving away. Cook plants his front foot across and makes an assured leave. THAT'S LUNCH ON DAY 1! |
| This has been a brilliant start for Pakistan. They have bowled with discipline and passion and have reaped the rewards as well. Mohammad Abbas bowled probing lines and lengths with the new cherry and didn't allow the batsmen to get into their comfort zone. Hasan Ali, the young sensation of Pakistan was in his elements as well. He took two wickets, getting the crucial one of Joe Root in the process. |
| England fared much better in the second half of the session courtesy Alastair Cook. The opener was resolute in his approach and battled through the tough times along with good company from Jonny Bairstow. He is nearing a fifty and is driving his side towards safe harbors. However, the visitors will know that if they keep bowling well on this helpful surface, another wicket will be around the corner. Join us shortly for the afternoon session. |
| ... Day 1, Session 2 ... |
| We are back for the afternoon session. The conditions are quite overcast and it will be another testing phase for the batsmen. Alastair Cook and Jonny Bairstow to resume their innings. It will be Mohammad Abbas who will bowl first up after Lunch. Here we go... |
| 26.1 : M Abbas to Bairstow, Starts off with a fullish delivery outside off, swinging away. Bairstow points his bat skywards and lets it go. |
| 26.2 : M Abbas to Bairstow, Better from Abbas! He bowls a length ball around that off stump corridor, no swing this time though. Bairstow covers his off stump and makes an assured leave. |
| 26.3 : M Abbas to Bairstow, In the channel outside off, Jonny doesn't fiddle with it. |
| 26.4 : M Abbas to Bairstow, Makes the batsman play this time with a good length ball on middle and leg. The wicket-keeper batsman hangs back and defends it stoutly. |
| 26.5 : M Abbas to J Bairstow, FOUR! Just wide of the gully fielder! That was a loose shot from Bairstow. Back of a length ball well outside off, the batsman goes for a punch but gets a thick outside edge that flies towards Shadab Khan. He dives full length to his right but the ball flies past him and through to the fence. |
| 26.6 : M Abbas to Bairstow, Length ball outside off, Bairstow doesn't fiddle with it. |
| Mohammad Amir to bowl from the other end. |
| 27.1 : M Amir to Cook, Fuller length ball around off, Cook shuffles a touch and dead-bats it. |
| 27.2 : M Amir to Cook, Nice shape on that one! Full and swerving away, Cook doesn't fall for the bait and makes a good leave. |
| 27.3 : M Amir to Cook, That's a peach! Amir goes wider of the crease and angles in a fuller length ball but after pitching it straightens, Cook pokes at it but is beaten all ends up. |
| 27.4 : M Amir to A Cook, FOUR! 56th Test fifty for Alastair Cook! He has stood tall in tough times and is playing an important knock. Full ball outside off, Cook pushes at it but gets an outside edge past gully. Raises his bat towards the Lord's crowd and sinks in all the applause. |
| 27.5 : M Amir to Cook, Outside off, left alone. |
| 27.6 : M Amir to Cook, Similar delivery outside off and Cook remains circumspect in approach. |
| 28.1 : M Abbas to Bairstow, Jaffa! Angling in initially on a good length around off and leaves Bairstow at the last moment to leave him clueless. |
| 28.2 : M Abbas to Bairstow, Poor from Jonny! He is looking a bit shaky. On a driveable length outside off, Bairstow throws his bat at it but misses. |
| 28.3 : M Abbas to Bairstow, On a length, angling down. Bairstow fails to flick it away and gets hit on the thigh pad. |
| 28.4 : M Abbas to Bairstow, That ball has struck the batsman on the thigh pad. |
| 28.5 : M Abbas to Bairstow, FOUR! Elegance and class written all over this shot. Slightly overpitched outside off, Bairstow allows his hands to flow through and caresses it through covers to find the fence. High elbow, steady head, everything was correct about that one. |
| 28.6 : M Abbas to Bairstow, In the zone outside off, Jonny lets it go. |
| 29.1 : M Amir to Cook, Peach! On a good length and it straightens after pitching, Cook plays for the initial angle and gets foxed. |
| 29.2 : M Amir to Cook, Amir generates a lot of swing on this one but hurls it way down the leg side. Cook tries to flick it but misses. Ahmed dives to his right and makes a good half stop. |
| 29.3 : M Amir to Cook, The batsman lets the ball go outside his off stump. |
| 29.4 : M Amir to Cook, Full and wide outside off, Alastair doesn't bother to play at that one. |
| 29.5 : M Amir to Cook, Outside off, third leave in a row. |
| 29.6 : M Amir to Cook, Brilliant bowling! The surprise element is always needed no matter which format you are playing in. Slips in an inswinging yorker around off, Cook is alert to it and jams it out towards point. |
| 30.1 : M Abbas to Bairstow, Back of a length ball, angling in, Bairstow hangs back and punches it away. |
| 30.2 : M Abbas to Bairstow, Similar length ball, shaping in, Jonny makes use of the depth of the crease and stonewalls it. |
| 30.3 : M Abbas to Bairstow, On a length outside off, Jonny gets a bit low and pushes it off the back foot towards point. |
| 30.4 : M Abbas to Bairstow, Fullish delivery around off, patted gently to covers. |
| 30.5 : M Abbas to Bairstow, Bye! The effort ball from Abbas. However, it is a bit wayward. It is too high as the batsman ducks under it. Ahmed leaps to his left but only manages to deflect it towards fine leg. A run taken. One bouncer for the over signaled by the umpire. |
| 30.6 : M Abbas to Cook, Good length ball outside off, Alastair doesn't flirt with it. |
| 31.1 : M Amir to Bairstow, This is testing stuff from Amir. He bowls a length ball around off stump and it swings in late. Good judgement from Bairstow as he plants his front foot across and makes a brave leave. |
| 31.2 : M Amir to Bairstow, Good length ball outside off, Jonny punches it away off the back foot. |
| 31.3 : M Amir to Bairstow, FOUR! Stand and deliver! That shot was full of confidence. Length ball angling across Bairstow. He strokes it on the up over covers and gets the desired result. |
| 31.4 : M Amir to Bairstow, The batsman shoulders arms to let that one through. |
| 31.5 : M Amir to Bairstow, Short of a length outside off, Jonny is early into his punch and mistimes it to mid off. |
| 31.6 : M Amir to Bairstow, Fuller in length this time, the English keeper comes forward and defends it calmly. |
| 32.1 : M Abbas to Cook, This one is way outside off, Alastair doesn't bother to play at it. |
| 0.0 : Hasan Ali is stretching himself. Might come back into the attack soon. |
| 32.2 : M Abbas to Cook, Length delivery, leaving the southpaw. The opener watches it closely and lets it go. |
| 32.3 : M Abbas to Cook, Similar length ball, pretty harmless, Cook points his bat skywards to allow it through again. |
| 32.4 : M Abbas to Cook, That one stayed a bit low! Good length ball around off, skidding after pitching. Cook adjusts in his crease to block it out. |
| 32.5 : M Abbas to Cook, Short of a length ball outside off, not deviating from its line. Alastair punches it off the back foot towards point. |
| 32.6 : M Abbas to Cook, Pitched up this time, tapped off the front foot to covers. Another maiden for Abbas, the sixth one to be precise. |
| 33.1 : M Amir to Bairstow, In line of the stumps, Jonny covers the line and knocks it down to mid off. |
| 33.2 : M Amir to Bairstow, Short delivery, Bairstow arches back and makes a good leave. |
| 33.3 : M Amir to Bairstow, That hurried Bairstow! Short of a length ball around the rib-cage area, Jonny hops and tucks it somehow through square leg. Vacant spaces there and the batsmen pick up a couple. |
| 33.4 : M Amir to Bairstow, Drop and run from Bairstow, sensible stuff! He camps back and taps it towards covers to scurry across to the other end. |
| 33.5 : M Amir to Cook, Amir loses his radar and slips this one down the leg side, Alastair tries to take advantage of it with a whip but misses. |
| 33.6 : M Amir to Cook, Short of a length ball outside off, Alastair shuffles across and doesn't fiddle with it. |
| 34.1 : M Abbas to Bairstow, Brilliant fielding from Imam-ul-Haq! Length delivery around off, Bairstow runs it down with an open bat face towards backward point but the fielder intercepts it. He dives full length to his left and makes a good stop. Has a big smile on his face and his teammates pat him on the back. Pakistan need to maintain this kind of intensity. |
| 34.2 : M Abbas to Bairstow, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 34.3 : M Abbas to Bairstow, On a length around off, defended solidly off the back foot. |
| 34.4 : M Abbas to J Bairstow, Streaky runs! On a driveable length outside off, Jonny goes for an expansive drive but gets a thick outside edge towards third man. Imam-ul-Haq hares after it and keeps it down to a couple. That brings up the 50-run stand between the duo. They have played sensible cricket and have got the results as well. Need to carry on. |
| 34.5 : M Abbas to Bairstow, Leans ahead to the fullish ball and blocks it to the off side. |
| 34.6 : Abbas to Bairstow, A polite inquiry for an LBW is turned down! Good bowling from Abbas. He angles in a good length ball sharply. Bairstow tries to block it but only manages to get an inside edge onto his pads which saves him. |
| Hasan Ali is back on. He was terrific in his first spell and will be aiming to continue his rhythm. |
| 35.1 : H Ali to Cook, Punched off the back foot by the batsman. |
| 35.2 : H Ali to Cook, Tentative! Angling in initially and then straightening. Cook is opened up a bit in his stance and gets it off the outer half of the bat towards point. |
| 35.3 : H Ali to Cook, Sits back to the short of a length ball and stonewalls it. |
| 35.4 : H Ali to Cook, FOUR! Poor delivery and duly punished! Straying on the hips, Cook rises on his toes and clips it away through square leg. Good timing on that one and the ball whistles away to the ropes. |
| 35.5 : H Ali to Cook, In the zone outside off, left alone. |
| 35.6 : H Ali to Cook, Back of a length delivery and width on offer, Cook slaps it towards backward point. Imam-ul-Haq dives and takes some pace off the ball. Manages to chase it and keep the ball in play. A couple taken. |
| Faheem Ashraf returns for a burst. |
| 36.1 : F Ashraf to J Bairstow, OUT! Ashraf makes an impact straightaway! He is a skiddy customer and gets rid of the dangerous Bairstow. He runs in with good rhythm and bowls a good length ball in the avenue of apprehension. It comes in naturally with the angle and straightens a touch after pitching. Bairstow attempts a drive straight down the ground. However, he ends up playing down the wrong line and the ball hits the top of off. End of the 57-run stand. The wicket-keeper batsman played some |
| 0.0 : Ben Stokes comes out to bat. Three slips and a gully waiting for the outside edge. |
| 36.2 : F Ashraf to Stokes, Full length ball outside off, swinging away. Stokes points his bat skywards and lets it go. |
| 36.3 : F Ashraf to Stokes, Similar delivery, left alone. |
| 36.4 : F Ashraf to Stokes, Good thinking from Ashraf! He bowls a full delivery and it tails in considerably. Stokes tries to get it away on the leg side but gets an inside edge that rolls towards fine leg. Gets off the mark with a single. |
| 36.5 : F Ashraf to Cook, The batsman chooses to leave the ball outside his off stump. |
| 36.6 : F Ashraf to Cook, Full length ball in line of the stumps, pushed off the front foot to mid on. Successful over for Ashraf. |
| 37.1 : H Ali to Stokes, Outside off, left alone. |
| 37.2 : H Ali to Stokes, Coming in on a good length, Ben hangs back and defends it solidly. |
| 37.3 : H Ali to Stokes, Length delivery outside off, Stokes plants his front foot across and allows it through. |
| 37.4 : H Ali to Ben Stokes, FOUR! First boundary for Stokes! He will feel good about that. Overpitched outside off, Stokes comes forward and strokes it through extra cover to find the fence. |
| 37.5 : H Ali to Stokes, Length ball outside off, Ben lets it go. |
| 37.6 : H Ali to Stokes, Another one outside off, Stokes is circumspect in his approach and doesn't fiddle with it. |
| 38.1 : F Ashraf to Cook, Pitched right up around off, tapped gently to the cover region. |
| 38.2 : F Ashraf to Cook, Ashraf drags his length back, Cook stands tall and blocks it. |
| 38.3 : F Ashraf to Cook, Full delivery but no swing on this occasion. Cook leans ahead and with a still head, defends it calmly. |
| 38.4 : F Ashraf to Cook, Punched off the back foot by the batsman. |
| 38.5 : F Ashraf to Cook, Fuller in length around off, Alastair presents a water-tight defense. |
| 38.6 : F Ashraf to Cook, Similar delivery outside off, pushed off the front foot to covers. Another tidy over from Ashraf. |
| Drinks taken. Cook and Bairstow were playing well but Ashraf got rid of the latter with a beautiful delivery. Pakistan have continued to bowl well and are keeping the batsmen guessing. From England's point of view, the ex-English skipper holds the key. He has batted with a lot of composure and needs to continue with the same approach. |
| 39.1 : H Ali to Stokes, Fuller length ball, angling in, Stokes gets a stride forward and pushes it to cover-point. |
| 39.2 : H Ali to Stokes, Bowls it full again and Stokes defends it out. |
| 39.3 : H Ali to Stokes, Offers the full face of the bat and blocks it right under his eyes. Three solid blocks from Stokes in a row. |
| 39.4 : Ali to Stokes, Shout for an LBW but it dies pretty quickly! Tailing in sharply from outside off, Stokes moves across to flick that but he gets an inside edge on the pads. The umpire spots the inside edge and makes the correct decision. |
| 39.5 : H Ali to Stokes, No Ball! Stokes dabs it on the off side. Replays show Hasan Ali overstepped by some margin. |
| H Ali to Stokes, FOUR! Lovely straight drive from Stokes! Fuller length ball, touch too full from Ali, Stokes leans into the drive and gets his timing right. Beats the man at mid off and the ball speeds away to the boundary. |
| 39.6 : H Ali to Stokes, Excellent delivery from Ali to end the over, he spears in a yorker on middle and leg, tails in a little, Stokes just brings his bat down in time and digs it out. |
| 40.1 : F Ashraf to Cook, FOUR! Vintage Cook. Slightly overpitched by Faheem, Cook gets a nice stride forward towards the pitch of it and creams it through the covers. Timing is spot on and the ball races to the boundary. |
| 40.2 : F Ashraf to Cook, Angling across the stumps, Cook doesn't play at it. |
| 40.3 : F Ashraf to Cook, Leg bye! Short of a length ball, on the leg stump line, Cook looks to flick that but misses it. The ball goes off the thigh pad on the leg side. A leg bye taken. |
| 40.4 : F Ashraf to Stokes, Stokes leaves a wide delivery to the keeper. |
| 40.5 : F Ashraf to Stokes, Stokes dances down the track and seeing that, Faheem drops it short outside off. The batsman decides to leave it. |
| 40.6 : F Ashraf to Stokes, Straighter from Faheem, Stokes moves across and clips it away to deep mid-wicket. Retains the strike with a single. |
| 41.1 : H Ali to Stokes, Bowls a fuller delivery on the stumps, Stokes gets right behind it and blocks it down the track. |
| 41.2 : H Ali to Stokes, FOUR! Firmly driven by Stokes. He gets a half volley from Hasan Ali and dispatches it past the mid off fielder. Gets on the front foot and plays the off drive with perfection. |
| 41.3 : H Ali to Stokes, Ali pulls his length back after being hit for a boundary, angling across and Stokes decides to leave it. |
| 41.4 : H Ali to Stokes, Stokes smashes it and Hasan Ali is in the firing line. He gets hit on the wrist and looks in some pain. However, recovers quickly and is ready to continue. |
| 41.5 : H Ali to Stokes, Pacy delivery from Ali, bowls a yorker on middle and off, Stokes jams his bat down and stops it. |
| 41.6 : H Ali to Stokes, On a length outside off, angling away from the stumps, the southpaw decides to leave it. |
| Shadab Khan is back into the attack. |
| 42.1 : S Khan to Cook, Slider on the stumps, Cook pushes it to the cover region. |
| 42.2 : S Khan to Cook, Low full toss on the stumps, the batsman mistimes the drive to mid off. |
| 42.3 : S Khan to Cook, Driven through mid on by the batsman. One run added to the total. |
| 42.4 : S Khan to Stokes, Gets to the pitch of the delivery and punches it to long on. Rotates the strike with a single. |
| 42.5 : S Khan to Stokes, On middle and leg, Stokes works it with the spin to deep mid-wicket. A single added to the total. |
| 42.6 : S Khan to Cook, Pushes it down the ground towards the fielder at mid off. |
| 43.1 : H Ali to Stokes, Serves a fullish delivery on off, Stokes sits back and dabs it on the off side. |
| 43.2 : H Ali to Stokes, Oh yes! He bowls a sharp bumper into the batsman. Stokes is using his feet regularly and to counter that, Ali comes up with the short ball. The southpaw ducks under it and lets it go. |
| 43.3 : H Ali to Stokes, The batsman chooses to leave the ball outside his off stump. |
| 43.4 : H Ali to Stokes, Huge shout for an LBW turned down! Bowls a fullish delivery, tailing into the batsman, who looks to flick that but gets hit on the front leg. Maybe, it is doing too much and would have missed the leg pole. |
| 43.5 : H Ali to Stokes, FOUR! Great shot from Stokes, this battle between Stokes and Hasan Ali is keeping everyone interested. Now, the left-hander takes a step down the track and whips it to the mid-wicket boundary. |
| 43.6 : H Ali to Stokes, Short ball from Ali to end the over, Stokes lets it go. The keeper collects it with fingers pointing skywards. |
| 44.1 : S Khan to A Cook, Quicker ball on the stumps, Cook pushes it down the track. |
| 44.2 : S Khan to Cook, Flatter from Shadab and Cook hits it back to him. |
| 44.3 : S Khan to Cook, Works it with the spin to deep mid-wicket. Gets off strike with a single. |
| 44.4 : S Khan to Ben Stokes, FOUR! Outside edge, rolls past the man at first slip! Loopy googly on the middle and off stump line, Stokes lunges forward and jabs at that one but he gets a thick outside edge. The ball strolls to the third man fence. |
| 44.5 : S Khan to Stokes, Uses his wrists and works it in front of square leg for a single. |
| 44.6 : S Khan to Cook, FOUR! Boundary to end the over, Cook has played drives with precision in this innings. He gets a massive stride forward and drills it against the spin. The ball races away to the cover boundary. |
| Mohammad Amir is back on. Can he break this 36-run stand? |
| 45.1 : M Amir to Stokes, Short of a length ball outside off, Stokes stands tall and slaps it to the right of mid off. Azhar Ali hares after it and pulls it inside the ropes, saves a run for his side. |
| 45.2 : M Amir to Cook, Slightly wide from Amir and that's enough for Cook to make a leave. |
| 45.3 : M Amir to Cook, Bowls from wide of the crease, angling in, Cook sits back and watchfully leaves it alone. |
| 45.4 : M Amir to Cook, Third leave on the trot, but this one is slightly tighter. A nip backer from Amir, which threatens to kiss the off stump but misses it by a few inches. So, we can label it as a good leave in the end. |
| 45.5 : M Amir to Cook, The batsman chooses to leave the ball outside his off stump. |
| 45.6 : M Amir to Cook, No shot offered by Cook. Three runs from Stokes, followed by five leaves from his partner. |
| 46.1 : S Khan to Stokes, Slider on middle and leg, Stokes stays back and punches to mid-wicket. Good stop there by Babar Azam. |
| 46.2 : S Khan to Stokes, Turns in just a little, Stokes sits back and dabs it wide of the keeper. |
| 46.3 : S Khan to Stokes, SIX! Bingo! Stokes breaks the shackles with a biggie. That's the first six of the innings. Loopy delivery on the stumps, he clears his front leg out of the way and slogs it over the mid-wicket boundary for a maximum. |
| 46.4 : S Khan to Stokes, The batsman works it down the leg side. |
| 46.5 : S Khan to Stokes, Pushes it to the cover region, the fielder mops it and throws it back to the bowler. |
| 46.6 : S Khan to Stokes, Much quicker in pace from Shadab, the all-rounder blocks it down the track. |
| 47.1 : M Amir to Cook, Angling into the pads, Cook stays back and pushes it gently to mid-wicket. |
| 47.2 : M Amir to A Cook, Plays a square cut, only to find the man at backward point. |
| 47.3 : M Amir to Cook, FOUR! Punched off the back foot. Cook stays in his crease and forces it with nice timing through cover-point for a boundary. |
| 47.4 : M Amir to Cook, Defends it to the cover region. |
| 47.5 : M Amir to Cook, OUT! Cracking nut from Amir, he gets the vital wicket. Cook was looking good to get a big one today, but he gets an unplayable delivery from the talented left-arm pacer. He bowls from wide of the crease and angles it into the batsman. Cook looks to play for the angle but he is decieved by the late movement. The ball whizzes past the outside edge and smashes into the top of off. Cook departs for 70 and England have lost half their side before tea. Can Pakistan pick one or t |
| The on-air commentators speak about Stokes who has spent a lot of time with Shane Warne in the Indian T20 League which might be the key here. He will face Shadab with a lot of confidence which was evident in that big shot he played in the last over. |
| Jos Buttler walks out to bat. He was in some phenomenal form in the Indian T20 League and it will be interesting to see whether he can replicate similar kind of performances in the longest format of the game. |
| 47.6 : M Amir to Buttler, AHHH... almost gets the another wicket. Smartly bowls a yorker closer to the off stump, Buttler is late on it and gets it off the inner half to fine leg. |
| 48.1 : S Khan to Buttler, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 48.2 : S Khan to Buttler, Buttler defends it down the track with the dead bat. |
| 48.3 : S Khan to Buttler, Sits down on one knee and paddles it away to fine leg. A couple more added to the total. |
| 48.4 : S Khan to Jos Buttler, FOUR! That's the shot of a man in prime form. Floated leg break on the stumps, gets to the pitch of it and whips it against the spin to the right of mid on. The ball races away to the fence. |
| 48.5 : S Khan to Buttler, Slider outside off, Buttler dabs it on the off side. |
| 48.6 : S Khan to Jos Buttler, FOUR! More runs from the bat of Buttler, he certainly looks in rich vein of form. He reaches out a little for that one and blasts it through the covers for a boundary. |
| 49.1 : M Amir to Stokes, Stokes sits back and defends it towards cover-point. |
| 49.2 : M Amir to Stokes, Stokes dances down the track. He looks to flick that but is rushed there and gets hit on the thigh pad. |
| 49.3 : M Amir to Stokes, Closes the face of the bat and glances to fine leg. Single taken. |
| 49.4 : M Amir to Buttler, Amir ensures he doesn't provide any room to Buttler. Bowls it full on middle, the batsman defends it on the off side. |
| 49.5 : M Amir to Ben Stokes, Direct hit would have made things interesting! Buttler dabs it to square leg and calls for a quick single. Stokes responds but the fielder is quick to the ball and makes a clean pick up. Shy's but misses. |
| 49.6 : M Amir to Stokes, Punched off the back foot by the batsman. |
| 50.1 : S Khan to Buttler, Flatter leg break outside off, Buttler powers it to the sweeper cover for a single. |
| 50.2 : S Khan to Stokes, Pushes it through and Stokes dabs it to mid-wicket. |
| 50.3 : S Khan to Stokes, Serves a quicker delivery on the stumps, Stokes defends it out. |
| 50.4 : S Khan to Stokes, Loopy leg break outside off, gets on the front foot and blocks it. |
| 50.5 : S Khan to Stokes, Dabs it to the mid-wicket region. That's another dot ball. |
| 50.6 : S Khan to Stokes, Ends the over with a single, Stokes powers it to the left of the bowler and the ball rolls to long on. |
| 51.1 : M Amir to Stokes, Muted appeal for an LBW! Length ball, sliding down leg, Stokes misses on the flick shot and wears it on the front leg. Amir goes up quickly but aborts his appeal even quicker. |
| 51.2 : M Amir to Stokes, Slanting it down leg, Stokes advances and moves across his stumps. Looking to glance that but fails to make contact with the leather. |
| 51.3 : M Amir to Stokes, Amir rushes Stokes with a quick delivery which hits him on the thigh pad. He just has no answers to what Amir has to offer in this over. |
| 51.4 : M Amir to Stokes, Smart thing from Stokes, he pushes it to mid on and gets off strike with a single. |
| 51.5 : M Amir to Buttler, Good length ball on the stumps, Buttler stays back and defends it down the track. |
| 51.6 : M Amir to Buttler, Solid block from Buttler to end the over. That's Tea on Day 1! |
| Session stats - 26 overs, 93 runs scored for the loss of 2 wickets. A decent session for England, despite them losing a couple of important wickets. England were in a bit of a tricky position when they started after the lunch interval. However, a 57-run stand between Cook and Bairstow got them to a safer position. Both the batsmen were trying to stabilize things for the home team but a brute of a delivery from Faheem got the better of the latter. |
| A wicket was followed by another decent stand, Cook joined hands with Stokes to add another 49 runs to the total. The opener continued on his merry way while Stokes looked confident. Sarfraz got Amir back into the attack to break the stand and the pacer didn't disappoint. He dished out a special delivery and got rid of the well-set opener. Buttler has looked positive so far in his short stay at the crease and it will be entertaining if the two Englishmen continue to do well post Tea. Join us bac |
| ... Day 1, Session 3 ... |
| We are back for the final session. Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes to resume their innings. Hasan Ali to bowl first up after Tea. |
| 52.1 : H Ali to Stokes, Back of a length ball on off, punched off the back foot to covers. |
| 52.2 : H Ali to Stokes, This one moves away a bit more and Stokes has nothing to do with it. |
| 52.3 : H Ali to Stokes, Angling in sharply, Stokes hops back and gets hurried a bit but does well in the end to work it to fine leg. A run taken. |
| 52.4 : H Ali to Buttler, Fuller in length around off, Buttler leans ahead and strokes it to mid off. Nice timing on that one. |
| 52.5 : H Ali to Buttler, Similar delivery, Buttler perhaps goes at this one with hard hands. Gets it towards extra cover where Azhar Ali moves to his left and stops it. A run taken. |
| 52.6 : H Ali to Stokes, Swinging in, cramping Stokes for space. He tucks it off the inner half of his bat through square leg and picks up a run. |
| Mohammad Abbas to bowl from the other end. |
| 53.1 : M Abbas to Stokes, Goes down the pitch and leaves it to the keeper. Some intent from Stokes. |
| 53.2 : M Abbas to Stokes, Another leave. This one was back of length from Abbas and Stokes had no intention of playing that either. |
| 53.3 : M Abbas to Stokes, Back of length, Stokes defends it back to the bowler. |
| 53.4 : M Abbas to Stokes, Another confident defensive stroke from Stokes off the back foot. |
| Seems like this one pitched outside leg but Sarfraz has decided to take a review after a conversation with his bowler. Have the visitors got this one right? |
| 53.5 : M Abbas to Stokes, OUT! Yes, the visitors have got this one right. Judicious use of the review from Pakistan. Abbas has been brilliant today and gets another one. He bowls a length ball around leg stump, Stokes tries to flick it across but misses to get pinged on the pads. Abbas roars in an appeal but the umpire stays put. Sarfraz has a chat with Abbas and decides to challenge the decision. Time for the replays. Well, well, well. It has pitched in line and is also crashing into the stumps |
| Dominic Bess, the debutant, strides out to bat. He is a handy lower-order batsman. Can he make an impact with the bat? |
| 53.6 : M Abbas to Bess, On a length around off, kept out watchfully. A wicket maiden for Abbas, brilliant stuff. |
| 54.1 : H Ali to Jos Buttler, OUT! What a catch! Take a bow, Asad Shafiq. It was a poor shot from Buttler though. He seemed to be in the T20 mode and pays the price for it. On a driveable length wide outside off, Buttler throws his bat at it but only manages to get a thick outside edge. It is traveling at the speed of knots towards Shafiq at second slip. He is cool as a cucumber and times his leap to perfection. Takes a sharp catch and then tumbles over. His teammates barge towards him and hug hi |
| 0.0 : Mark Wood comes out to bat. |
| 54.2 : H Ali to Wood, Outside off, left alone. |
| 54.3 : H Ali to Wood, Defended off the back foot by the batsman. |
| 54.4 : H Ali to Wood, Four Leg byes! Bonus runs. Back of a length ball, angling in, Wood tries to play it away but the ball brushes his pads and runs past the slip cordon and through to the fence. |
| 54.5 : H Ali to Wood, On a length outside off, left alone. |
| 54.6 : H Ali to Wood, Streaky! Looks to turn it to the leg side but is early into his shot. A leading edge is induced and the ball rolls to mid off. A single taken. |
| 55.1 : M Abbas to Wood, Backfoot punch from Wess, he gets his first run on his debut. this was bowled back of length, outside the off stump. He scampers for a single through the empty cover region. |
| 55.2 : M Abbas to Bess, Straighter one from Abbas and nicely defended by the batsman from the front foot. |
| 55.3 : M Abbas to Bess, Wess leaves the length ball. No run. |
| 55.4 : M Abbas to Bess, Straight delivery at the stumps and Wess flicks it to the sqaure leg. No run. |
| 55.5 : M Abbas to Bess, Wess was in two minds. He wasn't sure as to play it from the backfoot or front and ends up poking at the wide delivery. No harm done in the end. |
| 55.6 : M Abbas to Bess, He swings his bat but misses the ball. Abbas is not allowing the batsmen to get any easy runs. |
| 56.1 : H Ali to Wood, On a length outside off, Wood taps it towards backward point for a brisk single. |
| 56.2 : H Ali to Bess, Similar length ball outside off, played with an open bat face towards third slip. |
| 56.3 : H Ali to Bess, The batsman defends it from within the crease. |
| 56.4 : H Ali to Bess, In the zone outside off, left alone. |
| 56.5 : H Ali to Bess, Full delivery well outside off, Bess is not lured into a false stroke and makes a good leave. |
| 56.6 : H Ali to Bess, Straying on the pads this time, tucked through square leg for a run. |
| 57.1 : M Abbas to Bess, Good length and Bess lets it go. |
| 57.2 : M Abbas to Bess, FOUR. Nicely done this. Got into good position to play the flick through mid wicket region. Welcome runs for the England team. |
| 57.3 : M Abbas to D Bess, OUT! Another one bites the dust! Abbas gets his man. He bowled last two balls into the batsman and deliberately throws this wide of the off stump, enticing the batsman to go for the expansive drive. Bess wanted to make full use of the loose ball and goes after it, only to get a thick outside to Shafiq at second slip. He moves quickly to his left and pouches it safely near his mate at first slip. What a start to this session by Pakistan. They are going through the lower |
| Stuart Broad is the new man in. |
| 57.4 : M Abbas to Broad, On a length around off, kept out watchfully. |
| 57.5 : M Abbas to Broad, OUT! Abbas is having a gala time, gets a 4-fer to his name, can he get one more and finish with a five-wicket haul? Great exhibition of pace bowling from him. He bowls a fuller length delivery outside off stump and gets it to angle in sharply from around the wicket. Broad is caught in the crease as he attempts to keep it out but gets hit on the pads. Pakistan appeal in unison and up goes the umpire's finger. Broad doesn't even think about challenging the decision, takes |
| James Anderson is the last man in. |
| 57.6 : M Abbas to Anderson, In the channel outside off, Anderson lets it go. |
| 58.1 : H Ali to Wood, FOUR! Shot! On a fuller length around off, Wood punches it nicely off his back foot and gets it past the bowler. The fielder from mid off races after it. Amir looks to flick that inside the ropes but tumbles over it and the ball touches the rope. |
| 58.2 : Ali to M Wood, OUT! Ali finishes with a 4-fer as well! The young Pakistani sensation has proved his mettle. He hits the deck hard and catches Wood by surprise who goes for a pull but miscues it completely. The ball flies towards mid on. Amir backtracks and dives full length to take a great catch. ENGLAND ARE BOWLED OUT FOR 184! |
| What a start for Pakistan! On a helpful surface, they bowled with needle-like precision and got the rewards as well. Two young Pakistani bowlers, Mohammad Abbas and Hasan Ali blew the home side away, taking four wickets each. Apart from a couple of decent stands, England just catapulted. Only Alastair Cook played with composure and scored a well-made fifty but he failed to carry on. |
| The visitors were brilliant in the field as well. A couple of sharp catches from Asad Shafiq in the slip region was a testimony to that. |
| 0.1 : J Anderson to A Ali, Good start from Anderson! Bowls a full length ball around off, a bit of nibble in the air as well. Azhar leans ahead and taps it to mid off. |
| 0.2 : J Anderson to Ali, In the corridor of uncertainty, Ali remains circumspect in his approach and allows it to go through. |
| 0.3 : J Anderson to Ali, Back of a length this time in the same zone, Ali is in no mood to flirt with it. |
| 0.4 : J Anderson to Ali, In the channel outside off, fourth leave in a row. |
| 0.5 : J Anderson to Ali, That's a ripper! Unplayable. Good length ball, angling in initially and then shaping away after pitching. Ali has no option but to play at it and gets foxed. |
| 0.6 : J Anderson to Ali, Good length ball outside off, Ali leaves it alone. Good start from Anderson, a maiden. |
| Stuart Broad to share the new ball from the other end. |
| 1.1 : S Broad to Imam, Short of a length, angling away from the batsman. He flashes and misses the ball. Tenative start. |
| 1.2 : S Broad to Imam, Back of a length again and Imam-ul-Haq get his bat up and lets it go. |
| 1.3 : S Broad to Imam, Copy paste stuff. Another leave of the same length. |
| 1.4 : S Broad to Imam, Back of a length again and Imam-ul-Haq get his bat up and lets it go. |
| 1.5 : S Broad to Imam, Gets his bat out of the way. Back of the length delivery, Stuart Broad's comfort zone. |
| 1.6 : S Broad to Imam, Leg side from Broad. Imam-ul-Haq is looking to get something on the ball but it's too far away. Bairstow scampers to his right to get the rising ball and did well to collect it cleanly. |
| 2.1 : J Anderson to A Ali, Pinpoint yorker around off, it is moving in the air as well. Ali does well to cover the line and jams it off the outer half of the bat towards the point region. |
| 2.2 : J Anderson to Ali, Good length ball outside off, Azhar doesn't fiddle with it. |
| 2.3 : J Anderson to Ali, Brave leave from Ali! Length delivery well outside off, shaping in substantially. Ali knows where his off stump is and lets it go. That went over the stumps, good judgement. |
| 2.4 : J Anderson to A Ali, FOUR! Classic! Fuller in length around off stump, Ali leans ahead and presents the full face of the bat. It has been timed nicely and the ball goes past mid off to reach the fence. |
| 2.5 : J Anderson to Ali, That flew off his bat! On the hips, tucked sweetly to deep backward square leg. A run taken. |
| 2.6 : J Anderson to Imam, What a take from Bairstow! Down the leg side, Imam-ul-Haq tries to clip it away but the ball brushes his thigh pad and goes behind. The keeper dives to his right and takes it one-handed. An appeal from the Englishmen but the umpire is not interested. No bat involved there. |
| 3.1 : S Broad to Ali, Back of a length, angling across the batsman. Ali shuffles back and across, the ball thuds into his thigh pad for a leg bye towards fine leg. |
| 3.2 : S Broad to Imam, Wide of the of stump, tad short and Imam-ul-Haq lets it go. |
| 3.3 : S Broad to Imam, Action repeat from the batsman. Broad is keeping this in a channel here. Keeping the batsman on his toes. |
| 3.4 : S Broad to Imam, Short of a length, into Imam-ul-Haq's body, who gets behind to defend it straight. |
| 3.5 : S Broad to Imam, Leaving on length and paying price for it. The ball hits Imam-ul-Haq on the chest guard, took some extra bounce and in the end, no harm done. |
| 3.6 : S Broad to Imam, Flashes hard to the full ball. It was just outside the off stump, coming into the right-hander. He gets his cover drive out, only to get a thick outside edge. The ball rushes through the gully and slip region for a boundary. |
| 4.1 : J Anderson to Ali, Fuller in length outside off, Azhar plants his front foot across to let it go. |
| 4.2 : J Anderson to Ali, Angling in this time, Azhar camps back and defends it stoutly. |
| 4.3 : J Anderson to Ali, Sensible cricket! The right-hander taps it towards covers and takes off. Gets a good response from his partner and makes his crease comfortably. |
| 4.4 : J Anderson to Imam, Slips this one down the leg side, Imam tries to glance it away but only manages to connect with thin air. |
| 4.5 : J Anderson to Imam, Beaten! Short of a length ball on middle and off, moves away after landing. Imam hops and tries to covers the line but the ball flies past his outside edge. |
| 4.6 : J Anderson to Imam, In the channel outside off, the southpaw doesn't flirt with it. |
| 5.1 : S Broad to Ali, Full and on to his pads, Ali tries to flick it past the short mid wicket fielder but the connection wasn't there. |
| 5.2 : S Broad to Ali, Short of length, on the leg side and clicks Ali's thigh pad. He was looking to shuffle across once again, to play it fine but misses the ball. |
| Review time! The question is that if the ball has pitched in line of the stumps. Looks close to the naked eye. Is Imam-ul-Haq safe? |
| 5.3 : Broad to Imam, OUT! Gone! Broad strikes! Good use of the DRS by England and Imam has to make his way back. Broad bowls a length ball around leg stump, the southpaw hangs back and tries to play it defensively to the leg side but misses to get pinged on the pads. The bowler is confident and so is the skipper, Joe Root. Their teammates also join in and the decision is challenged. The replays roll in. It has pitched in line and that puts the argument to bed. Hawk Eye shows three reds and Imam- |
| Haris Sohail comes out to bat. |
| 5.4 : S Broad to Sohail, On a length outside off, Sohail lets it go. |
| 5.5 : S Broad to Sohail, FOUR! Easy pickings! Fullish delivery on leg stump, Sohail clips it through square leg and the ball whistles away to the fence. |
| 5.6 : S Broad to Sohail, Angling across Haris who remains circumspect in approach. |
| 6.1 : J Anderson to Ali, A big appeal for an LBW denied. This is on goodish length, tailing into the batsman, who wanted to clip it fine towards the square leg. Huge appeal form the bowler and the fielders but umpire isn't convinced. Anderson has a discussion with his skipper and they have chosen against the review. The Hawk Eye shows that the bowl would have missed the leg stump. Ali survives another scare. |
| 6.2 : J Anderson to Sohail, On a length in line of the stumps, tucked with a closed bat face to the leg side. |
| 6.3 : J Anderson to Sohail, Similar delivery, Haris hangs back and keeps it out. |
| 6.4 : J Anderson to Sohail, Fullish delivery attacking the stumps, Sohail gets a bit low and defends it calmly. |
| 6.5 : J Anderson to Sohail, Anderson switches his angle and comes from over the wicket. Bowls a good length ball on middle and off and gets it to seam away after landing. Sohail pokes at it and gets beaten. |
| 6.6 : J Anderson to Sohail, Good length ball in line of the stumps, Haris blocks it towards mid off. |
| 7.1 : Broad to Ali, OHHH!!! Inside edge saves him. Ali is living dangerously in the middle. Coming to the ball, Broad bowled it full, around the off stump and almost had his man. |
| 7.2 : S Broad to Ali, Another full one from Broad. Bowled it full once again, hit Ali just outside the line of off stump. Huge appeal from the bowler and the fielder. |
| 7.3 : S Broad to Ali, Aimed at the stumps, Ali goes behind the delivery and defends it well. |
| 7.4 : S Broad to Ali, Back of a length delivery, coming into the batsmen and Ali leaves it on length. |
| 7.5 : S Broad to Ali, Down the leg side from Broad and Bairstow goes to his left to collect it. |
| 7.6 : S Broad to Ali, No intent to play that one. Ali watches it go past him. |
| 8.1 : J Anderson to Sohail, Very full delivery, swerving in. Sohail jams it out and gets across to the other end. |
| 8.2 : J Anderson to Ali, On a length, angling in, tucked with a closed bat face towards square leg. A run taken. |
| 8.3 : J Anderson to Sohail, Defended off the back foot by the batsman. |
| 8.4 : J Anderson to Sohail, Fuller in length, angling away from the southpaw. He plants his front foot across and makes a watchful leave. |
| 8.5 : J Anderson to H Sohail, Good shot! Full length ball, Haris drives it down the ground. Root from mid off and Broad from mid on hare after it. It is the skipper who reaches the ball first and cuts it off. Three runs taken. |
| 8.6 : J Anderson to Ali, Good length ball, shaping in, Azhar tries to clip it away with a closed bat face but gets a safe leading edge down the track. |
| The artificial lights have taken full effect now. Good time to bowl with the clouds looming around. |
| 9.1 : S Broad to Sohail, Dug in short, Sohail ducks under it and evades it. |
| 9.2 : S Broad to Sohail, Length ball, seaming away, Sohail doesn't fiddle with it. |
| 9.3 : S Broad to Sohail, Well-directed bouncer on middle, Haris sits under it in a jiffy. |
| 9.4 : S Broad to Sohail, Good length ball around leg stump, coming in. Sohail tries to work it away but seems to have got an inside edge onto his pads. Broad is appealing and the batsman tries to sneak in a run. However, the fielder from covers attacks the ball and denies him. |
| 9.5 : S Broad to Sohail, The batsman lets the ball go outside his off stump. |
| 9.6 : S Broad to Sohail, This one is again wide outside off, left on its way. Third maiden for Broad. |
| Mark Wood comes into the attack. The umpires are having a look at the ball. Out comes the scissor and the leather which was coming out from the seam has been trimmed. |
| 10.1 : M Wood to Ali, Short of length, some extra bounce and hurrying Ali. He get his bats on it and plays it with soft hands into the pitch. |
| 10.2 : M Wood to Ali, Down the leg side. Some more pace from Wood. Ali is trying to get his bat on the ball but misses it. |
| 10.3 : M Wood to Ali, Fullish length this time, outside the off stump and Ali comes forward and pushes the ball towards the cover fielder. Takes a single and changes strike. |
| Deep square leg in place now. |
| 10.4 : M Wood to Sohail, Short of a length and into the stumps. Sohail defends it with a straight bat. |
| 10.5 : M Wood to Sohail, OHHH!!! Inside edge from Sohail rolls to the backward square fielder for a single. He is trying to drive the ball but gets it from the inside half of the bat. |
| 10.6 : M Wood to Ali, Ali gets inside the line of the delivery and flicks it past the mid wicket fielder for two. Wood is bowling in the good length area and on the stumps. |
| Five slips in place for Broad. |
| 11.1 : S Broad to Sohail, Bowls a good length ball in that probing off stump channel, Haris has his stumps covered and makes an assured leave. |
| 11.2 : S Broad to Sohail, Angling across Sohail who watches it sail through to the keeper. |
| Broad switches his angle to round the wicket. |
| 11.3 : S Broad to Sohail, Broad steams in and bowls it on a stump-to-stump line, Sohail hangs back and blocks it. |
| 11.4 : S Broad to Sohail, That'a a peach! David Lloyd on air discusses the importance of the presentation of the seam. If you can land the ball on the seam, it can always play tricks. This ball lands straight and then seams away after pitching. Sohail tries to block it but is beaten all ends up. |
| 11.5 : S Broad to Sohail, Defended off the back foot by the batsman. |
| 11.6 : S Broad to Sohail, Full length ball in line of the stumps, Haris gets low and dead-bats it. |
| Rod Tucker is feeling cold and calls for the jacket. He puts it on and is ready to go again. |
| 12.1 : M Wood to Ali, Fuller length ball around off stump, kept out with a straight bat. |
| 12.2 : M Wood to Ali, Well bowled! Length delivery, angling in prodigiously. Ali is opened up in his stance and ends up getting a leading edge which falls short of the cover fielder. |
| 12.3 : M Wood to Ali, Full delivery outside off, patted gently to the cover region. |
| 12.4 : M Wood to Ali, This is testing stuff from Wood. Bowls a well-directed bouncer around off stump, Ali ducks under it. |
| 12.5 : M Wood to Ali, In the channel outside off, Azhar doesn't fiddle with it. |
| 12.6 : M Wood to Ali, Jaffa! That one took off like a plane. Shortish delivery around off, climbing on Ali. He hops and fends at it but the ball just whizzes past his gloves. Good over from Wood. |
| 13.1 : S Broad to H Sohail, Broad goes around the wicket to get the ball into the batsman and make him play. Sohail plays the ball down with soft hands and guides in between the gully and slip fielder for two. |
| 13.2 : S Broad to Sohail, Too wide for the batsman and he shoulders it to the keeper. |
| 13.3 : S Broad to Sohail, Beautifully done by Broad. Angles the ball in and takes it away from Sohail. This is full and just outside off stump and Sohail is lucky not to get anything on it. |
| 13.4 : S Broad to Sohail, Four Leg Byes! Over correction from the bowler this time. Bowls it back of a length, angling into the body but the angle takes it down the leg side. Clips Sohail's thigh pad and rushes to the fine leg boundary. |
| 13.5 : S Broad to Sohail, Sohail is not going for the Wider balls. Leaves it for the keeper. |
| 13.6 : S Broad to Sohail, Once again, short of a length and too wide to interest Sohail. |
| 14.1 : M Wood to Ali, Back of a length ball around off, Ali hops and defends it with a straight bat. |
| 14.2 : M Wood to Ali, On a length this time but the line is way outside off. Ali plants his front foot across and allows it through. |
| 14.3 : M Wood to Ali, Outside off, left alone. |
| 14.4 : M Wood to Ali, Once again this one is well outside off, Azhar watches it sail through to the keeper. |
| 14.5 : M Wood to Ali, Wood needs to make him play which he is not doing at the moment. Wide outside off and Azhar lets it go. |
| 14.6 : M Wood to Ali, Similar delivery, Ali leaves it for the fifth time in a row. Another maiden for Wood. |
| Ben Stokes is introduced into the attack. Can he strike before the end of today's play? |
| 15.1 : Ben Stokes to Sohail, Stokes goes around the wicket straight away. He brings the first one is, on goodish length and the ball thuds into Sohail's pads. |
| 15.2 : Ben Stokes to Sohail, Full and on the leg stump, Sohail clips it towards deep mid-wicket for two. |
| 15.3 : Ben Stokes to Sohail, Full, outside the off stump and the batsman tries to play it from his crease but misses. This has been the pattern from Sohail. |
| 15.4 : Ben Stokes to Sohail, Squares him up a little with a full length delivery, on the leg stump, with the seam angling towards the first slip. |
| 15.5 : Ben Stokes to Sohail, Gets the outside half of the bat and scampers for a single. |
| 15.6 : Ben Stokes to Ali, Flicks the ball off his pads and keeps the strike for the next over. |
| 16.1 : M Wood to Ali, Nicely bowled! Shortish delivery around off, rising on Ali. He gets into an awkward position and fends it off towards point. |
| 16.2 : M Wood to Ali, Hangs back to the good length ball and punches it to the off side. |
| 16.3 : M Wood to Ali, In the corridor of uncertainty, holding its line. Azhar remains circumspect in his approach. |
| 16.4 : M Wood to Ali, Nervy! Wood goes wider of the crease and angles this in substantially on a fullish length. Hits Ali's bat hard and his bottom hand comes off in the process. Manages to block it somehow. |
| 16.5 : M Wood to Ali, Peach! Angling in initially and then shaping away late to induce a false stroke from Ali and he gets foxed. His teammates clap for Wood. He is looking in good rhythm. |
| 16.6 : M Wood to Ali, Shortish delivery, Azhar sits under the bumper. |
| 17.1 : Ben Stokes to Sohail, Straying on the hips, tucked through square leg for a single. |
| 17.2 : Ben Stokes to Ali, The batsman chooses to leave the ball outside his off stump. |
| 17.3 : Ben Stokes to Ali, Stokes runs in hard and bowls an effort ball. Ali makes use of the depth of the crease to stonewall it. |
| 17.4 : Ben Stokes to Ali, This one is well outside off, Ali is in no mood to go for any expansive strokes and leaves it alone. |
| 17.5 : Ben Stokes to Ali, FOUR! Well played! Full length ball outside off, Ali crouches a bit and squirts it away past the slip region to find the third man fence. it is important for the opener to score runs as well. Going into a shell can prove to be fatal at times. |
| 17.6 : Ben Stokes to Ali, In the avenue of apprehension, no real movement on this occasion. The opener lets it through. |
| 18.1 : M Wood to Sohail, Defends the good length delivery nicely as the ball rolls to the gully fielder. |
| 18.2 : M Wood to Sohail, Same length, just outside the off stump and Sohail puts down his front foot and punches the ball towards mid on. |
| 18.3 : M Wood to Sohail, Touch fuller and on to his pads and Sohail flicks it in front of square leg for a single. |
| Joe Root is coming under the lid at short leg. Expect some short stuff from Wood. |
| 18.4 : M Wood to Ali, Touch shot, in the corridor of uncertainty for the batsman. Ali gets behind it nicely and defends it with hard hands towards the short cover fielder. |
| 18.5 : M Wood to Sohail, Angled in, on goodish length and crashes on to the back foot of Sohail. He was trying to defend it from the crease but misses the ball. Appeal from the bowler and the fielder but umpire nods. The replay also suggest that the ball was going over the stumps. |
| 18.6 : M Wood to H Sohail, Put down! Stokes had spilled, what otherwise would have been an easy catch for the second slip. |
| 19.1 : Ben Stokes to Ali, Fullish delivery, angling in, Ali clips it towards square leg. |
| 19.2 : Ben Stokes to Ali, Length ball this time, Azhar covers the line and pushes it to covers. |
| 19.3 : Ben Stokes to Ali, Dug in short, Ali ducks underneath it. |
| 19.4 : Ben Stokes to Ali, The batsman drives this through the covers. |
| 19.5 : Ben Stokes to Ali, In the air... but safe! Stokes hits the deck hard and angles it on middle and leg. Ali hops and is early into his clip shot. Ends up getting an edge which falls short of the bowler. |
| 19.6 : Ben Stokes to Ali, Back of a length outside off, dealt from the back foot nicely. |
| 20.1 : M Wood to Sohail, Short of a length ball around leg stump, tucked past square leg for a single. |
| 0.0 : Short leg is in again. |
| 20.2 : M Wood to Ali, That is nasty! Shortish delivery, climbing on Ali. He gets into an uncomfortable position as he tries to work it away but is hit on the bottom hand. Shakes his hand in pain and takes some time to gather himself. Seems to be alright. |
| 20.3 : M Wood to Ali, The batsman chooses to leave the ball outside his off stump. |
| 20.4 : M Wood to Ali, Back of a length delivery, defended solidly off the back foot. |
| 20.5 : M Wood to Ali, Fuller length ball, Ali taps it past the point fielder and comes back for a couple. |
| 20.6 : M Wood to Ali, Brilliant fielding! Saved a certain boundary there. Overpitched outside off, Ali drills it towards covers where Broad dives to his left to make a great stop. |
| The debutant, Dominic Bess, to roll his arm over now. He is a promising off spinner. Let's see how he fares at the biggest stage. |
| 21.1 : D Bess to Sohail, Good start from the debutant! Bowls this on a flat trajectory around off, coming in with the arm. Sohail is a bit late but does well to block it. |
| 21.2 : D Bess to Sohail, Gives this one more air, Sohail prods forward in defense. |
| 21.3 : D Bess to Sohail, Bess has found a good rhythm. Bowls a quicker one and gets it to turn away, cut towards backward point. |
| 21.4 : D Bess to Sohail, Fuller in length outside off, played with an open bat face towards the same region. |
| 21.5 : D Bess to H Sohail, Tossed up generously outside off, driven hard towards covers where the fielder makes a good stop. |
| 21.6 : D Bess to Sohail, FOUR! Good shot! A bit short this time, spinning away. Sohail rocks back and cuts it through covers. He has hit that well and gets the desired result. A decent start for Bess though. |
| Ben Stokes will bowl the last over of the day. He dropped a catch a few moments back. Can he provide a breakthrough for his side? |
| 22.1 : Ben Stokes to Ali, Short and into the body of Ali. He plays it down with soft hands. |
| 22.2 : Ben Stokes to Ali, Ali leaves it alone for the keeper. |
| 22.3 : Ben Stokes to Ali, On a good length and outside the off stump from Stokes. Ali tries to guide the ball through the gap between gully and the slip cordon but finds the fielder. |
| Leg slip comes into position. England on the attack. |
| 22.4 : Ben Stokes to Ali, Ali lets the wide delivery go. He has been cautious about these kind of deliveries and leaves it nicely as he has been doing all through this evening. |
| 22.5 : Ben Stokes to Ali, Short of a length, angling in. Ali initially wants to play it across but at the last moment, he bails out. Gets hit around the thigh pad. |
| 22.6 : Ben Stokes to Ali, Shortish delivery and it is well-directed as well, trying to induce a false stroke from Ali. However, he stays composed and keeps it out. THAT'S STUMPS ON DAY 1! |
| An excellent start to the Test series for Pakistan. The visitors dominated the proceedings for a major part of the day and the final session was no different. They snared the remaining five England wickets quite cheaply and ensured they restricted the home team to a small total. Mohammad Abbas and Hasan Ali were the destroyers-in-chief. Both picked four wickets apiece, while the rest of the pacers supported them really well. |
| In reply, Pakistan lost Imam-ul-Haq cheaply but despite that, they ended the day on a high. Thanks to a steady unbeaten 38-run partnership between Azhar Ali and Haris Sohail. Both the batsmen were troubled regularly by the English pacers but they kept their wickets intact and ensured Pakistan finished the day on top. England had an opportunity to break the stand but Stokes messed it up by dropping a catch of Sohail at the fag end of the day. |
| Earlier, the Pakistan bowlers picked wickets regularly. However, despite all the carnage at the other end, Cook produced a good innings under pressure. The southpaw scored his 56th Test fifty and stitched a couple of important partnerships. First with Bairstow and then with Stokes. All his efforts though went in vain as the lower order batsmen just failed to make any substantial contributions. That has pushed them on the back foot and Pakistan now only trail by 134 runs. England need to make ear |
| ... Day 2, Session 1 ... |
| Welcome to Day 2 of the first Test at Lord's. Pakistan bossed the proceedings yesterday and they have their noses ahead at this juncture. However, they will have to bat well from here on to ensure they stay ahead in the game. The visitors trail by 134 runs and still have a lot of wickets in hand. They will look to keep the scoreboard ticking and play resolute cricket. |
| England, on the other hand, will be hoping to pick up a few wickets quickly to keep the traveling team in check. Their go-to bowlers, Anderson and Broad bowled well yesterday without any success but we all know how dangerous they can be in helpful conditions. The all-important morning session coming up in a while, stay tuned! |
| We are all set to get rolling. Azhar Ali and Haris Sohail will resume their innings. For England, the experienced, Stuart Broad has the ball. He will start the proceedings. He has four slip in position and all will be waiting for that outside edge. |
| 23.1 : S Broad to Sohail, Bowls a length delivery from around the wicket. Haris covers his stumps and decides to leave that one all alone. Decent start from the bowler and the batsman. |
| 23.2 : S Broad to Sohail, Fuller length ball and makes the batsman play. Haris drives but mistimes it to the right of mid off. |
| 23.3 : S Broad to Sohail, Play and a miss! Beauty from Broad, he decides to keep it full and it moves away late after pitching. The left-hander looks to play the drive but doesn't move his feet. The ball whizzes past the outside edge of the bat. |
| 23.4 : S Broad to Sohail, Squirts it in the gap on the off side and they steal a single. First run of the morning for Haris and Pakistan. |
| 23.5 : S Broad to Ali, Attacks the stumps, the ball keeps touch low. Ali looks to defend that but gets it off the inner half to square leg. They scamper back for the second run. |
| 23.6 : S Broad to Ali, This one shapes away a little from the batsman, who plays inside the line of it and gets an outside edge which rolls past the gully fielder. A couple more added to the total. Five runs from the opening over of the day. |
| James Anderson gets the ball. England will need a big effort from the veteran. |
| 24.1 : J Anderson to Sohail, Fuller length ball on the leg stump line, swings away a little, the batsman judges it nicely and lets it through. |
| 24.2 : J Anderson to Sohail, Pulls his length back a little, gently patted to mid on by Sohail. |
| 24.3 : J Anderson to Sohail, Shortish delivery from Anderson, not sure why he pulled his length back after the first ball. Haris defends it with utmost ease. |
| Change of angle. Anderson decides to go around the wicket to bowl the final three balls of this over. |
| 24.4 : J Anderson to Sohail, Angling in from outside off, still pretty wide and the batsman leaves it alone. |
| 24.5 : J Anderson to Sohail, Second leave on the trot from Haris Sohail. Anderson not making him play enough. |
| 24.6 : J Anderson to Sohail, Tentative poke from Haris! Maybe, a lapse in concentration for the southpaw! Short of a length ball outside off, swings ever so slightly, the batsman feels for it and nearly gets an outside edge. |
| 25.1 : S Broad to Ali, Much fuller from Broad, Azhar defends it back to him. |
| 25.2 : S Broad to Ali, Outswinger from Broad outside off, well-judged by Ali. |
| 25.3 : S Broad to Ali, Flicks it to mid-wicket. Stoneman rushes to his left and mops it. |
| 25.4 : S Broad to Ali, Ohhh... nearly goes through the defenses of Ali. Bowls from wide of the crease and slanting it at good pace. Ali hangs back and gets an inside edge on the back leg. |
| 25.5 : S Broad to Ali, Ali plays a drive through the line to the left of mid off. A couple more to Ali. |
| 25.6 : S Broad to Ali, Extra bounce, Broad bowls a seam up delivery and it takes off nicely. Equally well-played by Ali. He leaves it on a length. |
| 26.1 : J Anderson to Sohail, FOUR! Easy pickings for Sohail, he gets a freebie on the pads and makes the most of it. Fuller length ball on the leg stump line, whips it away to the mid-wicket boundary. The fielder in the deep had no chance of stopping it. |
| 0.0 : The fielder is placed at the same position now where the boundary was hit. |
| 26.2 : J Anderson to Sohail, The batsman shoulders arms to let that one through. |
| 26.3 : J Anderson to Sohail, Anderson trying to stay away from the pads of Haris after that boundary. Bowls a wide delivery and left alone by the batsman. |
| 26.4 : J Anderson to Sohail, Plays a drive but his bat turned at the point of contact. Mistimes it to the cover region. |
| 26.5 : J Anderson to Sohail, Bowls it full on middle and leg, the batsman shuffles across his stumps and flicks it to mid on. |
| 26.6 : J Anderson to Sohail, The batsman rocks onto the backfoot and punches the ball. |
| 27.1 : S Broad to Ali, In the corridor outside off, Ali covers his stumps and lets it through. Both the Pakistan batsmen have looked pretty assured this morning. |
| 27.2 : S Broad to Ali, Slightly shorter on this occasion. No shot offered by the batsman. |
| 27.3 : S Broad to Ali, Defended off the back foot by the batsman. |
| 27.4 : S Broad to Ali, Easily left another by Azhar Ali. |
| 27.5 : S Broad to Ali, And again, Broad bowls a delivery outside off and left alone by Ali |
| 27.6 : S Broad to Ali, Offers the dead bat and defends it solidly. |
| Ian Botham speaks about the importance of getting the seam position right. He says having a stabled wrists is very important. For the moment, he feels the English pacers are rolling it on the right side a little which is the way to bowl the leg cutters. |
| 28.1 : J Anderson to Sohail, FOUR! Brings up the 50-run partnership with a lovely cover drive. Fuller length ball from Anderson, fractionally too full and Haris creams it through the covers. No point chasing that one as it is timed really well by Sohail. |
| 28.2 : J Anderson to Sohail, FOUR! 8 runs from 2 balls, Naseer on air feels Anderson will be one angry man on that field. He dishes out another half volley on the stumps, the southpaw drills it nicely past his partner. The ball races away to the long on fence. Back-t0-back boundaries for Pakistan, they are quickly eating up on the deficit. |
| 28.3 : J Anderson to Sohail, OUCH... that should have hurt! A delivery from Anderson that climbs sharply into the batsman, who stands tall and tries to fend that but gets hit under the armpit. |
| 28.4 : J Anderson to Sohail, This one is down the leg side and the batsman leaves it alone. |
| 28.5 : J Anderson to Sohail, Sits on the back foot and pushes it gently to the cover region. |
| 28.6 : J Anderson to Sohail, Moral victory for the bowler. He comes back strongly after getting hit for couple of boundaries at the start of the over. Keeps it slightly short but still manages to extract some movement. Haris plays down the wrong line and he is beaten. |
| 29.1 : S Broad to Ali, FOUR! Drilled! Fantastic square drive from Azhar Ali. Another pitched up delivery from Broad and the opener crashes it through cover-point for a boundary. |
| 29.2 : S Broad to Ali, Overcorrection from Broad, attacks the pads and Ali flicks it through square leg for a couple. |
| 29.3 : S Broad to Ali, Angling in from outside off and zeroing on the stumps, Ali gets right behind it and defends. |
| 29.4 : S Broad to Ali, Straightens a little and keeps low as well. Ali had no answers to it. He is beaten all ends up. |
| 29.5 : S Broad to Ali, Tries to lure him into playing a false shot with a half volley closer to the off stump. Ali doesn't get tempted and leaves another one. |
| 29.6 : S Broad to Ali, Jaffa! That is simply unplayable! Sometimes as a batsman you need to admire those and forget it quickly. It angles in from outside off, Ali looks to play for the initial angle but he is squared up by the late away movement. Bairstow too had troubles collecting that one. |
| Mark Wood comes into the attack. He bowled a frugal spell yesterday but today it will be all about breaking this partnership. |
| 30.1 : M Wood to Sohail, Starts with a poor delivery on the pads, Haris flicks it to deep backward square leg for a single. These two have added 26 runs this morning without breaking a sweat. |
| 30.2 : M Wood to Ali, Beaten! There is an appeal for caught behind but the umpire is unmoved! Root at extra cover is pretty sure about that one but his bowler isn't convinced and doesn't even bother to appeal. Fuller length ball, nips away a little, whizzing past the outside edge of the bat. |
| 30.3 : M Wood to Ali, The batsman does well to stand tall and play that short delivery. |
| 30.4 : M Wood to Ali, Stays on the back foot and dabs it on the leg side. |
| 30.5 : M Wood to Ali, FOUR! Exquisite placement from Azhar Ali, timing isn't bad either. Fullish delivery outside off, he leans into the drive, gets to the pitch of it and creams it through the covers. Right from the coaching manuals. |
| 30.6 : M Wood to Ali, The batsman shoulders arms to let that one through. |
| 31.1 : S Broad to Sohail, Another one goes past the outside edge, just no luck for the hosts at the moment. Length ball, angling in and moves away a bit, Haris plays down the wrong line and misses it. |
| 31.2 : S Broad to Sohail, Well wide and this time left alone with ease. |
| The umpires are looking at the ball, both of them check the shape of it. They are happy it and we will continue with the same ball. |
| 31.3 : S Broad to Sohail, Intentionally played by Sohail, he opens the face of the bat a little and guides it through point. The fielder chases it and pulls it inside the ropes and saves a run for his side. |
| 31.4 : S Broad to Ali, Slipping it down the leg side, Ali hopes to glance that but he fails to make contact with the ball. |
| 31.5 : S Broad to Ali, On middle and leg, Ali moves across and pushes it to mid on. |
| 31.6 : S Broad to Ali, Innocuous delivery outside off and Ali shoulders arms to it. |
| Root has a word with his bowler. Before the start of his second over of the day. |
| 32.1 : M Wood to Sohail, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the backfoot. |
| 32.2 : M Wood to Sohail, Sohail leaves it alone to the keeper. |
| Once again, Rod Tucker is checking the shape of the ball. It passes the test and we will continue with the same cherry. |
| 32.3 : M Wood to Sohail, Tests the pitch with a shortish delivery, the batsman ducks under it at the very last moment. |
| 32.4 : M Wood to Sohail, Short of a length ball outside off, no shot offered by Sohail. |
| 32.5 : M Wood to Sohail, Drop and run! Excellent running! Good length ball, defends it with the soft hands on the off side. Calls for a quick single and he gets a positive response from his partner. |
| 32.6 : M Wood to Ali, Wood jumps to the edge of the crease and delivers a fullish delivery outside off, Ali goes for the drive, but mistimes it to the left of the bowler. |
| 33.1 : S Broad to Sohail, Shortish delivery, Haris stands tall and gets on top of the bounce. Nicely fends it square on to the off side. |
| 33.2 : S Broad to Sohail, Serves in a delivery outside off, easy leave for the left-hander. Bairstow collects the ball throws it to his mate at second slip. |
| 33.3 : S Broad to Sohail, Much closer to the off stump, well left by Sohail. He is pretty sure where his off stump is and leaves it with confidence. |
| 33.4 : S Broad to Sohail, Broad makes him play this one, Sohail defends it with the straight bat. |
| 33.5 : S Broad to Sohail, Again, he ends up bowling a delivery slightly wide and the batsman is happy to leave those. |
| 33.6 : S Broad to Sohail, Slipping in from outside off, the batsman covers the line of it and defends it to the cover region. |
| 34.1 : M Wood to Ali, Good shot for no run. Fuller length ball in the zone and Ali drills it to cover-point. Buttler stationed there blocks it safely. |
| 34.2 : M Wood to Ali, The batsman chooses to leave the ball outside his off stump. |
| 34.3 : M Wood to Ali, Delivers a fuller length ball, angling in, Ali goes across and drives it back to the bowler. |
| Wood wants a man under the lid. Joe Root calls for the helmet and walks to the forward short leg position. Expect some short stuff. |
| 34.4 : M Wood to Ali, Bowls from around the wicket, short on the stumps, Ali stays back and defends it solidly down the track. |
| 34.5 : M Wood to Ali, Nicely directed, short and into the ribcage, Ali jumps inside the line of it and decides to leave it. Bairstow misses another one, he just isn't having a neat day behind the wickets. |
| 34.6 : M Wood to Ali, Ali hops across and fends it. He manages to keep it down and plays it towards the man at leg gully. |
| Ben Stokes comes into the attack. England still searching for their first wicket of the morning, will Stokes be the man? |
| 35.1 : Ben Stokes to Sohail, Closer to the off stump and an assured leave from Haris Sohail. The keeper collects the ball near his hips. |
| 35.2 : Ben Stokes to Sohail, In the same channel, coming in slightly with the angle. Sohail lets it go. It isn't too far from the off peg, but eventually we will term it as a good leave. |
| 35.3 : Ben Stokes to Sohail, Another inswinger from Stokes, the left-hander is late on it and gets hit on the front leg. |
| 35.4 : Ben Stokes to Sohail, Good length ball on the off stump line, stays back and defends it back to Stokes. |
| 35.5 : Ben Stokes to Sohail, Outside off and the batsman shoulders arms to it. This has been an exhibition of Test match batting from these two Pakistan batsmen. |
| Ali not happy with some movement over the sightscreen. |
| 35.6 : Ben Stokes to Sohail, Dishes out a fullish delivery on off, nips in a little, Sohail plays away from his body and gets it off the inner half to mid-wicket. |
| 36.1 : M Wood to Ali, Slipping down the leg side, Ali moves across to flick that but fails to make contact. |
| 36.2 : M Wood to Ali, Short, angling across the batsman, who drops his hands and lets it go. |
| Wood decides to go over the wicket. So, is that it? No more short balls? Ali has won this little battle. |
| 36.3 : M Wood to Ali, Ali stands tall and punches it nicely through the covers. He collects a couple more. |
| 36.4 : M Wood to Ali, Nearly a wicket! In the air... but it goes right between short leg and leg gully. It is a seam up delivery and hurries Ali. He goes across to flick it, but gets an inside edge on the thigh pad. Luckily for him and Pakistan, it balloons in the gap. Single taken. |
| 36.5 : M Wood to H Sohail, Shortish delivery, and the batsman does well to avoid that one. |
| 36.6 : M Wood to Sohail, OUT! GONE!!! Important wicket for England, they toiled really hard throughout this morning session and finally they get lucky. On numerous occasions they went past the outside edge of the bat of both the batsmen but this time, Wood finds the outside edge and taken safely by the keeper. It is a special delivery from Wood, he slants it in from outside off and the batsman plays for the angle but doesn't count for the away swing. The ball moves away a little and catches the |
| Drinks break. Meanwhile, Asad Shafiq is the new man in. |
| 37.1 : Ben Stokes to Ali, On a length outside off, Ali points his bat skywards to let it be. |
| 37.2 : Ben Stokes to Ali, In the channel outside off, Azhar doesn't fiddle with that one. |
| 37.3 : Ben Stokes to Ali, In the corridor of uncertainty, shaping in a touch. Azhar has his off stump covered and lets it go safely. |
| 37.4 : Ben Stokes to Ali, FOUR! Sublime! That was played with a lot of authority. Back of a length ball outside off, Azhar stands tall and punches it through point. The timing is spot on and the ball whistles away to the fence. |
| 37.5 : Ben Stokes to Ali, The batsman rocks onto the back foot and punches the ball. |
| 37.6 : Ben Stokes to Ali, In the channel outside off, the opener remains circumspect in approach. |
| 38.1 : M Wood to Shafiq, Fuller in length outside off, Shafiq plants his front foot across and allows it through. |
| 38.2 : M Wood to Shafiq, The batsman shoulders arms to let that one through. |
| 38.3 : M Wood to Shafiq, Trying to induce a false stroke from Shafiq but he doesn't flirt with it. |
| 38.4 : M Wood to Shafiq, Good running! Length ball around off, Asad taps it towards covers and scurries across to the other end. |
| 38.5 : M Wood to Ali, Back of a length ball around the hips, Ali hops and tucks it to deep backward square leg for a run. |
| 38.6 : M Wood to A Shafiq, Close shave! That was poor judgement from the middle-order batsman. If Bess was able to hit the bull's eye, it would have been a brilliant run out. Back of a length ball, Shafiq taps it towards point and sets off. Bess attacks the ball, picks it up and releases an underarm throw as Ali dives to get in. The shy misses and a run is safely collected. The replays show that if that hit, Azhar was a goner. |
| 39.1 : Ben Stokes to Shafiq, On good length, swinging away from the batsman. Shafiq gets his bat up and lets it go. |
| 39.2 : Ben Stokes to Shafiq, Angling into the body of Shafiq, of shortish length. He punches it down with intent. |
| 39.3 : Ben Stokes to Shafiq, FOUR! Same length as the previous ball, the line is bit wide this time. Shafiq guides it nicely through the sgully and slip cordon and collects four. |
| 39.4 : Ben Stokes to Shafiq, WOW!! Swing from Stokes on goodish length. Shafiq tries to play but the swing took it away from him. |
| 39.5 : Ben Stokes to A Shafiq, Shafiz gets on his knee, punches the ball through the covers from his front foot and scampers for three. Stokes bowls it full and just wide of the off stump. |
| 39.6 : Ben Stokes to Ali, Shafiq watches it go past and gets his bat up. |
| 40.1 : M Wood to Shafiq, Dug in short, Asad ducks under it. |
| 40.2 : M Wood to Shafiq, On the hips this time, Shafiq plays a nicely controlled flick through square leg. A run taken. |
| 40.3 : M Wood to A Ali, Around the wicket, angling away from the batsman. Ali pushes it to short cover fielder. |
| 40.4 : M Wood to Ali, On his hips and Ali plays the short ball down with soft hands between leg gully and short leg. |
| 40.5 : M Wood to Ali, Same line, bit shorter than the previous one and Ali gets on his toes and keeps it down. |
| 40.6 : M Wood to Shafiq, Shafiq gets down the pitch, punches the full ball to the mid-on region and gets two. |
| 41.1 : Ben Stokes to A Ali, FOUR! Short and wide and Ali gets on top and places it nicely through the backward point region top collect another boundary. |
| 41.2 : Ben Stokes to Ali, Short ball again, batman stays tall to guide the ball towards mid-on. |
| 41.3 : Ben Stokes to Shafiq, Leaves the ball for the keeper. |
| 41.4 : Ben Stokes to Shafiq, This time Stokes gets close to the the batsman, angling it in and seaming it away from the batsman. Shafiq tries to fend the ball and misses. Close!! |
| 41.5 : Ben Stokes to Shafiq, Down the leg side, angling in. Batsman tries to tickle it fine but doesn't get the connection. |
| 41.6 : Ben Stokes to Shafiq, Beaten again! This corridor of uncertainty is troubling Shafiq a bit. Bowled on good length, coming in with the angle and swinging away after pitching. Shafiq goes for the forward defense and misses again. |
| Dominic Bess to roll his arm over for the first time this morning. |
| 42.1 : D Bess to Ali, Tossed up delivery, spinning in, Ali leans forward and defends it solidly beside the pitch on the leg side. |
| 42.2 : D Bess to Ali, Ooh! Slow through the air in line of the stumps, Ali uses his feet and tries to work it away but only manages to get a leading edge. The ball is in the air for a while but falls well short of the mid off fielder. |
| 42.3 : D Bess to Ali, Stays within the crease this time and tucks it to mid-wicket. |
| 42.4 : D Bess to Ali, Things are happening at the moment! If Stokes did not anticipate and go to his left, there was a chance for a catch. Tossed up generously around off, Asad goes for a half-hearted paddle sweep but only manages to get a top edge. The ball brushes his shoulder, lobs past the keeper and falls down safely. Shafiq sets off for a run and Ali is also interested for a while but the latter does well to get back to his crease and avoids the confusion. |
| 42.5 : D Bess to Ali, The batsman flicks it away with a wristy shot. They pick up a single. |
| 42.6 : D Bess to Shafiq, Floated outside off, Asad plays it with an open bat face past the slip fielder. A run taken. |
| 43.1 : Ben Stokes to Shafiq, On length and wide, swinging away from the batsman, who leaves it for the keeper. |
| 43.2 : Ben Stokes to Shafiq, Comes in with the angle this time. Fullish ball and Shafiq gets behind the delivery nicely. |
| 43.3 : Ben Stokes to Shafiq, Shafiq gets forward and gets bat on the good length delivery. |
| 43.4 : Ben Stokes to A Shafiq, Nice looking cover drive from the front foot but straight to the fielder. |
| 43.5 : Ben Stokes to Shafiq, FOUR! Over correction from Stokes this time and gives a freebie down the leg side to Shafiq, who deosn't misses the opportunity and gets it fine for four. |
| 43.6 : Ben Stokes to Shafiq, Defends it right behind the delivery. |
| 44.1 : D Bess to Ali, Loopy, outside the off stump and getting the batsman forward. |
| 44.2 : D Bess to Ali, Copy paste from the last one but touch fuller. Ali punches it back to the bowler. |
| 44.3 : D Bess to Ali, Ali goes back and defends the ball right in front of his eyes. |
| 44.4 : D Bess to Ali, 28th Test fifty for Azhar Ali! He has shown grit and determination to stay in the middle, even after getting beaten so many times. He taps this one through backward point to collect a single. His teammates get up on their feet in the dressing room and cheer for him. |
| 44.5 : D Bess to Shafiq, Flicks the ball with his wrists towards backward square leg and changes strike. |
| 44.6 : D Bess to Ali, Fuller and flighted by Bess and Ali pushes it to the mid-wicket. |
| Anderson is back on. Can England's premier bowler strike before Lunch? |
| 45.1 : J Anderson to Shafiq, Very full, touch slow and Shafiq defends it. |
| 45.2 : J Anderson to Shafiq, Full, just outside the off stump and Shafiq plants his foot down and defends it with intent. |
| 45.3 : J Anderson to Shafiq, Angling into the batsman and straightens after pitching. Shafiq goes for the square dive but gets a leading edge, just in front of empty point region. |
| 45.4 : J Anderson to Ali, Defends the straight, length ball. |
| 45.5 : J Anderson to Ali, OUT! Gone!! Azhar Ali is walking back. Huge blow for Pakistan. He was looking set to play the longer innings but he is undone by the straighter one. Anderson uses his experience, bowls it on length, keeping it on the stumps and Ali misses the ball altogether. Huge appeal from the bowler and umpire has signaled out. Replays suggests that the ball would have clipped the top of middle. Can England open flood doors now?? |
| Babar Azam comes out to bat. |
| 45.6 : J Anderson to Azam, Batsman plays it from the front foot into the ground. |
| 46.1 : D Bess to Shafiq, Tossed up delivery around off, patted gently towards the bowler. |
| 46.2 : D Bess to A Shafiq, Shafiq is nimble on his feet and strokes it towards mid on for a brisk single. |
| 46.3 : D Bess to Azam, Fullish delivery around off, stays a touch low. Azam gets low and defends it stoutly. |
| A fielder at point now. |
| 46.4 : D Bess to Azam, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 46.5 : D Bess to Azam, Flighted ball outside off, Azam plays it softly towards point. |
| 46.6 : D Bess to Azam, Flatter delivery on leg stump, defended with the angle to short leg. |
| 47.1 : J Anderson to A Shafiq, Fullish length from Anderson and Shafiq gets forward to dish it out. |
| 47.2 : J Anderson to Shafiq, Same length, gets closer to the stumps. Batsman plays the ball with bat and pad close to each other. |
| 47.3 : J Anderson to Shafiq, Punches it with straight bat to the offside. |
| 47.4 : J Anderson to Shafiq, Sluggish from Shafiq. This was angled in and straightened after pitching. Shafiq gets the a thick outside edge and ball rushes to the 4th slip. |
| 47.5 : J Anderson to Shafiq, Shows the full face and block it. |
| 47.6 : J Anderson to Shafiq, Getting close to Shafiq's edge but not the result he wants. |
| 48.1 : D Bess to Azam, Floated ball on middle, defended solidly off the front foot. |
| 48.2 : D Bess to Azam, FOUR! Nice way to get off the mark! Shortish delivery, spinning in, Azam rocks back and cuts it through backward point to find the fence. |
| 48.3 : D Bess to Azam, Punched off the back foot by the batsman. |
| 48.4 : D Bess to Azam, Floated delivery, Azam comes forward and defends it calmly. |
| 48.5 : D Bess to Azam, Controlled shot! Spinning in with some extra bounce, Azam adjusts in his crease and places it to the left of backward point. Wood chases it down and saves a run for his side. |
| 48.6 : D Bess to Shafiq, Loopy delivery on middle, Shafiq presses forward and dead-bats it. |
| 49.1 : J Anderson to Azam, Pitches on a good length and doesn't change its direction. Azam gets his bat on to it. |
| 49.2 : J Anderson to Azam, Short of a length, into his body and Azam plays it down with soft hands. The ball rolls towards mid-wicket and the batsmen scamper for a single. |
| 49.3 : J Anderson to Shafiq, Plants his foot down and defends it back. |
| 49.4 : J Anderson to Shafiq, He is not interested in playing the wide deliveries. Lets this one go as well. |
| 49.5 : J Anderson to Shafiq, Quick single! Gets on his toes and guides the short delivery to the point region for a single. |
| 49.6 : J Anderson to Azam, Anderson bowls it full, on the middle and leg stump and Azam presents a straight bat to keep it out. |
| Last over before Lunch. |
| 50.1 : D Bess to Shafiq, SIX! Bang! He is oozing with confidence at the moment. Tossed up delivery, on the off stump and Shafiq slog sweeps it over the mid-wicket boundary for a maximum. |
| 50.2 : D Bess to Shafiq, Another flighted one, outside the off stump and the batsman punches it to the cover fielder. |
| 50.3 : D Bess to Shafiq, Third flighted delivery in a row. He is not afraid to toss it up. Shafiq comes on the front foot and keeps it out. |
| Bess switches his angle to around the wicket. |
| 50.4 : D Bess to Shafiq, Loopy, on the off stump. The batsman drives it to mid on and takes a single. |
| 50.5 : D Bess to Azam, Tad short, on the same line and Azam blocks it off the back foot. |
| 50.6 : D Bess to B Azam, Azam drives the fuller ball towards mid on. That's Lunch on Day 2! |
| Another session pocketed by the visitors. Pakistan have played with a lot of positivity in this session and have mustered 86 runs. Azhar Ali and Haris Sohail continued from where they left off yesterday. The duo scored runs at a good clip. However, England broke the 75-run union just before the drinks break. England did try to pull things back with some disciplined bowling. |
| Azhar Ali though looked good at the other end and Asad Shafiq gave him good support. The former registered his 28th fifty in Test cricket but was soon removed by the wily old fox, James Anderson. However, Shafiq and Babar Azam ensured no further damage was inflicted before the interval. Pakistan trail by just 48 runs and they will be hoping to wipe it quickly in the next session. In contrast, England will be aiming to pick as many wickets as possible to comeback into the contest. Join us back in |
| ... Day 2, Session 2 ... |
| We are back for the second session. Babar Azam and Asad Shafiq to continue their innings. James Anderson to bowl first up after Lunch. Here we go... |
| 51.1 : J Anderson to Shafiq, Full length delivery attacking the stumps, Shafiq presses forward and blocks it. |
| 51.2 : J Anderson to A Shafiq, Well bowled! Pitched right up in the probing channel around off, Shafiq is tentative in his foot movement and gets a thick outside edge which falls short of Malan at second slip. |
| 51.3 : J Anderson to Shafiq, In the channel around off, Asad comes forward and blocks it stoutly. |
| 51.4 : J Anderson to Shafiq, Length delivery outside off, moving away, Shafiq plants his front foot across to allow it through. |
| 51.5 : J Anderson to Shafiq, Similar ball outside off, Asad Shafiq allows it to go through. |
| 51.6 : J Anderson to Shafiq, FOUR! Beautiful! Back of a length ball outside off, Shafiq waits for it and punches it sweetly with a straight bat. Gets it through the point region and the fielder hares after it but only comes second best. That stroke was pleasing to the eyes. |
| Stuart Broad comes back for a bowl. Change of ends for him as well as it was for Anderson earlier. |
| 52.1 : S Broad to Azam, Starts with a widish delivery. Azam lets it go. |
| 52.2 : S Broad to Azam, Gets it a bit fuller and Azam is right behind it. |
| 52.3 : S Broad to Azam, Azam shoulders the length ball for the keeper. |
| 52.4 : S Broad to Azam, Keeping it in the corridor of uncertainty to Azam. Bowling it just outside the off stump, on a fullish length. Azam presents a solid defense. |
| 52.5 : S Broad to Azam, Goes forward and presents the full face of the bat. |
| 52.6 : S Broad to Azam, Touch shorter and it straightens after pitching. Azam plays for the line but the ball goes past the edge. |
| 53.1 : J Anderson to Shafiq, On the stumps, tad fuller and Shafiq plays it with soft hands towards the square leg region to collect a single. |
| 53.2 : J Anderson to Azam, Same kind of a delivery to Azam from Anderson. Solid defense from the batsman. |
| 53.3 : J Anderson to Azam, Azam taps it to the left of the bowler and calls for a quick single. He gets a positive response from his senior partner and off they go. Anderson heads to the ball but fails to prevent the single. Excellent running! |
| 53.4 : J Anderson to Shafiq, Bowls towards the fourth stump, on a length. Azam goes forward and towards the ball to block it. |
| 53.5 : J Anderson to Shafiq, Gets his hands up and plays it safe with the wide delivery. |
| 53.6 : J Anderson to Shafiq, Nope! Shafiq is intent on letting the wide balls go. |
| 54.1 : S Broad to Azam, In the probing zone outside off, on a length, Azam points his bat skywards and sees it through safely. |
| 54.2 : S Broad to Azam, A touch fuller this time, trying to induce a false stroke. However, Azam is circumspect in his approach and doesn't flirt with danger. |
| 54.3 : S Broad to Azam, Nicely played! Fullish delivery, tailing in, Babar is nicely balanced in his crease and tucks it to the leg side for a single. |
| 54.4 : S Broad to Shafiq, Good game awareness! Straying on the pads, Shafiq plays it with soft hands through square leg and calls for a couple. There are open vacant spaces in that area. By the time the fielder from the deep comes in and throws it back, the batsmen take a couple. Aggressive running and nicely judged as well. |
| 54.5 : S Broad to Shafiq, The batsman has flicked the ball off his pads. |
| 54.6 : S Broad to Shafiq, Angling in substantially, Asad puts his head down and defends it calmly. |
| 55.1 : J Anderson to Azam, Dropped by Alastair Cook! Difficult chance but a chance nonetheless. Anderson goes wide off the crease, brings the ball into the batsman, on fullish length and makes Shafiq play at it. He goes for the drive half halfheartedly and edges the ball, only to be reprieved by Cook in first slip. Anderson is getting into his groove slowly but surely. Batsman takes two as the ball goes towards the 3rd man region. |
| 0.0 : Nasser Hussain makes a good point on air. He is all praises for Asad Shafiq. He mentions that the middle-order batsman stays nicely balanced when he is defending as well as when he is attacking. Nice head position, high elbow, the front foot towards the ball, these all contribute to a batsman staying nicely balanced. Perhaps, England should take a leaf out of Shafiq's book. Yesterday, they did not apply themselves at all and were found wanting against the moving ball. They need to correct their |
| 55.2 : J Anderson to Azam, Gets behind the length delivery and punches it towards the cover. |
| 55.3 : J Anderson to Azam, This was bowled bit short, just outside the off stump and Azam gets on his toes and punches beautifully to the cover boundary for second boundary of the over. |
| 55.4 : J Anderson to Azam, Driven from the front foot by the batsman towards the mid on region. |
| 55.5 : J Anderson to Azam, Azam leaves it for the keeper. |
| 55.6 : J Anderson to Azam, Stays away from the wider balls and lets it go past. |
| Alastair Cook is off the field. He might have hurt his finger. Let us hope it is nothing serious. |
| 56.1 : S Broad to Shafiq, Fullish delivery, angling in, Shafiq presses forward and blocks it right under his eyes. |
| 56.2 : S Broad to Shafiq, Tailing in substantially, Shafiq is caught in the crease a bit. He keeps it out with minimal foot movement. |
| 56.3 : S Broad to Shafiq, Broad continues to bring the ball in. This time Shafiq shuffles a touch and dead-bats it. |
| 56.4 : S Broad to Shafiq, Similar delivery, moving in, Shafiq keeps his bat and pad close to deal with it. |
| 56.5 : S Broad to Shafiq, This time he goes fuller and is attacking the stumps as well, Asad stays well balanced and pushes it to mid on. |
| 56.6 : S Broad to Shafiq, Erring in line on this occasion. On the pads, worked to long leg for a run. |
| 57.1 : J Anderson to A Shafiq, FOUR! Streaky runs! Anderson steams in and hits the deck hard. The ball moves away a touch as well as Shafiq attempts a flashy cut shot with minimal foot movement. He ends up getting an outside edge that flies over the gully fielder and races to the fence. |
| 57.2 : J Anderson to Shafiq, Full delivery on middle, tucked in front of square leg for a single. |
| 57.3 : J Anderson to Azam, Anderson goes full again and allows the ball to swing away. Azam covers his off stump and makes a good leave. |
| 57.4 : J Anderson to Azam, Anderson has his tail up at the moment! He bowls a length ball on middle and leg and also generates a bit of inswing. Azam is opened up in his stance and tries to work it across but only manages to get a leading edge which falls down safely in the cover region. |
| 57.5 : J Anderson to Azam, In the channel outside off, left alone. |
| 57.6 : J Anderson to Azam, FOUR! Crisp! Everything was right about that shot. Back of a length ball outside off, Azam rises on his toes and punches it sweetly through the point region. Has stroked it nicely and gets the desired result. 9 from the over. |
| 58.1 : Broad to Shafiq, A highly optimistic shout has been turned down! Length ball on middle and leg, Shafiq tries to clip it away but misses to get hit on the thigh pad. Bairstow is interested but it was too high. |
| 58.2 : S Broad to Shafiq, Close shave! Shafiq taps this one towards point and takes off. Bess attacks the ball, dives forward and has a shy at the striker's end but misses. Had that hit, it would have been a close call. The fielder was off balanced and as a result, he couldn't hit the target. |
| 58.3 : S Broad to Azam, Down the leg side, Azam looks to clip it but misses. |
| 58.4 : S Broad to Azam, OHHH!!! It's swinging in the air and off the pitch for Broad. He bowls it full and on the stumps. The batsman manages to get his bat down in time, gets a single from the mid wicket region. |
| 58.5 : S Broad to Shafiq, Gets behind the straighter ball and punches it down. |
| 58.6 : S Broad to Shafiq, Blocks it with soft hands as the ball rolls towards backward point. |
| 59.1 : J Anderson to Azam, Good length ball outside off, shaping away a touch. Babar plants his front foot across to let it go. |
| 59.2 : J Anderson to Azam, Anderson goes fuller this time and bowls it on middle and leg, Babar covers the line and pushes it to mid on. |
| 59.3 : J Anderson to Azam, Anderson keeps it outside the off stump, just short of a length and Azam plays it to the third man fielder and scampers through for a single. |
| 59.4 : J Anderson to Shafiq, Four! Nicely done by Shafiq. Anderson errs in line and bowls it down the leg side. Shafiq gets inside the line and tickles it fine for a boundary. |
| 59.5 : J Anderson to Shafiq, Plays the ball with soft hands and guides it towards point. |
| 59.6 : J Anderson to Shafiq, Inswinger from Anderson, on a full length and the batsman drives it through covers. Two runs added to the total. |
| Mark Wood is back on. |
| 60.1 : M Wood to Azam, No run. |
| 60.2 : M Wood to Azam, Bowls it outside the off, on a full length and Azam drive it nicely between the cover and mid off fielder to take one. |
| The England players are convinced and feel that they have got their man. The decision is regarding a caught behind appeal. However, it seems that Shafiq did not get any bat on that one. Let us find out. |
| 60.3 : M Wood to Shafiq, A review wasted by England! Short of length, coming in with the angle and straightens just a little. Shafiq tries to gets his bat up to let the ball but it kisses his elbow on its way to the keeper. Everyone from the England camp appeals in unison but umpire is not interested. Skipper has a discussion with Bairstow and decides to take the review, which cleared their doubts instantly. |
| 60.4 : M Wood to Shafiq, Fuller on off stump and the batsman pushes it to the off side. |
| 60.5 : M Wood to Shafiq, Too straight from Wood. Shafiq drives it to the mid on region. |
| 60.6 : M Wood to Shafiq, Wide of the off stump and Shafiq sways from the line of the delivery. |
| Dominic Bess returns for a bowl. |
| 61.1 : D Bess to Azam, Quick and fullish on off, Azam presses forward and blocks it out. |
| 61.2 : D Bess to Azam, Tossed up delivery, Azam puts a nice stride forward and blocks it confidently. |
| 61.3 : D Bess to Azam, On a flatter trajectory this time, defended solidly off the back foot. |
| 61.4 : D Bess to Azam, Similar delivery, Babar punches it to covers and shouts no regarding the single. |
| 61.5 : D Bess to Azam, Bess continues to bowl short and Azam lines him up. He punches it to deep cover and picks up a couple of runs for doing so. |
| 61.6 : D Bess to Azam, Drifting in towards the pads, tapped gently beside the pitch on the leg side. |
| 62.1 : M Wood to Shafiq, In the zone outside off, left alone. |
| 62.2 : M Wood to Shafiq, On a length this time, angling in initially but then straightens a bit after landing. Shafiq moves across in his crease and clips it towards mid-wicket. |
| 62.3 : M Wood to Shafiq, Similar length delivery, shaping in, Shafiq covers the line and defends it stoutly. |
| 62.4 : M Wood to Shafiq, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 62.5 : M Wood to Shafiq, FOUR! 20th Test fifty for Asad Shafiq! He has played confidently from the word go and has made a substantial contribution. Smart shot from him. Shortish ball outside off, Shafiq hops and flashes hard at it. Gets it off the outer half over the slip cordon and the ball races to the fence. Can he convert his half century into a big one? |
| 62.6 : M Wood to Shafiq, Fullish delivery, tapped to mid on. |
| 63.1 : D Bess to Azam, What a ripper! Tossed up delivery around off and it drifts away after pitching. Azam is completely foxed and the ball flies past his edge. |
| 63.2 : D Bess to Azam, Flatter this time, kept out with a straight bat. |
| 63.3 : D Bess to Azam, Loopy, on the off stump. The batsman gets across and drives it towards the cover region for one. Broad runs hard from the sweeper cover region and stops the second. |
| 63.4 : D Bess to Shafiq, Slower, on the off stump and turned away to the leg side. |
| 63.5 : D Bess to Shafiq, Comes down the wicket to defend the ball. |
| 63.6 : D Bess to Shafiq, Bess bowls it full, just outside the off stump. The batsman drives firmly to mid on. |
| 64.1 : M Wood to Azam, On good length, slightly fuller and Azam block it from the crease. |
| 64.2 : M Wood to Azam, Hits the deck hard, gets extra bounce and hits Azam on his thigh pad. |
| 64.3 : M Wood to Azam, FOUR! Genius! Wood bowls it on a shortish length, just outside the off stump. Azam guides between the gully and slip cordon. This was nicely done by the batsman as he looks to score some runs. The ball rushes to the boundary and four runs signaled by the umpire. |
| 64.4 : M Wood to Azam, Pushed it to the backward region from his crease, Azam wanted a single but his partner refused |
| 64.5 : M Wood to Azam, Goes around the wicket. Bowls it half way down the pitch and looses the line. The batsman leaves it. |
| 64.6 : M Wood to Azam, Well bowled and equally well played. This was bowled into his rib cage and Azam keeps it down towards the short leg. |
| Time for Drinks. Pakistan continue to play sensible cricket and are in pole position at the moment. They will be aiming to take game further away from the home side. From the perspective of England, they need quick wickets to make an impact. |
| 65.1 : D Bess to A Shafiq, Fullish delivery, driven off the front foot to mid on. |
| 65.2 : D Bess to Shafiq, Uses his feet and works it to the same region for a brisk single. |
| 65.3 : D Bess to Azam, Tossed up outside off, pushed off the front foot to covers. |
| 65.4 : D Bess to Azam, FOUR! Hammered! Hit that with a lot of authority. Floated outside off, Azam skips down the track and hammers it past the left side of the bowler to pick up a boundary. |
| 65.5 : D Bess to Azam, Flighted on the off stump and Azam gets forward and keeps it out. |
| 65.6 : D Bess to Azam, Flatter this time from Bess, on the middle stump. Azam plays it with soft hands. |
| 66.1 : M Wood to Shafiq, Wide from the crease, around the wicket, angled away from the right-hander and almost gets the desired result. Shafiq plays it with soft yet the ball flies past the gully fielder. Batsmen scamper for one. |
| 66.2 : M Wood to Azam, Back of a length, into the Azam's body and he plays it down nicely. |
| 66.3 : M Wood to Azam, Down the leg side and Azam lets it go. |
| 66.4 : M Wood to Azam, Closes the bat too early and gets a leading edge but safe as the ball goes towards the cover region. |
| 66.5 : M Wood to Azam, Back of a length, on his pads and Azam misses to make contact with the ball. |
| 66.6 : M Wood to B Azam, English bowlers are bowling according to a plan now. They are bowling it short and into the body of the batsmen. Azam gets on his toes and gets enough to get towards the fine leg fielder for a single. |
| 67.1 : D Bess to Azam, Tossed up around off, Azam leans ahead and blocks it with a straight bat. |
| 67.2 : D Bess to Azam, Azam is nimble on his feet and knocks it to mid on. The batsmen are interested in a run but eventually decide against it. |
| 67.3 : D Bess to Azam, Tight off stump line, Babar presses forward in defense. |
| 67.4 : D Bess to Azam, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 67.5 : D Bess to Azam, There is a big cheer for Broad! Outside off, driven nicely against the spin through covers. The pacer has a lot of work to do as he runs across to his right. Cuts it off and saves a run for his side. The spectators like it. |
| 67.6 : D Bess to Shafiq, Full on middle and leg, played defensively to the right side of the bowler. |
| 68.1 : M Wood to B Azam, Short delivery on middle and leg, Azam was perhaps expecting it and pulls it to deep backward square leg for a single. |
| 68.2 : M Wood to Shafiq, Defended off the back foot by the batsman. |
| 68.3 : M Wood to Shafiq, Another bumper, Shafiq ducks under it and evades it. |
| 68.4 : M Wood to Shafiq, In the air... but in the gap as well! Tries to tuck him up with a shortish ball around the rib-cage area. Shafiq hops and works it through the gap between short leg and leg gully. A single taken. |
| Stokes goes a bit squarer at the leg gully region. |
| 68.5 : M Wood to Azam, Short ball outside off, Azam sways away from the line of the delivery and drops his wrists to let it go. |
| 68.6 : M Wood to Azam, FOUR! Nicely done! Wood once again bowls this one short, Azam swivels across and pulls it with aplomb. Beats the man at fine leg and gets the desired result. The plan of hitting the deck hard backfired in this over. |
| 69.1 : D Bess to Shafiq, Flatter, full and on the leg stump. The batsman paddle sweeps it behind and gets three. |
| 69.2 : D Bess to Azam, Comes to the front foot and defends it to the off side. |
| 69.3 : D Bess to B Azam, Stays back in his crease and pulls the shortish ball towards square leg get a single. |
| 69.4 : D Bess to Shafiq, Bess bowls it on the stumps with a flatter trajectory. Shafiq shuffles to the leg side but fails to make contact. |
| 69.5 : D Bess to Shafiq, Comes on the front foot and drive the full ball towards the long on fielder for another single. |
| 69.6 : D Bess to Azam, Flatter and straighter, the batsman nudges the ball to the leg side. |
| Ben Stokes returns for a burst. |
| 70.1 : Ben Stokes to Shafiq, On a good length, touch fuller. The batsman gets a stride in and leaves the ball. |
| 70.2 : Ben Stokes to Shafiq, Shafiq ignores the wide ball. |
| 70.3 : Ben Stokes to Shafiq, Again comes on the front foot and lets the ball go. |
| 70.4 : Ben Stokes to Shafiq, Stokes bowls this on a back of length, outside the off stump and Shafiq fends at the rising ball. It hits the outside edge and flies to the Butler at gully, who leaps towards his left and gets one hand on the ball but couldn't catch it. Dawid Malan, goes to his right to get the spilled catch in his grasps but he was too late. A lucky break for Shafiq. |
| 70.5 : Ben Stokes to Shafiq, OUT! Beauty!! Stokes has pulled a rabbit out of the hat. He goes with the same shorter length and gets it right on the grill of the hopping Shafiq. He bowled this one with some venom and the ball kept rising on the batsman. Shafiq tries to play it away, one hand comes off the bat but couldn't get the ball down and an easy catch for Malan. Shafiq is gone. An important partnership broken. |
| The skipper, Sarfraz Ahmed, walks out to bat. |
| 70.6 : Ben Stokes to Ahmed, 1 run. |
| 71.1 : D Bess to Ahmed, Floated around off, Ahmed takes a stride forward and strokes it towards mid on. He is a busy player and will be aiming to keep on rotating the strike. |
| 71.2 : D Bess to Ahmed, Around leg stump and this one bounces a touch more, Ahmed adjusts in his crease and works it towards fine leg for a single. |
| 71.3 : D Bess to B Azam, Fuller this time, tapped to the man at silly mid on. |
| 71.4 : D Bess to Azam, Well bowled! The straighter one from Bess. Azam plays for the non-existent spin and an outside edge is induced which goes past the keeper towards third man. A couple taken. |
| 71.5 : D Bess to Azam, Spinning in sharply, Azam tries to flick it but gets it off the inner half through square leg. A single taken. |
| 71.6 : D Bess to Ahmed, Slow through the air, defended solidly off the front foot. |
| 72.1 : Ben Stokes to Azam, On a length outside off, holding its line. Azam is not interested in fiddling with it. |
| 72.2 : Ben Stokes to Azam, Stokes hits the deck hard on this occasion and bowls a good length ball, Azam keeps it out tentatively. |
| 72.3 : Ben Stokes to Azam, Outside off, left alone. |
| 72.4 : Ben Stokes to Azam, Bowled on a fuller length, wide from the crease and Azam watches it closes as it goes past to the keeper. |
| 72.5 : Ben Stokes to Azam, Hint of reverse from Stokes. Bowls it full, outside the off and Azam goes for a booming drive but misses. |
| 72.6 : Ben Stokes to Azam, And this one comes in! Stokes has his hands on his head. This was bowled on the same length and into the stumps. The batsman gets his bat down in time and gets a single. |
| 73.1 : D Bess to Azam, Comes on the front foot and blocks to the offside. |
| 73.2 : D Bess to Azam, Another delivery on the stumps and Azam gets forward and blocks it. |
| 73.3 : D Bess to Azam, at the stumps and Azam turns it to the leg side. |
| 73.4 : D Bess to Azam, Uses his feet to get to the pitch of the ball and gets his bat behind. |
| 73.5 : D Bess to Azam, Uses his feet to get to the pitch of the ball and gets his bat behind the delivery to block it. |
| 73.6 : D Bess to B Azam, FOUR! A ouch short from Bess, outside the off stump and Azam makes full use of it. He goes back in his crease and square cuts it for four towards the fine leg boundary. This also brings up his half century. He needs to convert this into a hundred for the sake of his team. |
| 74.1 : Ben Stokes to Ahmed, Fuller length ball, angling into the stumps, Ahmed crouches low and defends it solidly back to the bowler. Firm defensive push to start the over. |
| 74.2 : Ben Stokes to Ahmed, Another fullish delivery on middle and leg, the batsman moves across a little and flicks. Mistimes it to the mid-wicket region. |
| 74.3 : Ben Stokes to S Ahmed, Bangs it in short, angling down leg. That's too short from Stokes and it balloons over the batsman. That would have been a wide in the Limited overs cricket. |
| 74.4 : Ben Stokes to Ahmed, Sarfraz smashes the pull but finds the man at mid-wicket. Shortish delivery from Stokes, he spots it quickly and rocks on the back foot. Pulls it hard but can't find the gap. |
| 74.5 : Ben Stokes to Ahmed, Stays low in his stance as he dabs it on the off side. Another dot ball. |
| 74.6 : Ben Stokes to Ahmed, Poor delivery to end the over. Maiden over from Stokes but a harmless over. Shortish delivery, sliding down leg, the batsman bends down a little and leaves it all alone. |
| 75.1 : D Bess to Azam, Flighted, on the leg stump and Azam plays it down with soft hands. |
| 75.2 : D Bess to Azam, Goes around the wicket, flights it around the leg stump. Azam defends it well. |
| 75.3 : D Bess to Azam, Touch short from Bess. Azam gets on his knee to play it towards fine leg region and collects two. |
| 75.4 : D Bess to Azam, Flighted, on the leg stump. The batsman blocks it. |
| 75.5 : D Bess to Azam, Too full from Bess. Azam gets his bat down and defends it on the leg side. |
| 75.6 : D Bess to Azam, Another delivery in the same region. The batsman flicks to the mid wicket. |
| 76.1 : Ben Stokes to Ahmed, Length delivery angling in sharply, Ahmed gets low and taps it beside the pitch on the leg side to pick up a brisk single. |
| 76.2 : Ben Stokes to Azam, Fullish delivery on off, blocked with bat and pad close together. |
| 76.3 : Ben Stokes to Azam, FOUR! Poor delivery and duly punished! Short and there is a lot of room on offer, Azam stands tall and guides it elegantly past gully to find the fence. |
| 76.4 : Ben Stokes to Azam, The batsman defends it from within the crease. |
| 76.5 : Ben Stokes to Azam, Stokes is getting the ball to tail in sharply. Induces another inside edge off the bat that rolls towards fine leg. A single taken. |
| 76.6 : Ben Stokes to Ahmed, Full delivery attacking the stumps, Ahmed flicks it to deep mid-wicket for a single. |
| 77.1 : D Bess to Ahmed, FOUR! Clever! Floated, on the middle stump by the bowler and Ahmed goes down the pitch, guides it sweetly through the mid on and the mid-wicket fielder. It was nicely timed and placed by the skipper. A good start to the over. |
| 77.2 : D Bess to Ahmed, Fuller length ball in line of the stumps, driven back to the bowler. |
| 77.3 : D Bess to Ahmed, Pushes the flighted delivery back to the bowler. |
| 77.4 : D Bess to Ahmed, Blocks the fuller ball off the front foot. |
| 77.5 : D Bess to Ahmed, Touch short and faster in pace from Bess. The batsman goes deep in his crease to carve it out but misses the ball. |
| 77.6 : D Bess to Ahmed, Punches the ball towards cover and takes a single. |
| There is an intense discussion going on between the Englishmen. Joe Root decides to come under the lid at short leg. There are three men in the deep on the leg side. There is a catching third man in place as well. Expect some chin music. |
| 78.1 : Ben Stokes to Ahmed, Short, angled into the batsman. Ahmed ducks and lets it go. |
| 78.2 : Ben Stokes to Ahmed, Copy paste stuff from the batsman and the bowler. |
| 78.3 : Ben Stokes to Ahmed, On a good length, angling into the pads. The batsman flicks it towards the mid-wicket fielder. |
| 78.4 : Ben Stokes to Ahmed, Another short delivery, on the leg side and Ahmed gets his hands up and lets it go. |
| 78.5 : Ben Stokes to Ahmed, Drives off the front foot towards cover. |
| 78.6 : Ben Stokes to Ahmed, OUT! The short ball ploy has worked again for England! A poor bit of cricket from the Pakistan skipper and he pays the price for it. With Tea around the corner, there was no need to go for an ambitious shot. Stokes runs in hard and bowls a bouncer on middle and leg. This time it is pretty well-directed. Ahmed gets a bit low and goes for the pull shot but only manages to top edge it towards fine leg. Mark Wood stays calm near the ropes and pouches it safely. Stokes get |
| So, Stokes has done enough in this session to keep England interested. He bowled a lethal spell before the Tea interval and got a couple of important wickets for the hosts. However, the visitors still have the upper hand in the game. They must thank, Babar Azam and Asad Shafiq for it. Both the batsmen scored their respective fifties and kept the visiting team ahead in the game. |
| The duo added 84 runs for the fourth wicket and kept Pakistan in the ascendancy. Shafiq was looking good to get a big score in his 100th Test innings but a brute from Stokes ended his knock. Sarfraz then tried to stay ultra-positive in his approach but paid the price for it and gifted his wicket away just before the interval. England need someone to support Stokes and wrap the Pakistan innings quickly. While for Pakistan, it will be all about staying positive and extending their lead. Join us ba |
| ... Day 2, Session 3 ... |
| We are back for the final session. Good signs for England as the second new ball is around the corner. 34 overs are still left in the day. Can England bowl out Pakistan or will we see a composed batting display from the visitors? Promises to be an exciting passage of play. Babar Azam has been joined by Shadab Khan in the middle. Dominic Bess to bowl first up after Tea. |
| 79.1 : D Bess to Azam, Darts this delivery wide down the leg side, the batsman doesn't offer stroke to that one. |
| 79.2 : D Bess to Azam, Babar closes the face of the bat and works it wide of the man at leg slip. They take a single. |
| 79.3 : D Bess to Khan, Slider outside off, stays in his crease and dabs it on the off side. |
| 79.4 : D Bess to Khan, Offer no width to the batsman, who taps it wide of the man at short leg. |
| 79.5 : D Bess to Khan, The batsman has punched the ball off the backfoot. |
| 79.6 : D Bess to Khan, Pushes it back to the bowler. End of the over, a quick one from Bess. |
| The second new ball is due, will England take it? Yes. The home team has called for it straightaway. Surprise, surprise! Stokes has the new ball instead of Anderson. He bowled an exceptional spell before the break which is the reason why he is having the first go with the hard new cherry. |
| 80.1 : Ben Stokes to Azam, Short of a length ball on the stumps, Azam stands tall and fends it on the off side. |
| 80.2 : Ben Stokes to Azam, Good length ball outside off, Azam covers his off peg and decides to leave it. |
| 80.3 : Ben Stokes to Azam, Azam stands tall to that one and defends it solidly on the track. |
| 80.4 : Ben Stokes to B Azam, FOUR! Ohhh... the new ball nearly does the trick! Stokes bowls from wide of the crease, angling in and it swings away late. Babar looks to flick that but the ball goes off the outer half past gully. The ball races away to the third man fence. |
| 80.5 : Ben Stokes to Azam, Fuller length ball on the leg stump line, the batsman moves across and taps to mid-wicket. |
| 80.6 : Ben Stokes to Azam, Ends the over with a straightish delivery, Babar gets right behind it and blocks it on the track. |
| Stuart Broad will share the new ball. |
| 81.1 : S Broad to Khan, Beaten! He is on the money straightaway. Fuller length ball, hits the seam and wobbles away a little, Shadab plays down the wrong line and misses it. |
| 81.2 : S Broad to Khan, Flashes and flashes hard but fails to connect. He has a smile on his face, Shadab knows it is a poor shot. Shortish delivery outside off, sits back to cut that but can't get wood on it. |
| 81.3 : S Broad to Khan, Much better from Shadab, he needs to play like this more often. Gets a fuller length delivery on the stumps, the batsman defends it solidly. |
| 81.4 : S Broad to Khan, Safe run in the end! Shadab defends it wide of backward point and calls for a quick single. Bess is alert and he attacks the ball. Throws it off balance and misses the stumps. Single completed easily. The offie landed badly on his right shoulder and he seems to be in some pain. |
| 81.5 : S Broad to Azam, Did that kept low? Yes, it did. Babar did well to get his bat down in time and manages to put bat to ball. The ball hits the inside edge and rolls wide of the stumps. |
| 81.6 : S Broad to Azam, FOUR! Streaky, but they all count! With that boundary, Pakistan's lead is now over 50. Good length ball on the off stump line, Babar goes at it with the hard hands, gets a thick outside edge which flies wide of Stokes at third slip. No one at third man to stop that one. |
| 82.1 : Ben Stokes to Khan, Fullish in length from Stokes, the batsman defensively pushes it to the cover region. |
| 82.2 : Ben Stokes to Khan, Bowls it full on off, Shadab reluctantly comes on the front foot and guides it to point. |
| 82.3 : Ben Stokes to Khan, No,no,no! Not the shot you want to play at this stage! Shortish delivery outside off, moves away a little, Shadab goes feeling for it and nearly ends up edging it to the keeper. |
| 82.4 : Ben Stokes to Khan, FOUR! Brilliant shot, played a poor shot off the last ball but comes up with a stunner next ball. Gets a full pitch delivery on off, strides forward and creams it through to the covers for a boundary. |
| 82.5 : Ben Stokes to Khan, FOUR! Even better from Shadab, he is gaining in confidence! Drifting on the pads and he clips it nicely in front of square leg for another boundary. Back-to-back good shots from the leg spinner. |
| 82.6 : Ben Stokes to Khan, Plays a drive, only to find a man at mid off. |
| 83.1 : S Broad to Azam, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 83.2 : S Broad to Azam, On a length outside off, watchfully left alone by Babar Azam. |
| 83.3 : S Broad to Azam, Fullish delivery on the stumps, gets right behind it and blocks it on the track. He is treating each ball on its merit. |
| 83.4 : S Broad to Azam, Pearl! That's a ripper of a delivery and deserved a wicket. Lady luck still not shining on England. Bowls a fuller length ball on the off stump line and makes the batsman play at it. The ball swings away late and goes past the outside edge. |
| 83.5 : S Broad to Azam, The batsman lets the ball go outside his off stump. |
| 83.6 : S Broad to Azam, High elbow, nice stride forward, gets to the pitch of it and drills to mid off. Everything good about that shot, just that Babar failed to find the gap. |
| Ian Botham on air speaks about the wrist position of Broad. He says the pacer has improved a lot from 2017. Earlier, he used to end up angling it down the leg side. However, in this game Broad is getting it right and shaping the ball away regularly from the batsmen. |
| 84.1 : Ben Stokes to Khan, Stays on the back foot and slaps it to backward point. Single taken. |
| 84.2 : Ben Stokes to Azam, OUCH! Nasty delivery from Stokes, it rears up sharply and the batsman takes his eyes off it as he looks to duck under that. He completely misjudged the length and gets hit on the left wrist. |
| Babar is in some pain and the physio rushes out to the middle. Ice pack being applied on his wrists. Babar is not feeling right and he is going off the field. Oh dear! That's a big blow for Pakistan. The young lad was looking in ominous form but walks out retired hurt for 68. Pakistan would dearly want him to get fit quickly and bat again if needed. |
| Faheem Ashraf walks out to bat. |
| 84.3 : Ben Stokes to Ashraf, Away swinging delivery outside off, Faheem comes forward and powers it through the covers. Bess gives it a chase and pulls it inside the ropes, saves a run for his side. |
| 84.4 : Ben Stokes to Khan, Shadab moves inside the line of the delivery and tickles it to fine leg. Gets off strike with a single. 250 up for Pakistan. |
| 84.5 : Ben Stokes to Ashraf, Another nasty delivery from Stokes, short and angling into the rib-cage. Faheem just manages to tap it on the leg side. |
| 84.6 : Ben Stokes to Ashraf, Ends the over with a wayward delivery, full down the legside, the batsman looks to flick that but misses. |
| 85.1 : S Broad to Khan, Bowls it fuller outside off, the batsman lifts his bat and shoulders arms to it. |
| 85.2 : S Broad to Khan, FOUR! That's sumptuous from Shadab! Fullish delivery, gets forward to the pitch of it and plays a drive between cover and mid off. Teasing chase for Root and the ball eventually makes it to the fence. |
| 85.3 : S Broad to Khan, Fuller delivery, slanting in at pace, the batsman drives it back to the bowler. |
| 85.4 : S Broad to Khan, Bowls it full in line of the off stump, Shadab gets right behind it and blocks it near his front leg. |
| Floodlights have been switched on. |
| 85.5 : S Broad to Khan, The batsman shoulders arms to let that one through. |
| Appeal for an LBW and Rod Tucker is quick to raise his finger. Shadab doesn't even bother having a word with his partner, calls for a review straightaway. |
| 85.6 : Broad to Khan, NOT OUT! Good review from Shadab Khan, now we know why he didn't have a word with his partner. He knew he got an inside edge. Good length ball, angling in from outside off, Shadab gets hit on the thigh pad. The players go up in unison and the umpire was quick to upheld the appeal. However, the review system comes to the rescue of Pakistan. The Ultra Edge confirms there is an inside edge. Successful review for the visitors. |
| 86.1 : Ben Stokes to Ashraf, FOUR! Short of a length ball outside off, Ashraf sits back and slices it behind point. The ball races away to the boundary, these runs from the lower order batsmen will hurt England. |
| 86.2 : Ben Stokes to Ashraf, The batsman shoulders arms to let that one through. |
| 86.3 : Ben Stokes to Ashraf, Comes over the wicket and dishes out a fuller length ball on off, moves further away from the batsman, who plays a loose shot away from the body and misses it. |
| 86.4 : Ben Stokes to Ashraf, FOUR! Sits on the back foot and opens the face of the bat. He guides it using the pace of Stokes. The ball races past the diving Buttler at gully. Second boundary of the over. |
| 86.5 : Ben Stokes to Ashraf, Chops it to backward point for a single. Oh dear! There is an overthrow. Stokes can't collect the throw cleanly and deflects it wide of the man at mid-wicket. They steal another run. |
| 86.6 : Ben Stokes to Ashraf, Defended off the back foot by the batsman. |
| 87.1 : S Broad to Khan, Shadab moves across and taps it on the leg side. |
| 87.2 : S Broad to Khan, Lovely delivery, you need some luck to survive those! Fuller length ball, threatening to angle in but moves away at the last moment. Shadab looks to drive that but he is beaten all ends up. |
| 87.3 : S Broad to Khan, Four Leg byes! More agony for England. Drifting down the leg side, Shadab looks to flick that but misses it. The ball kisses the thigh pad and rolls away to the fine leg fence. |
| 87.4 : S Broad to Khan, Driven through mid off by the batsman. |
| 87.5 : S Broad to Khan, Another cracking nut from Broad, any other day with some more luck, he could have picked handful of wickets. Length ball, jags away after pitching, Shadab had no answers to it. |
| 87.6 : S Broad to Khan, Nipping back in sharply. Shadab is late on that one and gets hit on the pads. |
| James Anderson comes back for another spell. |
| 88.1 : J Anderson to Ashraf, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 88.2 : J Anderson to Ashraf, Slipping it well down the leg side, Faheem hopes to glance that but is unable to put bat to ball. |
| 88.3 : J Anderson to Ashraf, FOUR! Elegant cover drive! The left-handers are always a delight to watch! Faheem gets on the front foot, plays it through the line and on the up. Timing takes the ball to the cover boundary. |
| 88.4 : J Anderson to Ashraf, Widish delivery and Ashraf decides to leave it. |
| 88.5 : J Anderson to Ashraf, Fuller length ball on the stumps, stays in the crease and defends it on the off side. |
| 88.6 : J Anderson to Ashraf, No shot offered by the batsman. |
| 89.1 : S Broad to Khan, Good length ball on off, the batsman stands tall and pushes it to the left of the bowler. |
| 89.2 : S Broad to Khan, Fullish in length from Broad, Shadab comes forward and defends it solidly. |
| 89.3 : S Broad to Khan, FOUR! Widish delivery from Broad, Khan gets a massive stride forward but still doesn't get to the pitch of it. However, he goes through with the shot and drills it through cover-point for a boundary. |
| 89.4 : S Broad to Khan, Bowls a fullish delivery on the stumps and the batsman flicks it to mid on. |
| 89.5 : S Broad to Khan, Another pitched up delivery on off, the right-hander drives it down the track. |
| 89.6 : S Broad to Khan, Rushes the batsman with a skiddy delivery, Shadab looks to defend that but it goes off the inner half on the leg side. |
| 90.1 : J Anderson to Ashraf, Faheem reaches out and gently pushes it to the cover region. |
| 90.2 : J Anderson to Ashraf, Short ball, angling away from the batsman, who goes for the pull shot but the ball goes well over him. |
| 90.3 : J Anderson to Ashraf, Width outside off and Faheem chops it behind point to the deep for a brace. |
| 90.4 : J Anderson to Ashraf, Closes the face of the bat and knocks it on the leg side. They steal another quick single. So far, these two have added 33 runs for the 6th wicket. |
| 90.5 : J Anderson to Khan, Shortish delivery into the body, Shadab works it to deep square leg for another single. |
| 90.6 : J Anderson to Ashraf, On the up but finds the fielder at short extra cover. Fullish delivery and Faheem doesn't hold back. He plays a drive on the up. Can't find the gap. |
| 91.1 : S Broad to Khan, Shadab leans forward and crouches low as he dabs that one to the man at backward point. |
| 91.2 : S Broad to Khan, Shortish delivery, doesn't rise enough, Shadab goes for the pull but ends up mistiming it down the track. |
| 91.3 : S Broad to Khan, Bouncer! The batsman ducks in time to let that one go over him. |
| 91.4 : S Broad to Khan, A defensive stroke from Shadab Khan. |
| The news coming in, is that Babar Azam has not gone to the hospital for an X-ray. He is trying to guts it out with the help of the physio. |
| 91.5 : S Broad to Khan, Incoming delivery from Broad, catches the inner half of Shadab's bat and rolls on to the leg side. They take a single. |
| 91.6 : S Broad to Ashraf, FOUR! Gloves it, it isn't all that convincing from Ashraf, but a boundary nonetheless. Short ball, hurrying into the batsman who goes for the pull. Gloves it over the keeper for a boundary. With that, Pakistan's lead is now over 100. |
| Mark Wood is back into the attack. Root is having a word with his pacer regarding the field he wants. |
| 92.1 : M Wood to Khan, Short ball from Wood and the batsman does well to avoid it. |
| 92.2 : M Wood to Khan, Short of a length ball on off, the right-hander plays it on the up and hits it to the man at short extra cover. |
| 92.3 : M Wood to Khan, Did that stop on the batsman? It looks so from the reaction of Shadab Khan. He checks his shot and manages to hit it towards covers. Buttler takes it on the bounce. |
| 92.4 : M Wood to Khan, Played to the point region by the batsman. |
| 92.5 : M Wood to Khan, Widish delivery from Wood, Shadab doesn't play at it. |
| 92.6 : M Wood to Khan, Shadab aiming to work that but he gets a leading edge through the covers as the ball moves away a little. A couple more added to the total. |
| Change of ends for James Anderson. |
| 93.1 : J Anderson to Ashraf, Fuller length ball on off, the batsman presses on the front foot and pushes it gently on the off side. |
| 93.2 : J Anderson to Ashraf, Knocks it on to the leg side and calls for a quick single. He gets a positive response from his partner and off they go. |
| 93.3 : J Anderson to Khan, Fuller length ball outside off, a hint of away swing. Shadab defends it with the straight bat. |
| 93.4 : J Anderson to Khan, Too full from Anderson, Shadab walks across and flicks it to the right of Broad at mid on. A long chase for the lanky fast bowler who gives his best and keeps them down to three. |
| 93.5 : J Anderson to Ashraf, Angling across the stumps, the batsman is sure about his off stump and has no troubles leaving that one. |
| 93.6 : J Anderson to Ashraf, Good length ball outside off, Faheem is shaping to cut that but decides to leave it at the last minute. |
| Drinks break. Shadab Khan and Faheem Ashraf added useful runs against Ireland in the one-off Test. Once again, they are shaping up nicely. They have added 45 so far. England will be desperate to break this stand as quickly as possible. |
| 94.1 : M Wood to Khan, Length ball, angling in from outside off, Shadab stays back and defends it right under his eyes. |
| 94.2 : Wood to Khan, Massive appeal for caught behind but the umpire is unmoved! After a long chat with his players, Root decides not to challenge the decision. Short of a length ball, angling down leg, Shadab looks to glance that but he misses it. And the noise is of the ball brushing the thigh pad. |
| 94.3 : M Wood to Khan, Shadab goes for the pull, but ends up toe ending the pull between mid-wicket and mid on. Three more added to the total. |
| 94.4 : M Wood to F Ashraf, Faheem goes on the front foot and looks to drive that but gets an inside edge on the pads. |
| 94.5 : M Wood to Ashraf, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 94.6 : M Wood to Ashraf, FOUR! S-H-O-T! Pulled with extreme authority! Short ball with not a lot of venom on it. 86.4 mph. Faheem gets right on top of the bounce and pulls it away to the mid-wicket boundary. Brings up the 50-run stand in a grand style. |
| 95.1 : J Anderson to Khan, Dishes out a fullish delivery on the leg stump line, the batsman taps it on the leg side. |
| 95.2 : J Anderson to Khan, Pushes it back to the bowler. |
| 95.3 : J Anderson to Khan, Inward movement for Anderson, Shadab gets it off the inner half to mid-wicket. |
| 95.4 : J Anderson to Khan, Leg bye! Slipping it down leg, Shadab fails to put bat to ball. The ball hits the pads and rolls on the leg side. They steal a leg bye. |
| 95.5 : J Anderson to Ashraf, Dishes out a wide delivery outside off, the batsman mistimes the drive to the cover region. |
| 95.6 : J Anderson to F Ashraf, Well stopped by Buttler! Fuller length ball, angling across, Faheem gets a thick edge to gully, where Buttler dives full length to his left and saves a few runs for his side. |
| 96.1 : M Wood to Khan, Jaffa! Too good to get a wicket! Hits the seam and moves away sharply, the batsman is squared up by that one. |
| 96.2 : M Wood to S Khan, That ball has taken the inside edge onto the pads. |
| 96.3 : M Wood to S Khan, Shadab swivels across and pulls it away to deep square leg for a single. 300 up for Pakistan. |
| 96.4 : M Wood to Ashraf, Fuller length ball, driven straight back to Wood by Faheem. The bowler bends down quickly in his followthrough and gets a hand to it. |
| 96.5 : M Wood to Ashraf, FOUR! Oh boy! Confusion between the English fielders and a chance goes down! Length ball, angling in and shaping away after pitching, Faheem aimlessly jags at that one, he gets a thick edge. The wicket keeper doesn't got for the catch while Cook moves the other way initially. The latter is caught wrong-footed and in the end, he is late on the ball. Can't even get a hand to it. The ball races away to the third man fence. |
| 96.6 : M Wood to F Ashraf, FOUR! That is rubbing salt to the wounds of the English players! Shortish delivery, Faheem Ashraf sits on the back foot and dispatches it with disdain to the mid-wicket boundary. |
| 97.1 : J Anderson to S Khan, Shadab sits on the front foot and defends it solidly down the track. |
| 97.2 : J Anderson to S Khan, Dropped a dolly! Cook once again is the culprit! Shadab Khan is the beneficiary on this occasion! Much fuller from Anderson and it swings away quite nicely after pitching, the batsman hangs back and looks to punch that but gets a thick edge to Cook at first slip. He stays low and gets both the hands to it but the ball pops out and hits the ground. It is a regulation chance which the southpaw has missed. England have missed a couple of opportunities in a span of four d |
| 97.3 : J Anderson to Khan, Played to mid-wicket region by the batsman. |
| 97.4 : J Anderson to Khan, The batsman flicks it away with a wristy shot. |
| 97.5 : J Anderson to Khan, Dabs it to the point region. Direct hit from the fielder and the ball rolls away to deep square leg. They get the single eventually. |
| 97.6 : J Anderson to Ashraf, Touch wide from Anderson and the batsman doesn't play at it. |
| 98.1 : M Wood to Khan, That's a nasty one! Shortish ball aimed towards the body, Khan is caught in a tangle and somehow jams it out off the inner half of his bat and the ball falls in front of the short leg fielder. He needs to be careful. |
| 98.2 : M Wood to Khan, Good length ball angling across Shadab who stays composed and defends it calmly. |
| 98.3 : M Wood to S Khan, Trying to tuck the batsman with another short one but he is up to it. Pulls it away towards deep square leg for a couple. |
| 98.4 : M Wood to Khan, Wood hits the deck hard but it is too short, Khan evades it with ease. |
| 98.5 : M Wood to Khan, Wide! This is wayward from Wood! Goes for another bumper but it is down the leg side. Left alone by Khan. |
| M Wood to Khan, FOUR! Beautiful! Back of a length ball outside off, Khan stands tall and punches it crisply with the angle. Has timed it to perfection and the ball whistles away to the fence. |
| 98.6 : M Wood to Khan, Well played in the end! Around the hips this time, Shadab at the last moment works it away towards fine leg for a couple. |
| 99.1 : J Anderson to Ashraf, Length ball, attacking the stumps, the batsman gets right behind it and blocks it. |
| 99.2 : J Anderson to Ashraf, That one straightened a bit, Faheem hangs back and pushes it on the off side. |
| 99.3 : J Anderson to Ashraf, Plays with the angled bat and chops it to gully. Buttler dives to his left and makes another good stop. |
| 99.4 : J Anderson to Ashraf, OUT! Chopped on! Anderson strikes and he is fired up! Finally, England have got the important breakthrough. Good length ball on the off, nipping back in just a little. However, it did enough to induce the false stroke. Faheem hangs back in the crease as he looks to play that. A loose shot from the left-hander, he plays away from the body and gets a thick inside edge. The ball crashes into the wickets and the furniture is disturbed. |
| Mohammad Amir is the next man in. |
| 99.5 : Anderson to Amir, Fractionally high! Good delivery from Anderson. Good length ball, skids through at pace, Amir hangs back to defend that but gets an inside edge on the pads. Stifled appeal for an LBW but the umpire stays put. |
| 99.6 : J Anderson to Amir, Amir throws his bat at a wide delivery. He goes too hard at that one and mistimes it on the off side. |
| 100.1 : M Wood to Khan, FOUR! Wrong line from Wood and Shadab cashes on it. Slipping down leg and he glances it to fine leg. The fielder in the deep rushes to the ball, puts in the slide but fails to stop that cleanly. Poor effort from Stoneman. |
| 100.2 : M Wood to Khan, Pulls it firmly away to deep square leg. Gets off strike with a single. |
| 100.3 : M Wood to Amir, Fuller length ball, angling in from outside off, Amir goes back and defends it out. |
| 100.4 : M Wood to Amir, Zipping through at pace, Amir is late on it. He aims to play the drive but fails to make contact. |
| 100.5 : M Wood to Amir, Play and a miss! Amir once again looks to play the drive but is beaten by the pace of Wood. |
| 100.6 : M Wood to Amir, Fuller length ball on the stumps, Amir sits back and defends it on the leg side. |
| 101.1 : J Anderson to Khan, Good length ball outside off, played with an angled bat to the point region. |
| 101.2 : J Anderson to Khan, Much fuller this time, angling in, Khan presses forward and defends this one calmly. |
| 101.3 : J Anderson to Khan, Ouch.. that must hurt! Angling in sharply, Khan tries to fend it off but gets an inside edge near the box region. He is down on his haunches and is taking a bit of a breather. |
| 101.4 : J Anderson to Khan, Shortish ball outside off as expected, Shadab rises with the bounce and taps it towards covers. |
| 101.5 : J Anderson to Khan, On the hips, helped down to fine leg for a couple. |
| 101.6 : J Anderson to Khan, That's a ripper! Shaping in initially and straightening after hitting the seam. Khan pokes at it and is foxed. |
| Ben Stokes is back on. |
| 102.1 : Ben Stokes to Amir, Harmless ball well outside off, left alone. |
| 102.2 : Ben Stokes to Amir, Similar delivery outside off, Amir doesn't fiddle with it. |
| 102.3 : Ben Stokes to Amir, Full delivery on off, driven crisply to mid off. |
| 102.4 : Ben Stokes to Amir, Stokes goes wide of the crease and angles this one towards the pads, worked away towards fine leg for a run. |
| 102.5 : Ben Stokes to Khan, The batsman flicks it away with a wristy shot. They pick up a single. |
| 102.6 : Ben Stokes to Amir, Back of a length ball on middle and leg, Mohammad makes use of the depth of the crease and blocks it with authority. |
| 103.1 : J Anderson to Khan, On a length outside off, Shadab pushes it off the back foot towards covers. |
| 103.2 : J Anderson to Khan, Good fielding! Back of a length delivery outside off, Khan places it towards point where Bess dives to his right to make a good stop. Only a run taken. |
| 103.3 : J Anderson to Amir, That was a highly optimistic shout! On a length around leg stump, hurries into Amir who tries to keep it out but fails to do so and is hit on the thigh pad. Anderson is excited but the umpire cuts down his excitement soon. |
| 103.4 : J Anderson to Amir, Full length ball attacking the stumps, pushed off the front foot to mid on. |
| 103.5 : J Anderson to Amir, Hangs back to this one and plays it with an angled blade to the point region. |
| 103.6 : J Anderson to Amir, Almost, almost! Anderson bowls this one full and wide outside off, expecting the lower-order batsman to get carried away. He does so but the ball flies past the outside edge. |
| 104.1 : Ben Stokes to Khan, Well bowled! Stokes goes wide of the crease and bowls a length ball on middle. It straightens a touch after pitching and that squares Shadab up. He adjusts in his crease and manages to block it. |
| 104.2 : Ben Stokes to Khan, In the air... but safe! 2nd Test fifty for Shadab Khan! He also scored a half century against Ireland in his previous game and has once again impressed. He is a gutsy character. Short ball and it is well-directed, Khan goes for the pull shot by taking his eyes off the ball and ends up getting a top edge. Bairstow calls for it and is running towards his left. However, the ball lands in front of him and the batsmen take a couple. He was dropped earlier by Cook and has ma |
| 104.3 : Ben Stokes to Khan, The batsman has played it towards mid-wicket. Two runs added to the total. |
| 104.4 : Ben Stokes to Khan, Shortish delivery outside off, Khan mistimes his punch towards covers. |
| 104.5 : Ben Stokes to Khan, OUT! Stokes delivers again! He has been a silver lining in the last couple of dark days for England. He bowls an effort ball and angles it towards the leg stump. It is rising on Shadab and he is aware of the three men in the deep on the leg side. Hence, he doesn't go for the hook. He tries to help it away towards fine leg but only manages a top edge that goes behind. Bairstow moves to his left and accepts it gleefully. An enterprising knock from the young leggie comes |
| Hasan Ali comes out to bat. |
| 104.6 : Ben Stokes to Ali, Short ball, Ali ducks under it. |
| 105.1 : J Anderson to Amir, Fullish delivery on the stumps, Amir goes for the drive but mistimes it back to Anderson. |
| 105.2 : J Anderson to Amir, Pulls his length back a little and angles it away from the batsman, who fishes at that one and nearly gets an outside edge. |
| 105.3 : J Anderson to Amir, FOUR! Excellent shot from Amir! With that lead goes past 150. Drifting on the leg stump line, Amir hops across and flicks it with fine timing through square leg for a boundary. |
| 105.4 : J Anderson to Amir, Bottom edge, goes on the bounce to the keeper! Good length ball on off, Amir looks to punch that but gets the bottom edge as it keeps low. Bairstow dives to his left but fails to stop it. Cook at 1st slip does well to take pace off it. |
| 105.5 : Anderson to H Ali, OUT! Caught by Buttler at gully. England have picked up another wicket. Hasan Ali goes for a blob! Pakistan have lost their last three wickets fairly cheaply. Coming to the delivery - It is a short of a length ball, rearing up sharply at pace, Hasan Ali tries to ride the bounce but the ball kept gaining momentum and got big on him. The balls hits him on the gloves and it balloons to gully. Buttler leaps in the air, times his jump to perfection and takes a safe catch. F |
| Mohammad Abbas is the next batsman. |
| 105.6 : J Anderson to Abbas, Lovely delivery, full and shaping away, Abbas looks to defend that but misses it. |
| 106.1 : Ben Stokes to Amir, The batsman fails to put bat on ball. |
| 106.2 : Ben Stokes to Amir, Sits on the back foot and slaps it away to deep point for a single. |
| 106.3 : Ben Stokes to M Abbas, Dishes out a yorker outside off, the batsman digs it out. |
| 106.4 : Ben Stokes to Abbas, Shortish delivery on the leg stump line, Abbas goes back and fends it on the leg side. |
| 106.5 : Ben Stokes to Abbas, Swing his bat but fails to make contact with the ball. |
| 106.6 : Ben Stokes to Abbas, Hops across the stumps and taps it wide of the fielder at short leg. |
| 107.1 : J Anderson to Amir, Fuller length ball, angling across, Amir throws his bat at it but fails to connect. |
| 107.2 : J Anderson to M Amir, FOUR! Useful runs for Pakistan! A rising delivery from Anderson, Amir looks to punch that but the ball goes off the outer half past the gully fielder. The ball races away to the third man fence. |
| 107.3 : J Anderson to Amir, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 107.4 : J Anderson to Amir, Amir jumps on the back foot and defends it back to the bowler. |
| 107.5 : J Anderson to Amir, Uppish... just manages to get it past the mid off fielder! Amir stays back and powers the drive past his partner. Good chase from the English skipper, he pulls it inside the ropes and saves a run. |
| 107.6 : J Anderson to Abbas, Good length ball on the fifth stump channel, Abbas stays in his crease and dabs it on the off side. |
| 108.1 : Ben Stokes to Amir, Nasty nut from Stokes, Amir goes across aiming to fend that but the ball gets big on him and hits him on the gloves. |
| 108.2 : Ben Stokes to Amir, Amir stays back and defends it to the cover region. Looks for a run, never there. |
| 108.3 : Ben Stokes to Amir, Shortish delivery outside off, Amir backs away and lets it go. |
| 108.4 : Ben Stokes to Amir, Shortish delivery outside off, Amir jumps back and steers it down to third man for a single. |
| 108.5 : Ben Stokes to Abbas, Too good from Stokes! Almost a perfect delivery, bowls from wide of the crease, angling in and shaping away, as a batsman you can admire the ball and try to forget it. |
| 108.6 : Ben Stokes to Abbas, Spears in a fuller length ball to end his day with the ball. Abbas gets right behind it and blocks it down the track. |
| Last over of the day coming up. Dominic Bess has the ball in hand and he will be trying to pick up his first Test wicket. |
| 109.1 : D Bess to Amir, Faster one outside off, Amir goes right back and cuts it to the man at backward point. |
| 109.2 : D Bess to Amir, Loopy off break outside off, Amir comes out and plays a drive to the cover region. |
| 109.3 : D Bess to Amir, Pushes it quicker through the air, Amir blocks it down the track. |
| 109.4 : D Bess to Amir, FOUR! Short and wide and it got the treatment it deserved! Flatter ball outside off from Bess, Amir hangs back and square cuts it past the man at point. 350 up for Pakistan. |
| 109.5 : D Bess to Amir, Floated off break on off, the left-hander pushes it on the off side. |
| 109.6 : D Bess to Amir, Arm ball, sliding in from outside off, Amir sits back in his crease and defends it watchfully on the pitch. THAT'S STUMPS ON DAY 2! |
| Another day that has gone in favor of the visiting team. Pakistan batted with a lot of grit and determination. A good batting effort has seen them take a lead of 166 runs and they still have a couple of wickets in hand, provided Babar Azam is fit to bat again. In the final session, Faheem Ashraf and Shadab Khan joined hands and added 72 runs. Both made useful contributions but the latter one's was more decisive. Shadab scored his second fifty in Test matches. |
| England though fought back hard late in the day. Anderson and Stokes bowled their hearts out and gave their side something to cheer in the final stages of play. The all-rounder was particularly impressive with the ball and he led the charge for his side in the final two sessions. The home team made a mini comeback but the broader picture shows that the visitors are miles ahead in the game. Earlier, it was Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq and Babar Azam who scored their respective fifties and helped Pakist |
| Pakistan will look to extend their lead and try to get it close to 200. While for England, it will be all about picking up the remaining wickets quickly and then bat well in their second essay. Do join us back for Day 3 at 1100 Local (1000 GMT). Adios! |
| ... Day 3, Session 1 ... |
| Hello and welcome to Day 3 of the Test. It is said to be the moving day of the game but this contest has already moved rapidly in the favor of the visitors. Pakistan have a big first innings lead which they would look to capitalize on today. However, the traveling team has received a big jolt. Babar Azam has been ruled out of the remainder of the series. The scan revealed a fracture on the left hand of the middle-order batsman and he will need 4-6 weeks to recover. |
| For England, it will be all about batting well in their second innings but first they will need to pick up the final wicket of Pakistan without giving away too many runs. A tough day awaits the hosts, do stay tuned as we bring you all the action. |
| We are all set to get rolling... Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Abbas to resume their innings. For England, Mark Wood has the ball and will roll his arm over first up. |
| 110.1 : M Wood to Abbas, Wood starts with a length ball on the stumps, Abbas is up to the challenge. The lower-order batsman stands tall and confidently defends it back to the bowler. |
| 110.2 : M Wood to Abbas, Slightly fuller on this occasion from Wood, Abbas doesn't come forward enough and tries to drive that but ends up mistiming it to the cover region. |
| 110.3 : M Wood to Abbas, Short of a length ball, angling in at pace, Abbas has no answers to it. He gets rapped on the thigh pad. |
| 110.4 : M Wood to Abbas, Fuller length ball, angling in from outside off, Abbas goes on the back foot and defends it down the track. |
| 110.5 : M Wood to Abbas, Leg Bye! Errs in line, slipping it down the leg side, Abbas once again is late on it. He gets hit on the pads and the ball rolls wide of the man at short leg. They take a leg bye. First run of the morning. |
| 110.6 : M Wood to Amir, Slipping it well down the leg side, Amir looks to glance that but misses it. Bairstow rushes to his right and makes a good stop. Saves four runs for his side. |
| Stuart Broad comes from the nursery end. |
| 111.1 : S Broad to Abbas, Loose start from Broad, short of a length ball wide outside off, the batsman reaches out for it and slices it behind point. The fielder runs to his left and makes a good stop. |
| 111.2 : S Broad to Abbas, Four and a No Ball! Welcome runs for Pakistan. Shortish delivery, Abbas backs away and smashes it over mid on for a boundary. Broad overstepped on that occasion and the umpire was sharp to spot that. |
| S Broad to Abbas, Play and a miss! Fuller length ball on off, moves away a little, Abbas plays down the wrong line and misses it. |
| 111.3 : S Broad to M Abbas, Oh hellooo! Abbas backs away and tries to make room. He tries to heave that one across the line but gets an inside edge on the pads. |
| 111.4 : S Broad to Abbas, Bowls a fullish delivery on off and that swings away a little. The right-hander had no answers to it. |
| 111.5 : S Broad to Abbas, How did that not find the outside edge? A perfect delivery on the fifth stump channel and tails away a little, Abbas has a fiddle at that one and misses it. |
| 111.6 : S Broad to Abbas, Fuller delivery on the stumps, Abbas squirts it wide of the man at backward point. A dot ball to end the over. |
| 112.1 : M Wood to Amir, Angles in from outside off, Amir jumps back and defensively pushes it to mid on. |
| 112.2 : M Wood to Amir, Amir sits on the back foot and defends it with a straight bat. |
| 112.3 : M Wood to Amir, Fuller length ball on the stumps, the left-hander goes back and defends another one. So, that's three defensive strokes out of three. |
| 112.4 : M Wood to Amir, Replica of the previous ball. On the stumps and Amir blocks it. |
| 112.5 : M Wood to Amir, Pitched up delivery from Wood, Amir stays back and punches it to mid on but can't beat the man inside the circle. |
| 112.6 : M Wood to Amir, Forces it wide of the cover fielder and looks for a quick single. But seeing Anderson rushing to his right from mid on, they decide to abort the idea. |
| 113.1 : S Broad to Abbas, Broad bowls a length ball on the stumps, Abbas is compact in his defense. |
| 113.2 : S Broad to Abbas, Leg bye! Spraying it down the leg side, Abbas misses it and the ball goes off the thigh pad to fine leg. They take a leg bye and Amir gets back on strike. |
| 113.3 : S Broad to Amir, FOUR! SMASHED! Amir decides to cut loose. Fuller length ball on the stumps right in his arc and the left-hander slams it over Broad. The ball races away to the long on fence. |
| 113.4 : S Broad to Amir, Amir jumps back and drops it on the leg side. They steal a quick single. Excellent running. Six runs from the over already. |
| 113.5 : Broad to Abbas, Pushes it to cover-point. Amir wants the run but his partner says no. Direct hit at the bowler's end and the ball rolls on the leg side. They get the single eventually. |
| 113.6 : S Broad to Amir, Short ball and Amir attempts a pull shot but misses it. |
| 114.1 : M Wood to Abbas, Shortish delivery, the batsman keeps his hands low and sways away from the line of it. |
| 114.2 : M Wood to Abbas, Vicious delivery, short and zeroing into the batsman, who takes his eyes off it but manages to avoid it. |
| 114.3 : M Wood to Abbas, OUT! Off the gloves and taken by Bairstow! Wood picks up the final wicket and with that, Pakistan are bundled out for 363. They lead by 179 runs. It is a venomous nut from Wood which gets rid of Abbas. A short ball, rises awkwardly into the right-hander, who stands tall hoping to fend that away but the ball kisses the gloves and goes behind the wickets. Bairstow initially moves on the leg side but he is quick to dive to his right and takes a good low catch. |
| England will be relieved to have got the final wicket before the first 30 minutes. Pakistan, on the other hand, won't be all that disappointed. Abbas and Amir added 13 runs to their overnight total and have stretched their lead to 179 which is a massive lead and the home teal will have to bat really well to ensure they make Pakistan bat for the second time. |
| Coming to the Pakistan innings. As many as four batsmen scored fifties and it was a combined team effort which lifted their score past 350. England had a disappointing innings with the ball. They dropped too many catches which came back to haunt them dearly. However, it's a good day for batting and the home team will be hoping to make full use of it. Join us in a while for England's second innings. |
| 0.1 : M Amir to Cook, Amir starts with a length ball, moves away a little. Cook sits back and doesn't play at that one. A decent start from Amir. |
| 0.2 : M Amir to Cook, Similar delivery in the channel outside off, Cook decides to leave it. |
| 0.3 : M Amir to Cook, Shortish delivery outside off, Cook lifts his bat and shoulders arms to it. |
| 0.4 : M Amir to Cook, Goes wide of the crease and angles it in. The ball hits the pitch and moves away a little. Well left alone by the batsman. |
| 0.5 : M Amir to Cook, First run for England. Cook is off the mark with a quick single. Sits back and pushes it in the gap on the off side. They take a quick single. |
| 0.6 : M Amir to Stoneman, Widish delivery outside off, Stoneman is happy to leave that one all alone. |
| Mohammad Abbas will share the new ball. |
| 1.1 : M Abbas to Cook, Bowls a fullish delivery on the stumps, nips in a little. Cook pushes it to the mid on region. |
| 1.2 : M Abbas to Cook, Pitched up delivery on the stumps, the batsman moves across and plays a drive down the track. |
| 1.3 : M Abbas to Cook, Shortish delivery, dips in a little, the southpaw is late on it. He gets an inside edge on the back leg. |
| 1.4 : M Abbas to Cook, Plays a drive on the rise to mid off. Fakhar Zaman is the sub on the field in place of Babar Azam. |
| 1.5 : Abbas to Cook, OUT! A huge shout for an LBW and the umpire is quick to raise his finger. Cook turns around quickly and walks back to the pavilion. He doesn't even think about the referral even he knows he is a dead duck. Abbas bowls a fuller length ball which skids through after pitching and it hurries the batsman who lunges forward to defend that. He is late on the ball and gets hit below the knee roll. Pakistan have got the opening breakthrough pretty quickly. The Hawk Eye shows the ball |
| Joe Root is the next man in. |
| 1.6 : M Abbas to Root, Root goes on the back foot and shoulders arms to it. |
| 2.1 : M Amir to Stoneman, Spraying it down the leg side, Stoneman goes for the flick shot but misses it. |
| 2.2 : M Amir to Stoneman, Beaten! Corrects his line and bowls it in the channel outside off, moves away a little. Stoneman has no clue about it. |
| 2.3 : M Amir to Stoneman, Amir goes wide of the crease and bowls a full delivery, swings away a little, Stoneman gets a soft leading edge on the off side. |
| 2.4 : M Amir to Stoneman, An effort ball from Amir, rising delivery on off. Just that it is little wide and the batsman leaves it comfortably. |
| 2.5 : M Amir to Stoneman, Back of a length ball outside off, Stoneman goes back and lets it go. |
| 2.6 : M Amir to Stoneman, Defends that one off the front foot back to the bowler. |
| 3.1 : M Abbas to Root, Another fullish delivery on the stumps, Root hangs back and awkwardly pushes it towards the mid off region. |
| 3.2 : M Abbas to Root, Incoming delivery from Abbas, the batsman covers the line of it and defends. |
| 3.3 : M Abbas to Root, Fullish delivery outside off, Root covers his stumps and leaves it all alone. |
| 3.4 : M Abbas to Root, Quick single and with that Root opens his account. Defend it on the off side and off they go. |
| 3.5 : M Abbas to Stoneman, Angling away from the batsman, who doesn't even think about playing at it. |
| 3.6 : M Abbas to Stoneman, In the probing channel outside off, Stoneman covers his stumps and lets it through. |
| 4.1 : M Amir to Root, Four Leg Byes! Poor channel from Amir, on the leg stump line and swing in a little. Hits the pads of the batsman and rolls past the keeper. Four leg bye is the end result. |
| 4.2 : M Amir to Root, That one keeps low, angling acros the stumps. Root lets it go. The keeper takes it on the bounce. |
| 4.3 : M Amir to Root, The batsman shoulders arms to let that one through. |
| 4.4 : M Amir to Root, Cutter from Amir, angling away from the batsman, who thinks of playing at it but misses it by some distance. |
| 4.5 : M Amir to Root, Prodigious away movement for Amir, shortish in length and swings sharply, Root plays inside the line of it and misses by some margin. The keeper dives to his right to collect that one. |
| Root moves away at the last moment and stops Amir in his run up. |
| 4.6 : M Amir to Root, Good length ball on the leg stump line, Root tucks it away to deep square leg for a single. |
| 5.1 : M Abbas to Root, Play and a miss! Fuller in length on off, Root plays down the wrong line and misses it. |
| 5.2 : M Abbas to Root, Defended off the back foot by the batsman. |
| 5.3 : M Abbas to Root, Wrong line, Root glances it away to fine leg. Amir in the deep rushes to his right and flicks it inside the ropes. Saves couple of runs. |
| 5.4 : M Abbas to Root, Beaten again! Length ball on off, moves slightly, Root comes forward to defend that but misses it. The ball nearly kisses the outside edge of the bat. |
| 5.5 : M Abbas to Root, The batsman shoulders arms to let that one through. |
| 5.6 : M Abbas to Root, Leg Bye! Slanting in from outside off, Root moves across in hope of flicking that one but misses on the pads. They steal a leg bye. |
| 6.1 : M Amir to Root, The angle of the left-arm pacer is troubling Root big time. He stands tall to punch that but the ball whizzes past the outside edge. |
| 6.2 : M Amir to Root, Root defends it on the off side. Calls for a quick single and gets it with ease. |
| 6.3 : M Amir to Stoneman, Whips it in fine style! Poor delivery, drifting on the pads and Stoneman flicks it away to the mid-wicket region for a brace. |
| 6.4 : M Amir to Stoneman, Shortish delivery, angling in, the batsman stands tall to defend that but gets an inside edge on the back leg. |
| 6.5 : M Amir to Stoneman, Just short of Shafiq at second slip. Credit to Stoneman, he played it with soft hands and the ball dies to the fielder. A rising delivery from Amir, moves away a little and catches the outside edge but drops just in front of the fielder who collects it on the bounce. |
| 6.6 : M Amir to Stoneman, Ends the over with a good delivery, angling in a little, Stoneman plays down the wrong line and misses it. |
| 7.1 : M Abbas to Joe Root, Root goes back to push that but the ball goes off the outer half to third man. The fielder hares after it and stops it inside the rope. Saves a run for his side. |
| 7.2 : M Abbas to Stoneman, The ball is too wide on the off side for the batsman to make any contact. |
| 7.3 : M Abbas to Stoneman, Comes on the front foot and solidly defends it on the off side. |
| 7.4 : M Abbas to Stoneman, Slanting across the stumps and the batsman is happy to leave it. |
| 7.5 : M Abbas to Stoneman, Nearly, finds the outside edge! Bowls a driveable length on off stump line, Stoneman doesn't hold back and goes after it. He is beaten by the away movement. |
| 7.6 : M Abbas to Stoneman, Much fuller from Abbas, tails back just a little. Stoneman looks to play the drive but it goes off the inner half on the leg side. |
| 8.1 : M Amir to Joe Root, Root stands tall and opens the face of the bat as he guides it to gully. |
| 8.2 : M Amir to Root, Amir bangs this one halfway down the track and tests Root with a bumper. The English skipper sways away from the line of it and lets it go. |
| 8.3 : M Amir to Root, Feeds the batsman with a delivery on the pads and Root flicks it to deep square leg. Single taken. |
| 8.4 : M Amir to Stoneman, Bowls from the edge of the crease and attacks the stumps, Stoneman defends it back to the bowler. |
| 8.5 : M Amir to Stoneman, Attempted yorker from Amir, just misses his mark. Stoneman stays back and pushes it down the track. |
| 8.6 : M Amir to Stoneman, Bangs it in short, angling into the body. The batsman bends down and leaves it all alone. |
| 9.1 : Abbas to Root, Swings and swings pretty late, Root loses his balance as he walks across to flick that but misses. Gets hit on the pads. |
| 9.2 : M Abbas to Root, Good length ball on off, Root sits back and pushes it to cover-point. |
| 9.3 : M Abbas to Root, Short ball, Root gets on top of the bounce and pulls to deep square leg. Single taken. |
| 9.4 : M Abbas to Stoneman, Fullish delivery on off, Stoneman defensively pushes it to the left of the mid on fielder. They take a quick single. |
| 9.5 : M Abbas to Root, Serves a length delivery on the stumps, Root goes back and defends it down the track. |
| 9.6 : M Abbas to Root, Plays with the open face of the bat and drives it to point. Another tidy over from Abbas, just a couple from it. |
| Faheem Ashraf comes into the attack. |
| 10.1 : F Ashraf to Stoneman, Starts with a fuller length ball outside off, moving away. Stoneman points his bat skywards to let it be. |
| 10.2 : F Ashraf to Stoneman, Similar delivery, going down the slope. Stoneman plants his front foot across to let it be. |
| 10.3 : F Ashraf to Stoneman, Outside off, third leave in a row. |
| 10.4 : F Ashraf to Stoneman, Short of a length ball on off, Mark shuffles a touch and deals with it nicely. |
| 10.5 : F Ashraf to Stoneman, Swinging away on a good length substantially, Stoneman moves across his stumps and lets it be. |
| 10.6 : F Ashraf to M Stoneman, Back of a length ball around off, shaping away. Stoneman plays it with soft hands and the ball rolls towards the slip cordon. Ashraf starts off with a maiden. |
| Hasan Ali is introduced in the attack. He was really good with the ball earlier in the match. Can he keep up the good work? |
| 11.1 : H Ali to Root, Full length ball attacking the stumps, Root gets low and jams it out. |
| 11.2 : H Ali to Root, On a driveable length outside off, holding its line. Root points his bat skywards to let it through. |
| 11.3 : H Ali to Root, Defended off the back foot by the batsman. |
| 11.4 : H Ali to Root, Good length ball around off, nipping in with good pace. Joe adjusts in his crease and blocks it with a straight bat. |
| 11.5 : H Ali to Root, Ooh... that almost sneaked through! Ali is a skiddy customer and can surprise any batsman. Tailing in substantially from a back of a length, Root is a bit late on it but manages to get it away off the inner half of the bat through mid-wicket. A run taken. |
| 11.6 : H Ali to Stoneman, In the zone outside off, left alone. |
| 12.1 : F Ashraf to Joe Root, FOUR! First boundary for Joe Root! This shot will give him confidence. It is short and wide and it allows him to pounce on it. He frees his arms and slaps it behind backward point to find the fence. |
| 12.2 : F Ashraf to Root, In the corridor of uncertainty, Joe comes forward and defends it stoutly. |
| 12.3 : F Ashraf to Root, Hangs back to the good length ball and taps it with an open bat face towards the point region. |
| 12.4 : F Ashraf to Root, Ashraf is testing him by bowling it on the off stump line. Root remains composed in his approach and defends it nicely. |
| 12.5 : F Ashraf to Root, Fuller length ball outside off, the English skipper leans ahead and pats it nicely to point. |
| 12.6 : F Ashraf to Root, Back of a length delivery, skids after pitching. The English skipper goes for a punch with hard hands but mistimes it to extra cover. |
| 13.1 : H Ali to Stoneman, Well played! Fuller length ball around off, swinging in a touch. Mark comes forward and defends it stoutly. |
| 0.0 : Pakistan take a review against an LBW decision. Stoneman is the man in question. Seems that it pitched outside leg but Sarfraz still challenges the decision. Let's see if there is a surprise in store for us! |
| 13.2 : Ali to Stoneman, Safe! A review goes down the drain for Pakistan! Bowls a length ball around the leg stump, angling in. Stoneman tries to play across the line but misses to get hit on the pads. Ali appeals confidently but the umpire stays put. However, he seems convinced and has a chat with his skipper. They decide to challenge the decision. Time for the replays. The ball is pitching outside leg and that puts the argument to bed. |
| 13.3 : H Ali to Stoneman, Beaten! On a length outside off, Stoneman has a poke at it and is foxed by the away movement. |
| 13.4 : H Ali to Stoneman, Great commitment in the field! Fullish delivery outside off, Mark caresses it through covers. Imam-ul-Haq chases it down and slides near the fence to make a great stop. Saves a couple for his side. |
| 13.5 : H Ali to Stoneman, The batsman lets the ball go outside his off stump. |
| 13.6 : H Ali to Stoneman, This one is pretty outside off, left alone. |
| 14.1 : F Ashraf to Root, Brilliant! Imam is really charged up. Short of a length well outside off, Root slaps it towards point where the fielder dives to his left to make a great stop. |
| 14.2 : F Ashraf to Root, On a length outside off, stays a touch low and goes past Root's attempted defense. |
| 14.3 : F Ashraf to Root, The batsman rocks onto the back foot and punches the ball. |
| 14.4 : F Ashraf to Root, Full length ball on off, pushed back to the bowler. |
| 14.5 : F Ashraf to Root, Pitched up delivery outside off, pushed off the front foot to the cover region. |
| 14.6 : F Ashraf to Root, On a good length outside off, a bit of extra bounce on that occasion. Root taps it towards gully. |
| 15.1 : H Ali to Stoneman, Full delivery on leg stump, swinging down. Stoneman tries to keep it out but is struck on the pads. No real appeal there as it was always missing the leg stump. |
| 15.2 : H Ali to Stoneman, Length ball outside off, Mark lets it go. |
| 15.3 : H Ali to Stoneman, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 15.4 : H Ali to Stoneman, Ali loses his radar and slips this one down the leg side, Stoneman goes for the flick but misses. |
| 15.5 : H Ali to Stoneman, Ali switches to around the wicket and bowls a good length ball around off. Stoneman is late in his defence and takes a blow on the thigh pad. |
| 15.6 : H Ali to Stoneman, Slightly overpitched, defended confidently off the front foot. |
| Shadab Khan to roll his arm over now. A slip and a short leg in place. |
| 16.1 : S Khan to Root, Starts off with a shortish ball outside off, Root places it to sweeper cover for a single. |
| 16.2 : S Khan to Stoneman, That one spun viciously! Spinning in from the rough outside off, Stoneman leans forward to defend but is hit on the pads. Pakistan appeal but the umpire stays put. That was probably spinning down leg. |
| 16.3 : S Khan to Stoneman, FOUR! Almost a wicket! Great bowling from Khan. Slow through the air outside off, Stoneman leans ahead to defend but gets an outside edge past the keeper. Shafiq at first slip is a bit wide. He dives to his right but the ball flies past him in a flash and races to the fence. |
| 16.4 : S Khan to Stoneman, This time Mark hangs back and tackles it off his back foot. |
| 16.5 : S Khan to M Stoneman, OUT! Bowled 'em! Stoneman has been completely outfoxed by the young leggie. A rough has developed outside the off stump of the left-handed batsmen and Khan has exploited that to great effect. Bowls it well outside off at a slower pace and gets it to spin in sharply. Stoneman is caught in the crease to handle it but the ball stays a bit low to go past his defense and crashes into the stumps. Perhaps, he should have come on the front foot to give himself a better chanc |
| Dawid Malan strides out to bat. |
| 16.6 : S Khan to Malan, Spinning in sharply from outside off, Malan goes deep in his crease and just about manages to keep it out towards short leg. What an over, a wicket maiden for Shadab |
| 17.1 : H Ali to Root, In the zone outside off, left alone. |
| 17.2 : H Ali to Root, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 17.3 : H Ali to Joe Root, Bouncer but it is too short, Root ducks under it. |
| 17.4 : H Ali to Root, FOUR! Shot! Short and room on offer, the English skipper cuts it nicely past point to pick up another boundary. |
| 17.5 : H Ali to Root, Good cricket! Taps this one to covers and scurries to the other end. |
| 17.6 : H Ali to Malan, Nicely bowled! Shortish ball in line of the stumps, Malan gets into an uncomfortable position and takes a blow on his gloves. |
| 18.1 : S Khan to Root, Fullish delivery on off, kept out watchfully. |
| 0.0 : Short leg in place now. |
| 18.2 : S Khan to Root, Slow through the air, defended solidly off the front foot. |
| 18.3 : S Khan to Root, Straighter one on off and shorter in length, Root hangs back and blocks it. |
| The square leg umpire has a bit of chat with Ahmed. Not sure about what it is though. Meanwhile, a silly point is also in place for Malan. |
| 18.4 : S Khan to Root, Tossed up on leg stump, turned past short leg for a single. |
| 18.5 : S Khan to Malan, Spinning in from the rough, Malan is nicely forward to this one and defends it towards short leg. |
| 18.6 : S Khan to Malan, Fullish in length this time, Dawid comes forward and dead-bats it. |
| 19.1 : H Ali to Root, Dug in short, Root ducks under it. |
| 19.2 : H Ali to Root, Another short ball, Root easily sways away of the line of the ball to evade it. |
| 19.3 : H Ali to Root, As expected, Ali bowls this one fuller after two short balls. Root is circumspect in his approach and allows it through. |
| 19.4 : H Ali to Root, In the channel outside off, left alone. |
| 19.5 : H Ali to Root, Good leave! Coming in from outside off, Joe knows where his off stump is and allows it to pass safely. |
| 19.6 : H Ali to Root, Length delivery outside off, Root doesn't fiddle with it. THAT'S LUNCH ON DAY 3! |
| England haven't won a single session in the game so far. It has been Pakistan all the way and they continue to control the proceedings. After gaining a healthy lead of 179, the visiting bowlers bowled with needle-like precision. Abbas kept on bowling probing lines and lengths and got the big wicket of Alastair Cook. All the other bowlers have been disciplined as well. The great thing for them is that Shadab Khan is getting good purchase from the rough, especially against the left-handers. From E |
| ... Day 3, Session 2 ... |
| Welcome back. Joe Root and Dawid Malan to resume their innings. For Pakistan, Shadab Khan will start the proceedings. |
| 20.1 : S Khan to Malan, Flighted, outside the off, Malan comes forward and gets the inside half. |
| 20.2 : S Khan to Malan, Touch fuller and Malan goes back in his crease to block it. |
| 20.3 : S Khan to Malan, Another one that is tossed up, the batsman comes on the front foot and plays it towards the short leg fielder. |
| 20.4 : S Khan to Malan, The batsman defends it from within the crease. |
| 20.5 : S Khan to Malan, Flatter delivery, flicked with the spin towards the mid-wicket region. |
| 20.6 : S Khan to Malan, Floated on middle, Malan turns it away nicely past the short mid-wicket fielder for a single and will retain the strike. |
| Hasan Ali to continue from this end. Pakistan have employed a fielder under the lid at short leg. |
| 21.1 : H Ali to Malan, Goodish length, just outside the off stump and angling into the batsman. |
| 21.2 : H Ali to Malan, Same line and length and the batsman lets it go. |
| 21.3 : H Ali to Malan, Touch fuller this time and gets close the batsman. Malan blocks it away. |
| 21.4 : H Ali to Malan, Goes short this time and the batsman ignores it. |
| 21.5 : H Ali to Malan, Same line and length. the batsman defends it back to the bowler. |
| 21.6 : H Ali to Malan, OUCH!! That was vicious! Ali also looked bit worried for Malan. It jumps from the short length and hits Malan on the back of the helmet. The physio comes running in to check on the batsman. Some mandatory precautions by the home team and the umpires. |
| The physio is out to check for any possible concussion. Malan looks stable and he will continue to bat, which is good to see. Fist punch between Malan and Root as they walk back to their respective ends. |
| 22.1 : S Khan to Root, Tossed up delivery, Root hangs back and blocks it. |
| 22.2 : S Khan to Root, Nicely done! Shortish ball outside off, allows enough time to the English skipper to go back and cut it past point. There are a lot of vacant spaces and he picks up three runs to his name. |
| 22.3 : S Khan to Malan, Spinning in sharply, Dawid comes half forward and blocks it under his eyes. |
| 22.4 : S Khan to Malan, A bit shorter this time, tucked off his hips to the leg side for a run. |
| 22.5 : S Khan to Root, Risky! This is spins in substantially and also stays low. Root decides to hang back and keep it out on the leg side. He should have been forward to that. A single taken. |
| 22.6 : S Khan to Malan, Dawid takes this one on the full and clips it towards mid-wicket. |
| 23.1 : H Ali to Root, On a length and straying on the pads, helped towards fine leg for a single. |
| 23.2 : H Ali to Malan, As expected, Ali bowls a bouncer well outside off, Malan leaves it with ease. Testing times for the southpaw after he received a blow on the helmet. |
| 23.3 : H Ali to Malan, Fuller length ball, Malan isn't lunging forward now. He opts to stay back and plays it with an open bat face. |
| 23.4 : H Ali to Malan, Shortish ball down the leg side, Malan pulls it away towards fine leg for a single. He is looking a bit nervy. |
| 23.5 : H Ali to Root, Very full ball, swinging in sharply, Root keeps his bat close to his pad and works it towards mid-wicket. |
| 23.6 : H Ali to D Malan, If there was a direct hit, it would have been curtains for Malan! Poor call from the English skipper. He cuts this short ball towards point and takes off. Malan is midway down the track and is nowhere in the picture. However, the shy at the striker's end misses and he survives. Lucky break for him. |
| 24.1 : S Khan to Root, Googly on the pads and Root flicks it fine for a run. |
| 24.2 : S Khan to Malan, Goes for the rough once again, Malan comes forward and defends it. |
| 24.3 : S Khan to Malan, Touch short and the batsman plays it down towards the mid-wicket region. |
| 24.4 : S Khan to Malan, Loopy full toss, Malan punches it towards cover and takes and easy run. |
| There is an issue with Root. Something is troubling his eyes. The physio comes in and helps him out. |
| 24.5 : S Khan to Joe Root, Four! English skipper is looking good. Short and touch wide and enough room for Joe to free his arms. He goes back and plays it fine to the 3rd boundary for four. 50 up for England. |
| 24.6 : S Khan to Root, Flighted on the off stump, Root guides it to the sweeper cover to get another single. |
| 25.1 : H Ali to Root, Shows the full face and keeps it out. |
| 25.2 : H Ali to Root, Gets on his toes and plays it down nicely. |
| 25.3 : H Ali to Root, Lets the wide delivery go. |
| 25.4 : H Ali to Root, Gets right behind it and blocks it nicely. |
| Mohammad Amir is warming up. |
| 25.5 : H Ali to Root, Four! On a fullish length, just outside the off stump. Root goes for the drive and gets a bottom edge. The ball races to the 3rd man boundary through the gully and slip cordon. |
| 25.6 : H Ali to Root, Shoulder his arms and let that one through. |
| 26.1 : S Khan to Malan, Flighted and touch short. Malan goes back and flicks just past the short leg. |
| 26.2 : S Khan to Malan, Similar kind of delivery, lands in the rough and goes down the leg side. Malan goes inside the line of it, trying to tickle it but misses and so does the keeper. The ball goes behind the keeper and the batsmen run three. |
| 26.3 : S Khan to Root, Shows the full face and keeps it out. |
| 26.4 : S Khan to Root, Uses his wrists and dabs it to the man at mid-wicket. |
| 26.5 : S Khan to Root, Solid defense by Root. |
| 26.6 : S Khan to Root, Punched off the back foot but couldn't get it past the gully fielder. |
| As expected, Mohammad Amir comes into the attack. |
| 27.1 : Amir to Malan, Full on the pads and Malan misses. |
| 27.2 : M Amir to Malan, Outside the off and the batsman lets it past. |
| 27.3 : M Amir to Malan, Into the body this time. Length is the same and he is bringing it into the batsman. Malan stays tall and defends it to the mid-wicket region. |
| 27.4 : M Amir to Malan, Same delivery from Amir. This time Malan flicks it off his hips towards mid-wicket and the batsmen scampers for two. |
| 27.5 : M Amir to Malan, Getting close to Malan's off stump. Amir is moving it both ways from the same line and length and troubling the batsman |
| 27.6 : M Amir to Malan, Now this one moved away. Amir is in good rhythm. He entices Malan to go for the wider delivery. He swings but misses the ball. |
| 28.1 : S Khan to Root, Short on the stumps. Root goes back and guides it to the deep square leg fielder for a single. |
| 28.2 : S Khan to Malan, Pushed to the mid-wicket fielder from the front foot. |
| 28.3 : S Khan to Malan, Flicks the shortish ball from his pads towards fine leg. |
| 28.4 : S Khan to Malan, Copy paste stuff from the bowler and the batsman. |
| There is an appeal from the Pakistan fielders for a run out. Malan is the man in question. The visitors think, they have got their man. We wait for the replays to confirm that. |
| 28.5 : S Khan to Malan, Touch fuller from Shadab and Malan goes for conventional sweep. The ball rolls towards the leg gully, who throws it back on the stumps to get a run out. Everyone from the Pakistan side is appealing. Umpire has a concussion with his fellow umpire and goes upstairs. Malan didn't leave his crease and third umpire confirms it. |
| 28.6 : S Khan to Malan, Goes of the sweep again and misses. |
| 29.1 : M Amir to Root, Root sits back and dabs it towards the cover region. |
| 29.2 : M Amir to Root, Shows the full face to the length delivery and defends it from the back foot. |
| 29.3 : M Amir to Root, Defended from his toes by Root. |
| 29.4 : M Amir to Joe Root, Angled away from the Root, on a good length, gets a thick outside edge and rushes to the gully fielder. Shadab Khan does well to get both hands and stop it from going past. |
| 29.5 : M Amir to Root, Root is looking to get some quick runs but not getting the timing. Punches the delivery from the back foot to the back ward point fielder. |
| 29.6 : M Amir to Root, This time he gets it in the gap. Punched from the back foot and takes two. England is getting a move on. |
| 30.1 : S Khan to Malan, Malan sits back in his crease and dabs it on the off side. One look at his skipper and they are off for a single. |
| 30.2 : S Khan to Root, Loopy leg break outside off, Root leans forward and pushes it to the mid off region. |
| 30.3 : S Khan to Root, FOUR! That is pretty risky from Root. He goes right back in his crease and tries to play his favorite shot - Late cut. The ball is little quicker and he gets an under edge right between the legs of the keeper. The bal lraces away to the third man fence. |
| 30.4 : S Khan to Root, Uses the depth the crease and taps it on the leg side. |
| 30.5 : S Khan to Root, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 30.6 : S Khan to Root, Loopy leg break outside off, Root lunges forward and powers the drive through the covers for a single. |
| 31.1 : M Amir to Joe Root, Four! The England captain gets to his 40th fifty with this boundary. He has played with determination in this innings. Amir bowls it on length angling away from the batsman. Root plays it in the gap between gully and slip cordon and gets another boundary. |
| 0.0 : Third man in place now. He has got a lot of runs in that region and hence, Sarfraz Ahmed is being proactive. |
| 31.2 : M Amir to Joe Root, Goes full and Root was up to it. He goes on the front foot but couldn't find the gap. |
| 31.3 : M Amir to Joe Root, Short of length in to the body of the batsman. Root hangs back and plays it down to the in front of square leg, where Hasan Ali makes a tumbling stop. |
| 31.4 : M Amir to Malan, OOOH! Malan is living dangerously. This was bowled short by Amir, touch closer to the off stump and the batsman goes for a cut but misses. |
| 31.5 : M Amir to Malan, Same line and length from Amir. Malan blocks it from the back foot. |
| 31.6 : M Amir to Malan, Drill the full ball back to the bowler. |
| 32.1 : S Khan to Root, Loopy leg break outside the off. Root tries to go carve it behind short third man but finds the fielder. |
| 32.2 : S Khan to Root, Gets behind the delivery and blocks it. |
| 32.3 : S Khan to Root, FOUR! Shadab guves a freebie to Root. A loopy full toss on the off stump and the English captain obliges. He puts in the gap and takes a boundary from mid wicket. This also brings the 50-run stand between the two batsman. |
| 32.4 : S Khan to Root, Punches it to the mid on region from the front foot. |
| 32.5 : S Khan to Root, The batsman flicks it with his wrists towards square leg and takes a single. |
| 32.6 : S Khan to Malan, Gets behind the delivery and defends it in the ground. |
| 33.1 : M Amir to Root, Root leans into the drive to a fuller length ball from Amir. He hits it to the man at mid off. |
| 33.2 : M Amir to Joe Root, Amir comes from around the wicket angle, delivers it on a length, Root gets a thick edge wide of the fielder at second slip. There is a man at third man who does the mopping. |
| 33.3 : M Amir to Root, The batsman defends it from within the crease. |
| 33.4 : M Amir to Root, Root plays his go-to shot, sits back and chops it towards point. They take a quick single. |
| 33.5 : M Amir to Malan, Amir bowls a pacy delivery, full on the stumps, Malan sits back and defends it back to the bowler. |
| 33.6 : M Amir to Malan, Goes wide of the crease and ends up delivering a wide delivery outside off. Malan doesn't play at that one. |
| 34.1 : S Khan to Joe Root, Touch short outside the off and Root punches it from the back foot. |
| 34.2 : S Khan to Root, Loopy full toss on the middle stump. Root guides to the mid on region and takes a single. |
| 34.3 : S Khan to Malan, FOUR! Highly risky from the southpaw. He goes for the sweep, trying to play it from the rough. Can't get on top of the bounce and ends up top edging it over the man at square leg. The ball races away to the boundary. |
| 34.4 : S Khan to Malan, Floated delivery on off, Malan gets on the front foot and defends it solidly. |
| 34.5 : S Khan to Malan, Flighted on off stump, Malan uses his wrists and guides it to square leg for a single. |
| 34.6 : S Khan to Root, Root keep the flighted delivery out with a solid defense. |
| Drinks break. This has been a fightback of sorts from the hosts. Root and Malan have stitched a vital 60-run partnership and they are still going strong. England now trail by just 88 runs. Pressure slowly will be mounting on the visitors, they need a wicket and need it soon. |
| 35.1 : M Amir to Malan, Nice channel from Amir. Keeps it on length, just outside the off and Malan leans forward to meet the ball. |
| 35.2 : M Amir to Malan, OUT! Amir strikes right after the drinks break. Blinder from the Pakistan captain. This was traveling and Sarfraz shows good reflexes to get the ball cleanly in his left glove. Amir has been superb since morning and he gets his due with this wicket. Bowls in the channel, seaming away, getting Malan forward and gets the outside edge. Resolute innings from Dawad Malan comes to and end. |
| Jonny Bairstow is the next man in. |
| 35.3 : M Amir to Bairstow, Angled away from the batsman, who leaves it alone. |
| Wasim Akram makes a good point on air. He says that Malan was not lunging forward properly and hence, he paid the price for it. A batsman needs to adjust according to the pitch and that is the way to progress. At the international level, you need to be proactive and adjust according to the situation. |
| 35.4 : Amir to J Bairstow, OUT! Boom! What a beauty! Amir has another in the over. He set up Bairstow with the previous out swinger and brought this one viciously from the same length. The batsman had no idea where the ball was going and ends up playing all over the ball. |
| Ben Stokes is the new man in. |
| 35.5 : M Amir to Stokes, FOUR! Stokes get a loose ball to start his innings. Length ball, on his pads and he flicks it with power. The ball rushes to the square leg boundary. |
| Deep mid-wicket in place now. |
| 35.6 : M Amir to Stokes, Touch wide, on same length and the batsman shoulders his arms. |
| 36.1 : S Khan to Root, Flatter on the middle-leg stump and Root flicks it the mid wicket region for a single. |
| 36.2 : S Khan to Stokes, Four! Full this time. Stokes flicks it beautifully to the mid wicket region. He looks in good touch. Times it with power and gets into the gap between square leg and mid on for another boundary. Two boundaries in three deliveries for the left-hander. |
| There is an appeal for a catch. The soft signal from the umpire is not out. Pakistan fielder are confident that it hit the off the boot of the man close in on the off side. |
| 36.3 : S Khan to Ben Stokes, Flighted delivery, just outside the off stump and Stokes goes for another Shot. He drives it from the middle off the bat only to hit the fielder on silly point. The ball jumps in the air, from his boot and the short leg dives to get, what looks like a catch. Pakistan team appeals in unison and the umpire goes upstairs, after a discussion with his counter-part. The replays shows that the bowl hit the ground before going in the air from the silly points fielder's boots. |
| 36.4 : S Khan to Stokes, Shows the full face and blocks it. |
| 36.5 : S Khan to Stokes, Goes forward to the flighted ball and drives it to the mid on region. |
| 36.6 : S Khan to Stokes, Leans into the shot and plays it down with a full face off the bat. |
| 37.1 : M Amir to Root, Fuller length ball on the off stump, doesn't move at all. Root covers the line of it and defends it solidly on to the off side. |
| 37.2 : M Amir to Root, Good delivery, full and swining in a little, Root manages to squirt it toward the cover-point region. |
| 37.3 : M Amir to Root, Bye! That one shoots through at an ankle height, Root lets it go. The keeper gets an awkward bounce and fails to stop that one cleanly. A bye taken. |
| 37.4 : M Amir to Stokes, Amir uses the angle, goes wide of the crease and slanting it in. Stokes goes on the back foot and defends it out. |
| 37.5 : M Amir to Stokes, Stokes moves right across his stumps and works it towards deep mid-wicket. Gets off strike with a single. |
| 37.6 : M Amir to Root, Poor end to the over. Is he getting tired? Not sure. Dishes out a delivery on the pads. Root works it to deep mid-wicket for another easy single. |
| 38.1 : S Khan to Root, Loopy leg break, angling in from outside off, Root gets on the front foot and defends it right under his eyes. |
| 38.2 : S Khan to Root, Slider on the shorter side, Root goes back and powers it to deep cover for a single. |
| 38.3 : S Khan to Stokes, OUT! Another one bites the dust! Such a soft dismissal, Stokes is absolutely gutted with himself and he still can't believe what he has done. England needed him to deliver with the bat, but he disappoints. Three quick wickets and all the hard-work done by Root and Malan is going down drain. It is a nothing delivery from Shadab Khan and he is lucky to get a wicket with that one. Shortish delivery on the middle and leg, spins into the batsman, who backs away and mistimes t |
| Jos Buttler walks out to bat. |
| 38.4 : S Khan to Buttler, The batsman has played it to the point region. |
| 38.5 : S Khan to Buttler, Buttler sits on the back foot and pushes it on the off side. |
| 38.6 : S Khan to Buttler, Buttler sits back and powers it through the covers for a single. |
| 39.1 : M Amir to Buttler, Short of a length ball, angling across the stumps, Buttler doesn't offer stroke to that one. |
| 39.2 : M Amir to Buttler, The batsman shoulders arms to let that one through. |
| 39.3 : M Amir to Buttler, Defends it right behind the line. |
| 39.4 : M Amir to Buttler, Angled across Buttler and he lets it go. |
| 39.5 : M Amir to Buttler, Goes around this time, bowls a length delivery, just outside the off stump and Buttler gets behind the delivery to block it. |
| 39.6 : M Amir to Buttler, Beautiful ball! In the probing length again outside the off. The ball pitches and straightens after pitching. Buttler goes for a drive from his crease and misses the ball. |
| Hasan Ali is back into the attack. |
| 40.1 : H Ali to Root, Root punches it from the back foot with authority. |
| 40.2 : H Ali to Joe Root, FOUR! CREAMED! Root has been away from the strike for couple of overs now but his concentration is still intact. This was bowled full outside the off and Root gets on his knee to meet the ball. He drives this with disdain and shows his class. He is important for England's survival. |
| 40.3 : H Ali to Root, Guide it to the third man region from the back foot. Another run added to the total. |
| 40.4 : H Ali to Buttler, Buttler flicks it from his pads towards mid-wicket. |
| 40.5 : H Ali to Buttler, Buttler goes for short arm jab but didn't get the connection. The ball hits the inside half and rolls towards mid on. |
| 40.6 : H Ali to Buttler, The batsman shoulders his arms to the delivery. It was close to his stumps but in the end, it was a good leave. |
| Mohammad Abbas is back into the attack. |
| 41.1 : M Abbas to Root, Shuffles to his off stump to play at it. The balls rolls towards the mid on region. |
| 41.2 : M Abbas to Root, Stays tall and defends it down the pitch. |
| Big moment in the game. Root has been adjudged LBW. He decides to challenge the on-field decision. Looks stone-dead to the naked eye, only an inside edge can save him there. |
| 41.3 : Abbas to Root, OUT! England skipper is gone. Huge blow for the home team. Mohammad Abbas was brought into the attack by the Pakistan captain to make inroads and he rises to the occasion. Abbas has been a skiddy customer. He bowls it from wide of the crease, angles into the batsman and hits Root on his pads, who was indecisive about the shot and ends up missing it all together. Abbas cries for the positive decision and umpire gives it in his favour. Root goes for the DRS straightaway but t |
| Dominic Bess strides out to bat. |
| 41.4 : M Abbas to Bess, The length ball goes just past the outside of Bess' bat. |
| 41.5 : M Abbas to Bess, Pushes the ball to the cover region from the outside half of his bat. |
| 41.6 : M Abbas to Bess, Bess keeps his bat away from the wide delivery. |
| 42.1 : H Ali to Buttler, Driven through the covers by the batsman. |
| 42.2 : H Ali to Buttler, Uses his wrists and flicks but it goes off the inner half to square leg for a single. |
| 42.3 : H Ali to Bess, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 42.4 : H Ali to Bess, Touch wide and the batsman decides to leave that one alone. |
| 42.5 : H Ali to Bess, Fuller length ball, angling in from outside off, swings in as well. Bess goes for the drive but misses it. Huge shout for an LBW but turned down by the umpire. Pakistan think about a review but they decide against it. Replays show, there is an inside edge. |
| 42.6 : H Ali to Bess, The batsman was beaten and missed the line of the delivery. |
| 43.1 : M Abbas to Buttler, Fuller length ball outside off, Buttler gets on the front foot and defends it on the off side. |
| 43.2 : M Abbas to Buttler, Hangs back and defends another one. |
| 43.3 : M Abbas to Buttler, Buttler takes a couple of steps down the track and defends it back to the bowler. |
| 43.4 : M Abbas to Buttler, Pitched up delivery outside off, the batsman doesn't play at it. |
| 43.5 : M Abbas to Buttler, Length ball outside off, Buttler lets it go. The wicket-keeper is up to the stumps and he does well to collect that one. |
| 43.6 : M Abbas to Buttler, Just straightens a bit, Buttler plays inside the line of it and gets a soft leading edge on the off side. |
| 44.1 : H Ali to Bess, On a good length into the batsman outside off and Bess blocks it nicely. |
| 44.2 : H Ali to Bess, Goes back of a length outside off and the batsman gets his bat away from the line of the delivery. |
| 44.3 : H Ali to Bess, Copy paste stuff from the bowler and the batsman. |
| 44.4 : H Ali to Bess, Short of a length on the pads of the batsman, who misses the delivery and it crashes into his thigh pad. |
| 44.5 : H Ali to Bess, Full inswinger. Right on the money from Ali. Bess does well to get his bat on ball and keeps it out. |
| 44.6 : H Ali to Bess, Touch short on the legs of the batsman. Bess defends it back from the middle of the bat. THAT'S TEA ON DAY 3! |
| A flurry of wickets after the drinks break sees Pakistan inching closer to a 1-0 lead in the series. England though fought back into the game after the Lunch interval courtesy a gritty partnership between Root and Malan. The English pair stitched a 60-run stand and they were looking good to get their side back on track. However, the Pakistan pacers had other ideas. Amir bowled an exceptional over in which he got rid of Malan and Bairstow. From there on, the England innings capitulated pretty qui |
| ... Day 3, Session 3 ... |
| Welcome back. Jos Buttler and Dominic Bess will resume their innings. For Pakistan, Mohammad Abbas will start the proceedings. |
| 45.1 : M Abbas to Buttler, On a good length outside the off stump. Buttler shuffles across and lets it go. |
| 45.2 : M Abbas to Buttler, Similar kind of delivery from Abbas. Buttler stays away from the wider ball. |
| 45.3 : M Abbas to Buttler, Goes short, into the body of the shuffling Buttler who helps it down to fine leg for a single. |
| 45.4 : M Abbas to Bess, Outside the off and Bess shoulders his arms. |
| 45.5 : M Abbas to Bess, Bess is standing out of his crease to counter swing. This is in the same corridor and the batsman lets it past. |
| 45.6 : M Abbas to Bess, Abbas goes full and Bess punches it back to the bowler from the front foot. |
| 46.1 : H Ali to Buttler, Some swing in the air. Ali keeps it outside off and Buttler ignores the wide delivery. |
| 46.2 : H Ali to Buttler, The batsman chooses to leave the ball outside his off stump. |
| 46.3 : H Ali to Buttler, FOUR! Banged in short by Ali and Buttler pulls it powerfully to the right of the diving fielder at mid-wicket. Buttler getting a move on. |
| 46.4 : H Ali to Jos Buttler, FOUR! Two-in-two for Buttler. This is full, outside off and and Buttler comes down the track. He creams it through the cover region for another boundary. Aggressive stuff from Buttler. |
| 46.5 : H Ali to Buttler, Stays back and defends it nicely. |
| 46.6 : H Ali to Buttler, FOUR! Even better this time. Buttler just didn't gave any chance to the cover fielder to move. He spanks that one with utter disdain to the cover boundary. |
| 47.1 : M Abbas to Bess, Bess is trying to leave the ball but it goes the bottom half of the bat and runs away towards the 3rd man region. Imam-ul-Haq gives the chase and stops the ball from inside the boundary to save a run for his team. First runs for Bess in International cricket. |
| 47.2 : M Abbas to Buttler, Buttler comes on the front foot and presents the full face of the bat. |
| We might soon see Amir back into the attack. He is warming up. |
| 47.3 : M Abbas to Buttler, Shuffles across the off stump and punches it to the cover fielder. |
| 47.4 : M Abbas to Buttler, Tries to fend at the wide delivery but misses. |
| 47.5 : M Abbas to Buttler, Clipped off his pads to mid-wicket for a single. |
| 47.6 : M Abbas to Bess, Bess lets the ball go outside his off stump. |
| 48.1 : H Ali to Buttler, Presents the full face off the bat from the front foot to the good length delivery. |
| 48.2 : H Ali to Buttler, Punched off the front foot straight to the cover fielder. |
| 48.3 : H Ali to Buttler, Gets on top of the bounce and plays it down to the point region. |
| 48.4 : H Ali to Buttler, Buttler is playing his shots. He middles the short ball with some power but straight to the fielder at deep mid-wicket for another run. |
| 48.5 : H Ali to Bess, Presents the full face of his bat and blocks it back to the bowler. |
| 48.6 : H Ali to Bess, Stays tall to play the short of a length delivery and defends it down. |
| 49.1 : M Abbas to Buttler, Shuffles across his stumps and guides the ball to the wide mid on region. One run added to the total. |
| 49.2 : M Abbas to Bess, Bess comes on the front foot and plays the drive to the cover fielder. |
| 49.3 : M Abbas to Bess, Bit too straight from Abbas and Bess gets bat on the ball to tickle it fine. The ball rolls to fine leg and they take a single. |
| 49.4 : M Abbas to Buttler, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 49.5 : M Abbas to Buttler, Chooses to leave the ball outside his off stump. |
| 49.6 : M Abbas to Buttler, Again shuffles to across his stumps and works the ball towards the mid-wicket region for another couple. |
| 50.1 : H Ali to Bess, Touch short, on his hips and Bess flicks to square leg. They rush back for the second run. |
| 50.2 : H Ali to Bess, Fullish delivery from Hasan Ali, the batsman drives it to the cover region. |
| 50.3 : H Ali to D Bess, Driven through mid off by the batsman. |
| 50.4 : H Ali to Bess, Digs it short, angling into the batsman and Bess does well to sway away from the line of the delivery. |
| 50.5 : H Ali to Bess, This time he gets on top of the bounce and punches it off the back foot towards point. |
| 50.6 : H Ali to Bess, Good delivery. An effort ball from Hasan Ali, he serves in a yorker in line with the middle and off stump. Bess is up to the task, he jams his bat down in time and digs it out. |
| 51.1 : M Abbas to Buttler, Keeper comes up to the stumps. On a good length from Abbas and Buttler plays the shot but didn't get the connection. It takes the outside half of the bat and rushes to the fielder at 3rd man. One run taken. |
| 51.2 : M Abbas to Bess, Attempted square cut from Bess but he misses the ball. Execution is poor from the batsman. |
| 51.3 : M Abbas to Bess, Uppish from Bess! He tries to carve it to the backward point region but gets an outside edge. The fielder from the third man region runs in and stops the batsmen from taking two. |
| 51.4 : M Abbas to Buttler, The batsman chooses to leave the ball outside his off stump. |
| 51.5 : M Abbas to Buttler, The batsman shoulders his arms to the wide delivery. |
| 51.6 : M Abbas to Buttler, Attempted flick from Buttler, closes the face of the bat early and the ball goes uppishly to the cover region. Fakhar chases the ball and does well to save a run for his team. |
| Faheem Ashraf is back into the attack. |
| 52.1 : F Ashraf to Buttler, Gets right the delivery and blocks it out. |
| 52.2 : F Ashraf to Buttler, Bowls it on the pads and the batsman clips it off his pads to fine leg for a couple. |
| 52.3 : F Ashraf to Buttler, Outside off, on a good length and the batsman lets it go. |
| 52.4 : F Ashraf to Buttler, Fullish length outside off and the batsman drives it to mid off. |
| 52.5 : F Ashraf to Buttler, Gets behind the rising delivery and keeps it down off the back foot. |
| 52.6 : F Ashraf to Buttler, Carved to the third man region by Buttler for another single. |
| 53.1 : M Abbas to Buttler, Just wide from Abbas and Buttler gets his bat on the ball and guides it past the point fielder. The fielder from the third man runs in and saves couple for his team. |
| 53.2 : M Abbas to Buttler, Gets behind the line and defends it back to the bowler. |
| 53.3 : M Abbas to Buttler, Abbas goes full and Buttler drives it down the pitch. The bowler gets his hand to it and stops it. |
| 53.4 : M Abbas to Buttler, Ohhh... nearly a wicket! Abbas bowls a good length ball which straightens a bit. Buttler misses it and the ball hits him on the back leg. Goes off the keeper's gloves towards first slip. |
| 53.5 : M Abbas to Buttler, Clipped off his hips to mid-wicket for a single. |
| 53.6 : M Abbas to D Bess, Drives the full ball to he mid-off region. |
| 54.1 : F Ashraf to Buttler, Shoulder his arms and lets one through to the keeper. |
| 54.2 : F Ashraf to Buttler, On a good length outside off and Buttler blocks it out. |
| 54.3 : F Ashraf to Buttler, Moves across his stumps and defends it with a straight bat |
| 54.4 : F Ashraf to Jos Buttler, Drives the good length delivery with intent and power towards the left of the mid off fielder. Calls for a quick run, his partner obliges and they scamper for it. It could have been tight had Azhar Ali hit the stumps, but he misses and Buttler survives. |
| 54.5 : F Ashraf to D Bess, Drives the full ball to mid on. Bess is doing his part in this partnership. |
| 54.6 : F Ashraf to Bess, Bess goes for the cut but he is beaten by the pace. |
| Mohammad Amir is back in. Last time his skipper turned to him when they needed to break the partnership and the left-arm pacer obliged. Can he do it again? |
| 55.1 : M Amir to Buttler, Start from around the wicket to Buttler who lets the goodish length delivery go. |
| 55.2 : M Amir to Buttler, Short of length, just outside off and Buttler gets on his toes to block it. |
| 55.3 : M Amir to Buttler, Ignores the widish delivery form the Amir. |
| 55.4 : M Amir to Buttler, Buttler stays tall and block the back of a length delivery to the point region. |
| 55.5 : M Amir to Buttler, In the same corridor from Amir and Butler keeps his bat away from the ball. |
| 55.6 : M Amir to Buttler, Lets the ball go once again. Buttler looks in no hurry. He wants to stay in the middle for as long as possible and that's the reason he is not going for the wider deliveries. |
| 56.1 : F Ashraf to D Bess, Delivers a fuller length ball on the stumps, Bess gently pushes it to the mid on region. |
| 56.2 : F Ashraf to Bess, Bowls another one full and the batsman plays it to the cover region. |
| 56.3 : F Ashraf to Bess, Harmless delivery from Faheem, full outside off and the batsman leaves it all alone. |
| 56.4 : F Ashraf to D Bess, FOUR! In the air... agonizingly close! So near, yet so far! Short and wide, Bess doesn't hold back and flashes hard at that one. He gets a thick edge right over the man at second slip. The ball races to the third man fence. |
| 56.5 : F Ashraf to D Bess, FOUR! Uppish, but in the gap again! Back-to-back boundaries! England have reduced the deficit to 24. Fuller length ball on off, Bess checks his drive and hits it through the covers. Timing is spot on and it races away to the boundary. |
| 56.6 : F Ashraf to Bess, Length ball on the off stump line, Bess sits back and blocks it solidly. |
| 57.1 : M Amir to Buttler, Slanting in from outside off, Buttler sits back and defends it right under his eyes. |
| 57.2 : M Amir to Buttler, Touch too straight from Amir, Buttler gets inside the line of it and nudges it away to fine leg for a single. |
| 57.3 : M Amir to Bess, In the channel outside off, Bess comfortably leaves it alone. |
| 57.4 : M Amir to Bess, Goes wide of the crease and bowls it full, Bess opens the face of the bat and guides it to backward point. |
| 57.5 : M Amir to Bess, Another one outside off stump, the batsman plays away from the body and dabs it to point. |
| 57.6 : M Amir to Bess, Gun barrel straight from Amir, outside off, Bess lets it through to the keeper. |
| 58.1 : F Ashraf to Buttler, Fullish delivery, Buttler steps out and blocks it back to the bowler. |
| 58.2 : F Ashraf to Buttler, Replica of the previous ball. Buttler dances down the track and blocks another one. |
| 58.3 : F Ashraf to Buttler, Shortish delivery, the batsman steps out and moves inside the line of it. Gets on top of the bounce and mistimes the pull to deep backward square leg. |
| 58.4 : F Ashraf to Bess, Rising delivery outside off, stands tall and chops it wide of the man at gully. They take another single. Nothing happening at the moment for the pacers, we might see a leg spinner into the attack anytime. |
| 58.5 : F Ashraf to Buttler, Fuller length ball outside off, the batsman defends it on the off side. |
| 58.6 : F Ashraf to Buttler, FOUR! Shortish delivery on the stumps, Buttler gets on top of the bounce and pulls it away to deep backward square leg. Abbas in the deep runs to his left from fine leg but fails to stop it. That's the 50-run stand between Buttler and Bess. They have brought life back into the game. |
| 59.1 : M Amir to Bess, On the shorter side and outside off, Bess gets his bat on ball and plays it to the point region. |
| 59.2 : M Amir to Bess, Back of a length, into the body of the batsman. Bess does well to play it down the track. |
| 59.3 : M Amir to Bess, Angling in but not coming in too much for the batsman. Bess pokes at the ball but misses. |
| 59.4 : M Amir to Bess, Almost the same delivery as the last one and Bess guides it to point from the back foot. |
| 59.5 : M Amir to Bess, Bess has no interest in that one as he lets it go past. |
| 59.6 : M Amir to D Bess, FOUR! On the front foot, big stride in and Bess creams the cover driver drive with authority. Amir bowled it full, closer to the batsman on a drivable length and the batsman makes full use of it. Bess is getting comfortable in the middle as well. |
| Shadab Khan has the ball. All the cricketing experts wanted him into the attack and here he is. Let's see what he has got up his sleeve. |
| 60.1 : S Khan to Buttler, Loopy leg break, on the off stump and Buttler blocks in nicely. |
| 60.2 : S Khan to Buttler, Flighted on a good length and Buttler carves it towards the cover-point region and collects a single. |
| 60.3 : S Khan to Bess, Touch fuller from Shadab and Bess presents the full face of the bat. |
| 60.4 : S Khan to Bess, Driven off the front foot but straight to the cover fielder. |
| 60.5 : S Khan to Bess, FOUR! Deft touch from Bess, he looks an accomplished player. Touch short, outside off. Bess goes back in his crease and dabs it fine to the third man region for a boundary. Deficit down to a single digit now. |
| 60.6 : S Khan to Bess, Drives the fuller length ball to mid on off the front foot. |
| Double bowling change from Pakistan. Hasan Ali comes into the attack. |
| 61.1 : H Ali to Buttler, On a good length outside off. Buttler gets behind the line of the delivery and defends it. |
| 61.2 : H Ali to Buttler, The batsman rocks onto the back foot and punches the ball to extra cover, where Imam makes a fumble and gives away a couple of runs. A rare mistake in the fielder from him, he is usually a gun player. |
| 61.3 : H Ali to Buttler, Shuffles across and defends the ball down the track. |
| 61.4 : H Ali to Buttler, On a good length outside off and Buttler chooses to let it go. |
| Pakistan fielders are not happy with the shape of the ball. The umpires are checking using the 8-shaped gauge. The ball doesn't pass the test and we will have a change of ball. Meanwhile, they have called for drinks. |
| 61.5 : H Ali to Buttler, Touch short from Ali. Buttler tries to pull but mistimes it to the mid-wicket region. A run added to the total. |
| 61.6 : H Ali to Bess, Bess chooses to leave the wider ball for the keeper. |
| 62.1 : S Khan to Buttler, Too short from Shadab. Buttler missed out on a scoring opportunity but still gets a single. |
| 62.2 : S Khan to Bess, Googly from Shadab. Bess gets down on his knee and plays it to the fine leg region and takes another single. |
| 62.3 : S Khan to Buttler, Goes back in his crease and dishes the ball out. |
| 62.4 : S Khan to Buttler, Flighted outside the off stump and Buttler drives it to covers. |
| 62.5 : S Khan to Buttler, Flighted and dips in front of Buttler, who flicks it to wide mid-on fro a single. |
| 62.6 : S Khan to Bess, Drifted in by the bowler and Bess happily blocks it away. |
| 63.1 : H Ali to Buttler, Jumps across his stumps and flicks it on the leg side for a single. |
| 63.2 : H Ali to Bess, FOUR! Another good looking shot from Bess and with that, England take the lead and Pakistan will have to bat again. Fuller length ball on off, plays a cover drive with precision for a boundary. |
| Hasan Ali wants to change the angle, he takes his mark for around the wicket angle. |
| 63.3 : H Ali to Bess, Shortish delivery outside off, Dominic stays back and dabs it on the off side. |
| 63.4 : H Ali to Bess, FOUR! Slapped, and that's another boundary. Bess is making batting look ridiculously easy. Shortish delivery outside off, he sits back and powers it behind point for a boundary. Sarfraz runs to his bowler and gives him few words of wisdom. |
| 63.5 : H Ali to Bess, Massive appeal for caught behind from the fielders but Hasan Ali turns back and indicates it goes of his ribs. Shortish delivery, Bess jumps inside the line of it and looks to leave that but the ball kisses his t-shirt and goes to the keeper. |
| 63.6 : H Ali to Bess, Gentle length ball, the batsman hangs back and forces it through the covers for three more. Pakistan bowlers are dishing out loose ball quite regularly now. |
| 64.1 : S Khan to Bess, Pushed in on the legs, Bess dabs it to the fielder at short fine. |
| 64.2 : S Khan to Bess, This one comes in after pitching and hits the batsman on his pads. Appeal from the bowler but it's going down leg. |
| 64.3 : S Khan to Bess, Flighted, outside the off stump and it turns away after pitching. Bess goes for the poke and misses it. |
| 64.4 : S Khan to Bess, Now this one comes in. Nice mix up from the young leggie. However, the batsman is right behind it and defends. |
| 64.5 : S Khan to Bess, Comes on the front foot and plays the loopy delivery underneath his eyes. |
| 64.6 : S Khan to Bess, Lunging forward and blocks it back to the bowler. |
| 65.1 : H Ali to Buttler, Shortish delivery, doesn't rise enough and sits up nicely to be hit. Buttler dispatches it away to deep mid-wicket. The fielder in the deep mops it up and keeps it down to single. |
| 65.2 : H Ali to Bess, Bouncer from Ali, angling into the body, the batsman bends down and lets it go. |
| 65.3 : H Ali to Bess, Short and into the body, Bess rides the bounce, plays with soft hands and runs for a single. Good batting! |
| 65.4 : H Ali to Buttler, OOH! He looks to take the short ball on but chooses against it at the end. Nice leave by Buttler. |
| 65.5 : H Ali to Jos Buttler, Short and into the body once again but Buttler was up for the pull shot this time. Plays it along the ground and changes the strike. |
| 65.6 : H Ali to Bess, Comes on the front foot and blocks it out. |
| Good effort in the deep from Hasan Ali. However, the umpire wants to check whether it's a clean effort. |
| 66.1 : S Khan to Buttler, FOUR and 7th test Fifty for Jos Buttler! He has answered the desperate calls of England supporter and get the much needed fifty. It was short and down the pitch from Shadab. Buttler gets his right leg out of the way and punches it with power to the mid-wicket boundary. Hasan Ali gets to the ball in time but wasn't able to keep it out. Pakistan is loosing the plot here and Buttler is making them play dearly. |
| 66.2 : S Khan to Buttler, On a fullish length and spinning away. Buttler fails to make contact with the delivery. |
| 66.3 : S Khan to Jos Buttler, Comes forward and meet the full ball from the middle of his bat and punches it to the cover region. The cover fielder dives and saves a certain boundary for his team. |
| 66.4 : S Khan to Buttler, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat |
| 66.5 : S Khan to Buttler, Steps back and punches the flatter delivery to the cover region. Another run added to the lead. |
| 66.6 : S Khan to Bess, Comes on the front foot and blocks it out. |
| 67.1 : H Ali to Jos Buttler, Cries of catch it... but it lands safely! Shortish delivery from Hasan, Buttler goes for the pull but he gets a top edge which lands well in front of the man at deep mid-wicket. Single taken. |
| 67.2 : H Ali to Bess, Wide! Boy, that is pretty harsh! Shortish delivery on off, it isn't all that short but the umpire deems it wide. |
| H Ali to Bess, Fuller length ball on off, Bess presses on the front foot and defends it to the cover region. |
| 67.3 : H Ali to Bess, Another fullish delivery from Hasan, defended on the off side. |
| 67.4 : H Ali to Bess, Plays a drive on the up to the left of the cover fielder. Shafiq puts in the dive and makes a good stop. |
| 67.5 : H Ali to Bess, Bowls it full on the stumps, the right-hander stays in the crease and mistimes the drive to mid on. |
| 67.6 : H Ali to D Bess, Fullish delivery to end the over, Bess pushes it with ease down the track. |
| 68.1 : S Khan to Buttler, Flighted, on the off stump and Buttler powers the cover drive to the fielder. Another run added to the total. And England gets to 200 with the single. |
| 68.2 : S Khan to Bess, Bess looks to defend that but the ball goes off the inner half on the leg side. |
| 68.3 : S Khan to Bess, Played to the point region by the batsman. |
| 68.4 : S Khan to Bess, Quick run from Bess. He times the fuller ball to the mid-on region and scampers for one. Abbas shies at the stumps but misses. |
| 68.5 : S Khan to Buttler, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 68.6 : S Khan to Buttler, Drives it through mid-on from the front foot. |
| Mohammad Abbas is back into the attack. |
| 69.1 : M Abbas to Bess, FOUR! Class from Bess! He's giving some lusty blows to the already tired Pakistan bowlers. Coming to the delivery, it was touch short and outside the off stump. Bess gets on his toes and punches it through the cover-point region for a boundary. |
| 69.2 : M Abbas to Bess, Same kind of delivery and Bess carves this one to the point region for a single. |
| 69.3 : M Abbas to Buttler, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 69.4 : M Abbas to Buttler, FOUR Leg Byes. On a good length from Abbas and get hits Buttler on his pad. Ball runs behind the wicket, Sarfraz misses it as well and it runs away for a boundary. This also brings up 100-run partnership between the two. |
| 69.5 : M Abbas to Buttler, The batsman chooses to leave the ball outside his off stump. |
| 69.6 : M Abbas to Buttler, Bowls it on a full, goodish length but credits to batsman who open the face of the and guides it to the third man. He is going into IPL mode it seems and getting quick runs for his team. Two more runs added to the score. |
| 70.1 : S Khan to Bess, Bowls from around the wicket, full on middle, Bess takes his front leg out of the way and blocks it. |
| 70.2 : S Khan to Bess, Similar delivery from Shadab and well negotiated by Bess. |
| 70.3 : S Khan to Bess, Tossed up delivery on the leg stump line, backs away and pushes it to mid on |
| 70.4 : S Khan to Bess, Drags his length back by some region. Bess guides it to the right of the first slip fielder. Single taken. |
| 70.5 : S Khan to Buttler, Bowls a loopy delivery outside leg, Buttler sits in his crease and defends it out. |
| 70.6 : S Khan to Buttler, Pitching outside leg and seeing that, Buttler goes back and kicks it away. |
| 71.1 : M Abbas to Bess, On a good length, hint on an inward movement. Bess gets his bat on the ball and plays it towards the left of the cover fielder for a single. |
| 71.2 : M Abbas to Buttler, Shuffles across and dabs it to the mid on region for another single. |
| 71.3 : M Abbas to Bess, Touch short this time and the batsman punches it off the back foot to the cover fielder. |
| 71.4 : M Abbas to Bess, Bit too straight from Abbas. Bess flicks towards deep backward square. A run added to the total. |
| 71.5 : M Abbas to Buttler, Pushed to the cover off the back foot. |
| 71.6 : M Abbas to Buttler, Walks inside the line and dabs it to mid-wicket |
| 72.1 : S Khan to Bess, Good turn for Shadab. Loopy, on the middle stump and Bess plays it nicely towards the cover region and takes a single. |
| 72.2 : S Khan to Buttler, Tries to play it fine but finds the fielder at short fine leg. |
| 72.3 : S Khan to Buttler, Comes on the front foot and blocks it to the leg side. |
| 72.4 : S Khan to Buttler, Buttler tries to flick it behind the keeper but misses the ball altogether. |
| 72.5 : S Khan to Buttler, Clips it to square leg for another single. |
| 72.6 : S Khan to Bess, Pitched on the leg stump line, Bess sweeps it and gets a single. |
| 73.1 : M Abbas to Bess, Front foot slap from Bess and the ball races to the mid-wicket fielder. |
| 73.2 : M Abbas to Buttler, Buttler shuffles across and comes down the track to a delivery which holds its line after pitching. It is not far away from his outside edge. Some excitement for the visitors. |
| 73.3 : M Abbas to Buttler, Presents the full face of the bat and keeps it down. |
| 73.4 : M Abbas to Buttler, Replica of the previous delivery from the bowler. Buttler again comes down and defends it. |
| 73.5 : M Abbas to Buttler, Shuffles across, looking to clip it of his pads but couldn't get it past the square fielder. |
| 73.6 : M Abbas to Buttler, Comes down the track and keeps the ball out. |
| Faheem Ashraf is back on for a burst. |
| 74.1 : F Ashraf to Bess, Maiden test fifty for Dominic Bess! He played and missed a lot but stayed in the middle to make Pakistan suffer. Coming to the delivery, it was short and on the legs and Bess guides it to the deep mid-wicket fielder for an easy single. |
| 74.2 : F Ashraf to Buttler, Comes forward and gets his bat behind the delivery. |
| 74.3 : F Ashraf to Buttler, Gets inside the line of the delivery and clips it towards the vacant region behind square. The fielder from the deep takes time to reach the ball and this gives enough time to both the batsmen to two. |
| 74.4 : F Ashraf to Buttler, FOUR! Short and pulled away. Buttler is not going to miss these scoring opportunities. HE gets on top of the short ball and keeps it down. The fielder on the fine leg boundary runs to his left but had to chance of stopping that. Power presentation from Buttler. |
| Mickey Arthur in the dressing room is not happy with the tactics. Meanwhile, Mohammad Abbas has been moved to third man after that sloppy effort. |
| 74.5 : F Ashraf to Buttler, Similar kind of shot but this time the square leg fielder comes across to stop it from going further. One more run added to the lead. |
| 74.6 : F Ashraf to Bess, Defended on back foot by Bess off the short of length ball. |
| Mohammad Amir is back for the one final burst. |
| 75.1 : M Amir to Buttler, Good length ball on the off, angling across, the batsman doesn't play at it. |
| 75.2 : M Amir to Buttler, Buttler walks across his stumps and whips it away to deep mid-wicket. The fielder runs across to his left and picks it up. A couple more added to the total. England's lead has now crossed the 50-run mark. |
| 75.3 : M Amir to Buttler, On a good length and Jos defends it with a lot of confidence to the cover region. |
| 75.4 : M Amir to Buttler, Huge grunt from Amir as he delivers this one. On a length and Buttler blocks it back to the bowler. |
| 75.5 : M Amir to Buttler, Shortish delivery from Amir, zips in at good pace, Buttler goes back to defend that but he ends up getting an inside edge on the thigh pad. |
| 75.6 : M Amir to Buttler, Good delivery to end the over, at 88.5 mph. Length ball, angling across the off stump, Buttler shoulders arms to it. |
| 76.1 : F Ashraf to D Bess, Faheem delivers on a length, angling in, Bess jabs at that one and gets a thick edge which rolls down to third man. He gets down to the other end with a single. |
| 76.2 : F Ashraf to Buttler, Fuller length ball outside off, Buttler steps out and moves across his stumps. He lets it through in the end. |
| 76.3 : F Ashraf to Buttler, In the same zone outside off, Buttler walks across his wickets and lets it through to the keeper. |
| 76.4 : F Ashraf to Jos Buttler, Comes down the track and plays a drive on the up through the line. However, only manages to hit it to Shafiq at short extra cover. Three dots on the trot from Faheem in this over. |
| 76.5 : F Ashraf to Buttler, Slanting in from outside off, Buttler hops across in a hope to glance that but he wears it on the pads. |
| 76.6 : F Ashraf to Buttler, Beaten! Beauty from Faheem. Buttler is beaten neck and crop! Good length ball, drifts in and shapes away at the last moment, Buttler is beaten comprehensively. |
| 77.1 : M Amir to Bess, Shortish delivery into the body, Bess stays back and calmly defends it on to the leg side. |
| 77.2 : M Amir to Bess, Short of a length ball from Amir, angling across the stumps, Dominic doesn't offer a stroke to that one. |
| Sarfraz wants some changes in the field. Brings in an extra fielder in the slip cordon and moves the cover fielder a little back. |
| 77.4 : M Amir to Bess, Play and a miss! Calm down, calm down young lad. You have played so well all this while and just can't give it away in the last over of the day. A widish delivery from Amir and Bess goes after it. He nearly ends up getting an outside edge to the keeper. |
| 77.5 : M Amir to Bess, Fractionally wide from Amir. At this stage of the day the batsman is happy to leave it. |
| Change of angle from Amir. He goes around the wicket to bowl the final ball of the day. |
| 77.6 : M Amir to Bess, FOUR! That shot from Bess sums up the session for England. Emphatic cover drive to end a fruitful session for England. He crouches a little and drills it through the covers for a boundary. THAT'S STUMPS ON DAY 3. |
| A brilliant fightback by England courtesy a magnificent partnership between Buttler and Bess, who walk off to a standing ovation from the crowd, has provided them with some hope. They entered the third session when the chips were down, trailing by another 68 runs with only 4 wickets in hand but now end the day with a lead of 56 and still have the same number of wickets remaining. |
| The Pakistan bowlers tried everything they could but once the ball got soft, batting seemed very easy. Runs started to come thick and fast and both the batsmen brought up their half tons. However, the job is not yet done as the home side will want the two out there to bat as long as possible. The away side, on the other hand, will most probably take the second new ball tomorrow morning which is only two overs away. They will try and bundle out the rest of the batsmen quickly. Will the hosts cont |
| ... Day 4, Session 1 ... |
| Hello and welcome to Day 4. Pakistan were cruising along at one stage yesterday, but Buttler and Bess defied the odds to stage a comeback for England. They have already added 125 runs for the 7th wicket. Their stand has given England a small lead. Today, it will be about strengthening their position in the game. Whereas for Pakistan, they need to pick up wickets quickly this morning and the new ball will be their biggest weapon which will be due after a couple of overs. Do stay tuned as we bring |
| We are all set to go... Jos Buttler and Dominic Bess will resume their innings. For Pakistan, Hasan Ali has the ball, he will operate with a couple of slips. |
| 78.1 : H Ali to Buttler, Starts the day with a length ball on the stumps, no swing whatsoever. Buttler goes right back and defends it solidly down the track. |
| 78.2 : H Ali to Buttler, This one straightens just a little, squares up Buttler a little, who manages to defend it back to the bowler. |
| 78.3 : H Ali to Buttler, Signs of unevenness! Hits the seam and shoots through at pace. Luckily for Buttler, it is well wide of the off stump. |
| 78.4 : H Ali to Jos Buttler, Fuller length ball on off, Buttler gets partly forward and powers it to the man at mid off. |
| 78.5 : H Ali to Buttler, Serves in a delivery, angling in from outside off, Buttler blocks it with a lot of confidence. |
| 78.6 : H Ali to Jos Buttler, Fuller length ball, with a hint of away movement. Buttler plays with soft hands. The ball goes off the outer half past the second slip fielder, they take a run. |
| Mohammad Abbas will bowl from the other end. |
| 79.1 : M Abbas to Buttler, Length ball outside off, Buttler takes a step down the track and decides to leave that one. That one too kept a little low! |
| 0.0 : Review from Buttler. He has been adjudged leg before, it looked pretty adjacent to the naked eye and the umpire thinks likewise. He raises his finger. Only an inside edge can save Buttler here. |
| 79.2 : M Abbas to Buttler, OUT! Wickets hitting - Umpire's call. So, the on-field decision stands! Buttler gets his marching orders. Oh boy, this is a big big success for Pakistan. A perfect start for the visitors. It took Abbas just a couple of balls to provide an early breakthrough. The tourists will heave a sigh of relief to see the back of the dangerous Buttler. He played so well yesterday but could only add one run to his tally this morning. It is a special delivery from Abbas, on a length |
| Mark Wood is the next man in. |
| 79.3 : M Abbas to Wood, Defended off the back foot by the batsman. |
| 79.4 : M Abbas to Wood, FOUR! Excellent shot from Wood, he is up and running. Fullish delivery on off, gets on the front foot and creams it through the covers for a boundary. |
| 79.5 : M Abbas to Wood, Good length ball outside off, the batsman goes back and leaves it all alone. |
| 79.6 : M Abbas to Wood, The batsman shoulders arms to let that one through. |
| Mohammad Amir comes into the attack. The second new ball is due but Pakistan haven't taken it yet and the reason for it is the wicket of Buttler in the last over off the old ball. |
| 80.1 : M Amir to Bess, OUCH! Shortish delivery on the stumps, Bess hops back to fend that but gets hit on the thigh pad. |
| 0.0 : Deep mid-wicket in place now. |
| 80.2 : M Amir to Bess, First run this morning for Bess, he hangs back and pushes it past the backward point fielder for a single. |
| The second new ball has been taken. Amir will be raring to go with it. |
| 80.3 : M Amir to Wood, Straightaway some inward movement for Amir, it hits the good length area and jags in a little. Wood goes back and defends it on the off side. |
| 80.4 : M Amir to Wood, Goes wide of the crease and tries to bring one into the batsman, Wood covers his off stump and leaves it all alone. |
| 80.5 : M Amir to Wood, Play and a miss! Wood looks to defend that off the back foot but he ends up playing well inside the line of it. Misses it by some distance. |
| 80.6 : M Amir to Wood, OUT! Is there a nick? You bet! Two wickets in quick succession for Pakistan and they are once again bossing this game. Both the main stream bowlers are doing the job for their side. In the previous over, Abbas got the big fish and Amir follows the suit by picking up a wicket in his very first over of the day. England have a small lead of 62 and now they have just couple of wickets in hand. It is a good delivery which deserves a wicket. A wobbly seam delivery from Amir on a |
| Stuart Broad strides out to bat. |
| 81.1 : M Abbas to Bess, That ball has taken the inside edge of the batsman and thudded into his pads. |
| 81.2 : M Abbas to Bess, Bess goes on the front foot and punches it to mid on. They take a quick single. |
| 81.3 : M Abbas to Broad, OUCH! Imam is down on the ground, but what happened there? It is a fullish delivery from Abbas which Broad drives to point. Abbas there gets an awkward bounce and the ball hits him on the soft spot. |
| The physio is out in the middle with the ice pack. Imam is still not feeling comfortable and he is leaving the field. |
| 81.4 : M Abbas to Broad, OUT! Broad goes for a duck! Pakistan are all over England like a rash. The hosts are capitulating quickly this morning. They have added just seven runs to the total and have lost three wickets in a jiffy! Abbas is the man for the traveling team, he gets his fourth wicket in this innings. He has been a revolution with the ball and rarely does his effort goes without being noticed. Coming to the ball - It is on a good length on off and middle, moves away from the left-hand |
| James Anderson is the last man in. |
| 81.5 : M Abbas to Anderson, Anderson goes on one knee and looks to play the drive. He gets an under edge on to the off side. |
| 81.6 : M Abbas to Anderson, The batsman defends it from within the crease. |
| 82.1 : Amir to D Bess, OUT! Bowled 'em! That is it. Phew! What an amazing effort from Pakistan. It took them just 25 balls to wrap the England innings. Bess stands their in disappointment after seeing his furniture getting disturbed. Amir bowls from wide of the crease and slants it into the stumps. The ball kept a tab low as Bess tries to drive that one without covering the line of the delivery. Gets a bottom edge on the stumps and the off stump is uprooted. Target for Pakistan is just 64. |
| That was a quick wrap from Pakistan. They came out with good plans and executed them with perfection. Just 25 balls were bowled this morning and they snared the remaining four wickets in it. Abbas broke the 126-run stand between Buttler and Bess and what followed after that was simply outstanding. Amir and Abbas combined together and got the last three wickets with the new ball in the blink of an eye. Pakistan just needs 64 runs to take the unassailable 1-0 lead in the series. |
| Overall, it was a decent effort with the ball from the traveling team. They were excellent with the ball in the first innings and it was no different in the second one. They got the top order packing quickly. However, Root showed a stubborn resistance with his 40th Test fifty. A good innings from Root was followed by a gritty partnership between Buttler and Bess. Their effort ensured England make Pakistan bat for the second time in the bat. |
| 0.1 : J Anderson to Ali, Anderson bowls a length ball outside off, Azhar goes back and plays away from the body as he defends it tentatively on the off side. |
| 0.2 : J Anderson to Ali, Goes fuller this time and attacks the stumps, Ali hangs back in his crease and defends it on the off side. |
| 0.3 : J Anderson to Ali, In the channel outside off, Azhar Ali covers his off stump and leaves it all alone. |
| 0.4 : J Anderson to Ali, Leg byes! Slipping down leg, Ali goes across to glance that but misses it on the thigh pad. They take a leg bye. Pakistan get underway in this run chase with a couple of leg byes. |
| 0.5 : J Anderson to Ali, Good length ball outside off stump, Ali goes on the back foot and defends it on the off side. |
| 0.6 : J Anderson to Ali, FOUR! Outside edge and it rolls wide of the third slip fielder. Four more for Pakistan. Ali hangs back and looks to defend that with hard hands. He gets a thick edge and the ball speeds away to the third man fence. |
| Stuart Broad will share the new ball. |
| 1.1 : S Broad to Imam, Tentatively played by Imam-ul-Haq. He gets a rising delivery, angling across him and he tries to play away from the body but gets beaten by the pace of Broad. |
| 1.2 : S Broad to Imam, FOUR! Brilliant straight drive from Imam-ul-Haq, that will get him going. Fullish delivery from Broad, he leans forward and powers it to the left of mid off for a boundary. |
| 1.3 : S Broad to Imam, Plays with the straight bat but the ball goes off the inner half to deep square leg for a single. |
| 1.4 : S Broad to Ali, Fuller length ball from Broad, seams in a little, Ali goes to play the drive but gets a thick inside edge on the back leg. |
| 1.5 : S Broad to Ali, Length ball in the channel outside off, Ali covers his stumps and leaves it all alone. |
| 1.6 : S Broad to Ali, Bowls it touch fuller than the previous one. Ali comes on the front foot and defends it to the point region. |
| 2.1 : J Anderson to Imam, Angling across the stumps, Imam doesn't offer a stroke to it. |
| 2.2 : J Anderson to Imam, Drop and run. This is brilliant from the left-hander. He drops it on the off side and calls for a quick single. |
| 2.3 : Anderson to A Ali, OUT! Cleaned him up! Hitting the top of off, a dream delivery for any fast bowler. Anderson produces a beauty which sends Azhar Ali packing. Bowls it seam up and angling it. The batsman plays for the angle and he is beaten as the ball straightens a bit and hits the top half of the off peg. Ali hears the sound of the timber and starts walking straightaway without looking back. Is there a twist in the tale? or is it too late for England? We will find that out soon... |
| Haris Sohail strides out to bat. |
| 2.4 : J Anderson to Sohail, Wide outside off stump, the batsman leaves it alone. |
| 2.5 : J Anderson to Sohail, Good ball, angling across and lifts sharply, the batsman lifts his bat and decides to leave it. |
| 2.6 : J Anderson to Sohail, Poor end to the over, Anderson slips it down the leg side. Haris moves inside the line of it and glances to fine leg for a brace. |
| 3.1 : S Broad to Imam, Good length ball outside off, Imam doesn't offer stroke to that one. |
| 3.2 : S Broad to Imam, The left-hander shows the full face of the bat and defends it down the track. |
| 3.3 : S Broad to Imam, Fullish delivery from Broad, the batsman plays another defensive stroke. |
| 3.4 : S Broad to Imam, Slipping down the leg side. The southpaw fails to put bat to ball. Need to put those away. |
| 3.5 : S Broad to Imam, Corrects his line and delivers it full on the off stump line, Imam drives it nicely off the front foot to the left of the bowler. |
| 3.6 : S Broad to Imam, Beaten! Lovely delivery to end the over. Broad angles it across the stumps, Imam plays down the wrong line and misses it. |
| 4.1 : J Anderson to Sohail, Run out chance? No, the fielder fails to gather the ball cleanly. Defends it on the leg side and calls for a quick single. Makes it as there is a fumble. |
| 4.2 : J Anderson to Imam, The batsman chooses to leave the ball outside his off stump. |
| 4.3 : J Anderson to Imam, Plays a drive on the up through the covers. They scamper back for the third run. |
| 4.4 : J Anderson to Sohail, Eases it on the off side and they take a quick single. |
| 4.5 : J Anderson to Imam, Fuller length ball on off, plays a drive by going on one knee. Hits it to the man at mid off. |
| 4.6 : J Anderson to Imam, The batsman chooses to leave the ball outside his off stump. |
| 5.1 : S Broad to Sohail, Bowls from around the angle, a touch too wide, the batsman lets it go. |
| 5.2 : S Broad to H Sohail, FOUR! Uppish... but well over Stokes. Fuller length ball outside off stump, seeing width, Haris throws his bat at it and gets a thick outside edge over slip cordon. No one at third man to stop it. |
| 5.3 : S Broad to Sohail, Defends it down the track with a lot of ease. |
| 5.4 : S Broad to H Sohail, FOUR! Overpitched delivery and Haris cashes on it. Fuller length ball on off, gets on the front foot and powers it between extra cover and mid off. A couple of boundaries in the over, the left-hander is trying to stay positive. |
| 5.5 : S Broad to Sohail, Too wide from Broad and the batsman decides to leave it. |
| 5.6 : S Broad to Sohail, Another harmless delivery from Broad, outside off and Haris ignores it. |
| Time for some spin. Dominic Bess gets the ball, can he do some magic with the cherry in his hand? |
| 6.1 : D Bess to Imam, Flatter ball outside off, the batsman doesn't play at that one. |
| 6.2 : D Bess to Imam, Loopy ball outside off, Imam plays a drive back to the bowler. |
| 6.3 : D Bess to Imam, Prodigious spin for Bess. He gives it more revs to the ball. Imam goes for the drive but misses it. Bairstow takes it over his shoulders. |
| 6.4 : D Bess to Imam, FOUR! Follows it up with a poor delivery, sliding it down the leg side. The batsman manages to get a wood on it and the ball rolls away to the fine leg boundary. |
| 6.5 : D Bess to Imam, Three Byes! Another one, turns away sharply and the batsman is beaten for it. Bairstow gets a glove it but can't stop it cleanly. Stoneman from short third man chases it and pulls it inside the ropes. |
| 6.6 : D Bess to Sohail, Sohail closes the face of the bat and works it square on the leg side for a single. |
| Dual bowling change from England. Mark Wood comes into the attack. The hosts look bit desperate for the wickets, why not, they just have 29 runs to play with. |
| 7.1 : M Wood to Sohail, Bangs the first one short and Sohail does well to duck underneath it. |
| 7.2 : M Wood to Sohail, Pitched outside leg and angles on his pads. Sohail flicks it to square leg for a single. |
| 7.3 : M Wood to Imam, Short of a length angling away from the batsman. Imam gets high on his toes and plays it down to the off side. |
| 7.4 : M Wood to Imam, A bumper from Wood, angling into the batsman. Imam is happy to duck under it and lets it go. |
| 7.5 : M Wood to Imam, Around the wicket on a same length, touch close to the off side this time. Imam sways away and leaves it for the keeper. |
| 7.6 : M Wood to Imam, Gets closer to the batsman with the short one. Imam takes evasive action and keeps his bat away from the delivery while swaying away. |
| 8.1 : D Bess to Sohail, Flatter on the leg stump. The batsman flicks it to the mid-wicket region and takes two. |
| 8.2 : D Bess to Sohail, Driven off the front foot to mid off. |
| 8.3 : D Bess to Sohail, Flighted and spinning away from the rough. Sohail happily leaves it. |
| 8.4 : D Bess to Sohail, Comes on the front foot and presents the full face as he defends. |
| 8.5 : D Bess to Sohail, Touch short and Sohail has punched this beautifully off the back foot. Pakistan gets closer to the target. |
| 8.6 : D Bess to Sohail, Stays tall and punches it back with intent. |
| 9.1 : M Wood to Imam, Short and touch close to the batsman's grill who does well to sway away from the line. |
| 9.2 : M Wood to Imam, Punched from the back foot to the mid-wicket region. |
| 9.3 : M Wood to Imam, Imam does well to get on his toes and play the short ball down with soft hands. |
| 9.4 : M Wood to Imam, Repeat of the previous delivery from the batsman and the bowler. |
| 9.5 : M Wood to Imam, Another short one and the batsman shoulders arm to it. |
| 9.6 : M Wood to Imam, Imam is leaving the short ball outside the off stump with ease. |
| 10.1 : D Bess to Sohail, Faster one from Bess and flatter too. Haris hangs back and decides to leave it all alone. |
| 10.2 : D Bess to Sohail, FOUR! Easy as you like. A loopy delivery on the stumps, Haris takes a step closer to it and makes contact on the full. Punches it with nice timing past his partner and beats the man at mid on. The ball races away for a boundary. |
| 10.3 : D Bess to Sohail, Quicker delivery outside off, left alone by the batsman. |
| 10.4 : D Bess to Sohail, Again too wide from Bess and the batsman is happy to leave those. |
| 10.5 : D Bess to Sohail, FOUR! Drills it and no need to run for that! Too full from Bess, the batsman comes on the front foot and powers the drive through the covers. Splits the gap to perfection between extra cover and mid off. No stopping that one. 50 up for Pakistan, they just need 14 more to win this game! |
| 10.6 : D Bess to Sohail, Steps out and smashes it hard again, but this time only manages to find the man at mid off. |
| 11.1 : M Wood to Imam, Goes over the wicket, angles into the body of Imam who does well to stay tall and get behind the line. He punches it from the back foot to the vacant cover region and takes three. |
| 11.2 : M Wood to Sohail, Bouncer! The batsman ducks in time to let that one go over him. |
| 11.3 : M Wood to Sohail, The batsman stays tall and keeps it down to the mid-wicket region. Another run added to the total. |
| 11.4 : M Wood to Imam, Consistent short bowling from the English bowlers. Imam gets another one into his body and punches the ball down to the mid off region for another couple. |
| 11.5 : M Wood to Imam, The batsman picked the bouncer early and let it through to the keeper. |
| 11.6 : M Wood to Imam, Stays tall and gets behind the line to block it. |
| 12.1 : D Bess to Sohail, SIX! S-H-O-T! Haris tonks one into the stands. A low full toss, he goes down on one knee and slogs it over the mid-wicket boundary for a biggie. That's the 50-run stand between Sohail and Imam! |
| 12.2 : D Bess to Sohail, Looks to defend that one, but misses it as that one keeps low. |
| 12.3 : D Bess to Sohail, Fuller length ball on off, Haris goes on the front foot and defends it on the off side. |
| 12.4 : D Bess to Sohail, FOUR! That is that! Game, set and match! PAKISTAN WIN BY 9 WICKETS! They take a 1-0 lead in the series. A friendly delivery from Bess on the middle and leg stump line, the batsman whips it with absolute ease to the mid-wicket boundary. |
| An emphatic win for Pakistan, they have cruised along without breaking a sweat in this run chase. 64 was never going to challenge the visitors, but the way their young batsmen handled it was noteworthy. Haris Sohail was the aggressor of the two, while Imam played the second fiddle in the 54-run unbeaten stand which saw them get over the line. However, the game was set up by their bowlers earlier in the session. Abbas and Amir wreaked havoc. The two complimented each other well and snared eight w |
| After winning the toss, England decided to bat under overcast conditions, but the home team was rocked early as they lost three quick wickets. However, Cook tried to resurrect the innings with a half century but the hosts were bundled out for a paltry total of 184 in their first essay with the bat. In reply, Pakistan batted smartly, they assessed the conditions better than the hosts. Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam and Shadab Khan scored their respective fifties while the rest chipped in as t |
| Trailing by 179, the pressure was immense on the batters of the English team and it further escalated as they lost Cook and Stoneman cheaply. Though, Root played a captain's innings and scored his 40th Test fifty but he failed to make it big. Buttler and Bess then delayed the inevitable with a big seventh wicket partnership (126 runs) and pushed the game into the fourth day. However, Pakistan came out with better plans today and the new ball helped them in a big way. Overall, it was a great team |
| The Man of the Match has been awarded to Mohammad Abbas for his terrific performance with the ball. He was in his elements from the word go and took a 8-wicket haul to push the Englishmen on the back foot. |
| That ends our coverage of the Lord's game. A rather lopsided affair, which was quite unexpected. England were bland in all aspects of the game and paid the price. However, we all know how potent they can be when they get their act right and will be hungry to bounce back. On the other hand, Pakistan were astute overall. They will look to capitalize on the dream start and continue their form. Join us for the second and final Test of the series from the 1st of June in Headingley, Leeds. Till then, |
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