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England struggle at 24/3 in their second innings at stumps on Day 2 of the third Test against Pakistan

What am I witnessing? :p Pakistan in winning position and Indian in losing position!
 
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Take these two batting right now quickly and Pakistan won't have to chase much.
 
If Pakistan had played Sajid, Noman against Bangladesh, the result of that series could very well have been different.

Criminal stuff by the selectors, team management to feel the over rated Abrar was the only spinner available in test matches.

Had it not been for Aqibs interference there is no way Shan or Gillespie would have even considered Sajid and Noman.
 
Sajid and Noman have been quality this series. Both bowlers complement each other beautifully. It's not just the pitches alone. These guys know how to intelligently vary their line, length, loop, pace and set the batsman up at the right time.
 
Savak said:
If Pakistan had played Sajid, Noman against Bangladesh, the result of that series could very well have been different.

Criminal stuff by the selectors, team management to feel the over rated Abrar was the only spinner available in test matches.

Had it not been for Aqibs interference there is no way Shan or Gillespie would have even considered Sajid and Noman.
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gillespie and shan have been upset because the selectors told them they cant have babar and shaheen in the team and they are not having a saying play xi either
 
Savak said:
If Pakistan had played Sajid, Noman against Bangladesh, the result of that series could very well have been different.

Criminal stuff by the selectors, team management to feel the over rated Abrar was the only spinner available in test matches.

Had it not been for Aqibs interference there is no way Shan or Gillespie would have even considered Sajid and Noman.
Click to expand...
Abrar shouldn't never play ahead of nauman and sajid both are far better in batting and bowling.

Abrar in all honestly in quite an average bowler and is living off his debut game.
 
emranabbas said:
gillespie and shan have been upset because the selectors told them they cant have babar and shaheen in the team and they are not having a saying play xi either
Click to expand...

Don't think Shan has any issues. Gillespies ego is badly hurt especially seeing Aqib is now going to get the credit for the drastic change in strategy by Pakistan and showing you can actually prepare a good supporting turning pitch on short notice
 
Zainab is looking beautiful as always and Rameez's face look swollen for some reason, lol
 
Savak said:
If Pakistan had played Sajid, Noman against Bangladesh, the result of that series could very well have been different.

Criminal stuff by the selectors, team management to feel the over rated Abrar was the only spinner available in test matches.

Had it not been for Aqibs interference there is no way Shan or Gillespie would have even considered Sajid and Noman.
Click to expand...
Had we beaten BD as usual we would've been in running for the WTC finals also.
 
khyberlion said:
Abrar shouldn't never play ahead of nauman and sajid both are far better in batting and bowling.

Abrar in all honestly in quite an average bowler and is living off his debut game.
Click to expand...

He is the only notable young Test spinner who is available, Babar absolutely butchered him and instilled a terrible mentality, but I feel like they should invest in him still and a new regime should get more out of him hopefully, would certainly have been a better choice then Zahid
 
shaz619 said:
He is the only notable young Test spinner who is available, Babar absolutely butchered him and instilled a terrible mentality, but I feel like they should invest in him still and a new regime should get more out of him hopefully, would certainly have been a better choice then Zahid
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Babar has not done him any favour but it doesn't change the fact that he's quite average. He's a genuine no 11 on top and an awful fielder.

Anyone is better than zahid in all honesty. I would play Zafar Gohar ahead of Abrar far better bowler and a massive upgrade in terms of batting.
 
Can't believe Crawley was England's leading run scorer in the India tour, he looks totally clueless vs spin.
Pope's Hyderabd blinder also proven to be a fluke.
 
For a change, it's great to see Pakistan in a good position overnight.

Now it all depends how they come back and start off tomorrow as England still have Stokes, Smith, Atkinson.
 
khyberlion said:
Babar has not done him any favour but it doesn't change the fact that he's quite average. He's a genuine no 11 on top and an awful fielder.

Anyone is better than zahid in all honesty. I would play Zafar Gohar ahead of Abrar far better bowler and a massive upgrade in terms of batting.
Click to expand...

Zafar is another victim of Babar’s leadership, his best years are arguably behind him, though am not against him being considered as a future replacement for Noman. And on Abrar if we have such an attitude on all young spinners you won’t develop them, look and learn from how England tends to look far ahead, Abrar has done well in Tests against this team on flatter pitches, I wouldn’t overlook him with the need to develop spinners for the future.
 

Shakeel puts Pakistan in charge of deciding Test​


A masterful century from Pakistan’s Saud Shakeel and late wickets from the spinners put England in huge danger after two days of the deciding Test in Rawalpindi.

Shakeel’s watchful 134, helped by lower-order partnerships with Noman Ali and Sajid Khan, pulled Pakistan up to 344, an unlikely lead of 77.

Sajid and Noman then combined to remove Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope to leave England 24-3, 53 behind.

The home side were in huge trouble at 177-7 when Rehan Ahmed took three wickets in the morning session.

But number nine Noman made a gritty 45 in an eighth-wicket stand of 88 with Shakeel that roasted England across the afternoon.

Even after Noman was lbw to Shoaib Bashir, Sajid arrived to cause chaos, clubbing 48 not out to add another 72 with Shakeel.

As the light faded, England were given around 40 minutes to bat, desperate to get to the weekend unscathed.

Instead, they were again tormented by Noman and Sajid and will begin Saturday far away from a total that could win the match and series.

Pakistan power through

If this was the decisive day in the series, then all credit should go to Shakeel, who played an innings reminiscent of the late Graham Thorpe. England must also be sick of Noman and Sajid, who revitalised Pakistan with their wickets and have now played crucial knocks with the bat.

Just like on day one, the pitch was achingly slow and played fewer tricks in terms of turn and bounce for the older ball. Even with the new ball, England carried only a fleeting threat.

For once, Ben Stokes’s tactics were questionable. Ahmed bowled just one over of the first 47 in the Pakistan innings. England were passive in the field, with boundary riders allowing single after single.

When Sajid arrived to drive home Pakistan’s position, England were bereft of answers. Gus Atkinson was ignored until the second new ball was 15 overs old and was the man to remove Shakeel, while Stokes did not bowl himself at all.

The concern was England would go too hard against the new ball, repeating the mistakes of a first-day slump to 118-6. Pakistan’s total was what England should have reached after winning the toss, rather than their 267.

As it turned out, their defences were breached as Noman and Sajid got more from the pitch than the England spinners. The tourists at least have the advantage of bowling last, but need the runs to make it count.

Shakeel’s stellar century

This was a quite brilliant knock by Shakeel. When he arrived, Pakistan were 46-3 and in danger of imploding. By the time he left, more than five hours later, the home side were in the lead.

The left-hander overturned being given caught down the leg side on one on the first evening. Resuming on 16, with Pakistan 73-3, Shakeel had added 10 when a thick edge off Bashir hit Jamie Smith on the knee. It was barely a chance to the keeper.

Shakeel is a superb player of spin. Time and again he pushed the ball into the off side for ones. His 70 singles is the most in a batter’s first 100 runs where such data has been collected. He hit just four fours on the way to three figures.

Shakeel had to watch as Ahmed’s burst threatened to give England a big advantage, yet he found a willing ally in Noman, who adopted the same caution. Noman overturned being given lbw on 10, edged Joe Root just past the fingertips of slip Stokes on 35 and would have been run out on 36 had Jack Leach hit from mid-off.

Shakeel tucked Ahmed into the leg side for his fourth Test hundred as England clung on for the new ball. It did the trick when Bashir scuttled one into Noman’s pads.

Pakistan were not done. Sajid scooped Ahmed into his own chin, drawing blood, though still crashed four sixes. Shakeel eventually miscued Atkinson to mid-wicket before last man Zahid Mahmood was befuddled by an Ahmed googly.

England’s tall tail problem

England will be left wondering where this day got away from them. Bashir started well, taking the edge of Shan Masood, before the tourists were held up by Shakeel and the busy Muhammad Rizwan.

Ahmed was called to break things open and needed only nine deliveries to do so. Rizwan was lbw sweeping, Salman Ali Agha trapped on the back leg and Aamer Jamal failed to pick a googly that he chopped on to his stumps.

But England have a problem mopping up the tail. In Stokes’ time as captain, England on average concede more runs than any other Test team attempting to take the final three wickets in an innings.

On this occasion, Pakistan added 167 runs after the fall of their seventh wicket, leaving Duckett and Crawley in a hugely dangerous position as they emerged to bat with the sun dropping.

Pakistan sprung a surprise by giving the first over to Saim Ayub. He lasted one over until Sajid was summoned, varying his pace to have Duckett lbw on review.

Noman slid one into the front pad of Crawley, then got extra bounce to take the glove of Pope. Root and Harry Brook would have been relieved when the light left five overs unbowled.

BBC Sport
 
Sajid Khan on speaking to Urooj Mumtaz on Sky Sports Cricket:

"I need a couple of stitches but I'm playing for my country and it's important because we've lost a lot of series so I need to play."

"I can get them tomorrow."

"In domestic cricket, I have good figures in batting. Saud told me he will play in singles and allowed me to attack."

"If we get Joe Root early tomorrow then we can get a really strong position tomorrow."
 
England spinner Rehan Ahmed speaking to Sky Sports Cricket:

“The momentum is with them, but we can still win the game. We’ve got a lot of batting to come. It’s not nice being three down, that does change things a little bit, but not too much for us."

"We are three down but that doesn’t take much away from us. We have to be as positive as we can when we come back tomorrow."
 
Sky Sports' Nasser Hussain:

"It's not a like-for-like comparison because of the new ball and old ball."

"I love the way their [Pakistan] two spinners go about it. Sajid Khan firing it in at a quicker pace and Noman Ali deceiving batters in the flight on flat pitches."

"They've bowled beautifully. The ball that got Pope out just summed up how wonderful they've been."

"Crawley played for the spin and was done on the outside edge."

“I think he did. If you listen to the hype about the pitch yesterday, it was a really difficult pitch to bat on with only certain shots you can play."

“I think England got into their minds that they would have their catchers and stop the boundaries. If Pakistan got one or two, so be it, they wouldn’t get away from them and eventually their would be a ball with their name on it."

“What surprised me was not the fact Stokes had men out, he’s done that on a number of occasions, it was that he didn’t bring men up and tempt the batter to go over."

“Fair play to Saud Shakeel, he kept taking and taking freebie runs, ones and twos, and it led to a brilliant century.”

"England’s struggles against the tail repeated themselves. It’s not just today or in this series, but in the last two or three years, England have struggled to get through tailenders."

"Even when England have had pace, I think they’ve slightly lost the plot and gone just for a bouncer ploy. I’m not talking about in these conditions, but even when they’ve had Mark Wood, sometimes they will bowl beautifully to the top order and then as soon as the tail end comes in, bouncers right away and they’ll get hit everywhere. They do lose the plot a little bit."

"Stokes maybe puts so much energy into his captaincy, into the week of captaincy, that when he gets to seven or eight down he may just need a bit of help. There aren’t many senior bowlers around in this side, he may just need someone to drag him to one side and discuss strategy. I was amazed Rehan didn’t start after lunch."
 
Sky Sports' Michael Atherton:

"England were very thankful to come off when the umpires called time because they were right under the pump in a very difficult last few overs for them."

"I wasn’t confident Zak Crawley would survive, while Ollie Pope is having a bit of a horror trot on this tour. The wicket of Ben Duckett was the real bad blow, he's such a good player of spin."

"Now their two main men on this tour, Joe Root and Harry Brook, are at the crease. They will need a good start in the morning to dig them out of this hole."

"I think England feel they have struggled with the tail due to a lack of pace. There was a game in Ranchi where they couldn’t get through India’s tail. And I think they felt they didn’t have enough weapons. Its very different here in these conditions, you’re not going to blast anybody out."

"I actually think Noman and Sajid have been fantastic additions to Pakistan’s team, not just with the ball, which is the principal thing, but the way Sajid performed with the bat was fantastic. He’s heart, passion and head, and he didn’t get carried away with it."

"Over both innings of the second Test in Multan, they put on 178 runs and those two spinners have been key to Pakistan’s revival."
 
I reckon this was match winning partnership

3kWp33L.png
 
iPakistani said:
Rizwan behind the stumps to Brook "No more Bazball this is AqibBall now"

Excellent and hilarious sledging.

A certain hippo's career highlights behind the stumps is making racist remarks.
Click to expand...
I mean is that hilarious? Really?
 
Saud Shakeel during a press conference after Day 2 of the third test against England:

"When we saw the pitch, we had an idea it would turn into a spin-friendly track. So, I prepared accordingly, knowing which spinners we might face, like Rehan Ahmed, who's a leg spinner. I practiced by playing against Zahid Mahmood, who has a similar style, and also practiced with a left-arm spinner. I try to prepare according to the match situation."

"And I’ll dedicate this hundred to myself; scoring a century feels great, and you always want to score one every day, but it doesn't happen like that."

"I don’t think about the run rate while batting; I just try to play according to the situation. If you look at my innings today, from my 50-100 runs, I probably didn’t hit a single boundary. I focused on rotating the strike, backing myself to achieve my milestones that way."

"As for the Multan Test match, that was a learning phase for me. England set a very defensive field, and Chris Woakes bowled 3-4 overs entirely outside off, so I had to play them as maidens. There wasn’t much I could do, and if I had tried, it would have risked my wicket, potentially putting us in a bad position. So, I prefer playing according to the situation."

"When you play on a spin-favorable pitch, there's always tension, even though my batting average against spin is good. But I don’t enjoy playing against spinners."

"Babar Azam has scored so many runs for Pakistan and has always been the backbone of the team. But since I made my Test debut, you can’t rely on anyone. I’m playing at batting position 5, which is no easy task; I have to perform, and Alhamdulillah, I’m performing. For example, Kamran Ghulam scored a century on his debut, and that was a very important century. In international cricket, it doesn’t matter if you're a newcomer or experienced; if you’re in the playing XI, it’s your responsibility to perform."

"Today, according to my plan, I played very few sweep shots, even though I rely a lot on them. I focused mostly on strike rotation."

"With Noman Ali and Sajid Khan, I kept things simple. With Nauman bhai, I was talking about making just 10 runs each time, asking him how we could get those next 10 runs. When Sajid Khan came in, I didn’t have to explain much as he was guiding me a lot, but I did have to stop him from playing too aggressively and had to remind him to be cautious, as it was making me tense. They both played very well, and the credit goes to them."

"There’s this phase in our first-class cricket where we don’t play spinners much, and I feel that’s one small factor that creates issues for our batters when facing spin."
 
Rehan Ahmed during press conference post day two:

"We did try many things against Saud Shakeel but he was focused on his method and batted really really well."

"As a spinner I am loving this surface. There is no ideal score in our minds to defend. Hopefully, as many as we can."
 
Three early wickets, roll then under 100 and a nice little chase please. Albeit it'll be 22-4 or something
 
Pakistan should not let off the guard , they need to try and attack and get England out as soon as possible.
 
The_KING said:
If any team can lose it from this position, it is Pakistan.

I don’t want to see Pakistan chase more than 100 runs here.
Click to expand...

100-150 should be chased down by Pakistan. Very low total in modern day cricket.

If target goes over 200, that can get tricky.
 
indias 3 lowest scores in test

India 36 Australia Adelaide 17-Dec-2020

India 42 England Lord's 20-Jun-1974

India 46 New Zealand Bengaluru 16-Oct-2024
 
Pakistan still have to take 7 wickets cheaply tomorrow. Also pakistans openers are 2 free gift wickets, so if we have to chase hope it's not to many
 
No use of Zahid in this team. Even if he gets a wkt or two it ll be due to batsman mistake as he isnt capable enough test spinner.

Should have added a batting alrounder like nawaz maybe or someone like zafar who can bat a bit
 
shaz619 said:
Maybe they wanted the ball to be bashed a bit so Sajid/Noman could grip it better, though I would have thought Zahid would be better for such a job :yk3
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Honestly I think Saim and Agha can be far better and more economical options than Zahid. Zahid couldn't build pressure even if his life depended on it
 
Hyder said:
No use of Zahid in this team. Even if he gets a wkt or two it ll be due to batsman mistake as he isnt capable enough test spinner.

Should have added a batting alrounder like nawaz maybe or someone like zafar who can bat a bit
Click to expand...
Not a fan of Nawaz but even he looks like Jadeja compared to this guy
 
Wow what a turnaround for Pakistan after 177-7. A massive knock from Saud and he basically batted the entire day on a turner and mostly made his runs with singles/doubles. Kinda crazy to be honest.

Massive knocks from Nauman & Sajid who have been match winners every way possible. Pakistan very much in the lead but I do think if England put up enough runs for a 150 or so chase, it might be pretty tough for Pakistan.

Regardless of outcome, this has been incredibly entertaining and a see-saw so far in the match. That's what you want Test cricket to be. Not the abomination we saw in 2022-2023.
 
Roots legacy will be tested tomorrow - he has the golden opportunity to prove that he is not a spin novice. England needs another 250 (at least 200) to make a match of this and a lead of 250 will surely with this Test - Root has the chance to prove himself with a century, or at least an 80+
 
Hyder said:
No use of Zahid in this team. Even if he gets a wkt or two it ll be due to batsman mistake as he isnt capable enough test spinner.

Should have added a batting alrounder like nawaz maybe or someone like zafar who can bat a bit
Click to expand...
Nawaz? Batting all rounder?

Whilst zahid should not been in the team. Replacing him with a mediocre cricketer in nawaz is just replacing trash with trash.

Pakistan don't need to play 3 spinners. Agha, ghulam, saud can all bowl.

Pakistan better off using a seamer, or a reverse swing specialist if conditions allow for it.
 
Watching Nauman Ali's performance this series and somewhat his Intl. career makes me think, what on earth was M.Nawaz wasting his time doing.
 
MMHS said:
Roots legacy will be tested tomorrow - he has the golden opportunity to prove that he is not a spin novice. England needs another 250 (at least 200) to make a match of this and a lead of 250 will surely with this Test - Root has the chance to prove himself with a century, or at least an 80+
Click to expand...
Spin novice is perhaps a bit harsh here is his overall record in Asia

1729881204780.png

Of course thats not to say all these pitches were spin friendly but its a solid record.
 
Amjid Javed said:
Nawaz? Batting all rounder?

Whilst zahid should not been in the team. Replacing him with a mediocre cricketer in nawaz is just replacing trash with trash.

Pakistan don't need to play 3 spinners. Agha, ghulam, saud can all bowl.

Pakistan better off using a seamer, or a reverse swing specialist if conditions allow for it.
Click to expand...
Compared to zahid nawaz is herath. And whatever u say he is million times better at three facets than this guy. Personally i d go with an extra batsman instead of zahid but if they wanted a spinner so bad zahid is not the one
 
Hyder said:
Compared to zahid nawaz is herath. And whatever u say he is million times better at three facets than this guy. Personally i d go with an extra batsman instead of zahid but if they wanted a spinner so bad zahid is not the one
Click to expand...
So we agree Zahid is awful. However the metric to then say nawaz is better isn't exactly lifting the bar of mediocrity much higher. Not sure what the extra batsmen does in this team. Sajid and Nathan won't always run through teams so this is where you pick another decent bowler.

There was never a need for a 3rd front line spinner I agree.
 
Just like the 2nd Test the lads have to wrap this up ASAP.

Huge credit to Nomi and Sajid for the way they have played with the Bat and Ball despite enormous pressure.

They have shown great desire and passion to want to play Test cricket for Pakistan and do well.

The rest can learn a lot from them.

They have proved everyone wrong including me.

A big :salute
 
lots depends on Root and Brooks partnership if somehow Engalnd able to get the lead of 150 thesurely Pakistan wont be able to chase it.
 
Hang on hang on. Unfair on Abrar who didn't get to bowl on anything like these wickets!
Sajid and Noman would have been useless in the first game too
The_KING said:
If any team can lose it from this position, it is Pakistan.

I don’t want to see Pakistan chase more than 100 runs here.
Click to expand...
There is a long way to go in this game. England only need to bat 2 sessions and they become favourites. It's all on Root and Stokes is dangerous
Remember all the English guys can bat to number 11, so they just need to stitch a couple of partnerships.
Pak could struggle with 120, like those olden days chases Vs SL and NZ when we couldn't chase 150s
 
Spin becomes easier to play when the ball becomes older and softer. It is imperative for Pakistan to get rid of Root, Brook, Stokes, Smith, Attkinson early
 
Abdullah said:
Hang on hang on. Unfair on Abrar who didn't get to bowl on anything like these wickets!
Sajid and Noman would have been useless in the first game too

There is a long way to go in this game. England only need to bat 2 sessions and they become favourites. It's all on Root and Stokes is dangerous
Remember all the English guys can bat to number 11, so they just need to stitch a couple of partnerships.
Pak could struggle with 120, like those olden days chases Vs SL and NZ when we couldn't chase 150s
Click to expand...

Nauman out bowled Abrar in Sri Lanka where the pitches were favourable for spinners. Abrar is an over rated one trick pony, he is to slow off the wicket and batters can make adjustments easily even if he gets something off the wicket.
 
England have badly missed Mark Wood in this series. He was the major difference b/w the two sides in 2022. He would put the batters back and finish the tail easily.
 
MMHS said:
Roots legacy will be tested tomorrow - he has the golden opportunity to prove that he is not a spin novice. England needs another 250 (at least 200) to make a match of this and a lead of 250 will surely with this Test - Root has the chance to prove himself with a century, or at least an 80+
Click to expand...
Root rarely scores in tough situation when playing away. I won't see him as spin novice but on turning tracks he goes missing most often. Give him flat tracks and he scores big.

So yes, legacy is built on tough runs and he has chance to get a ton here in tough situation. Game is set up nicely for him. If Eng can get a lead of 250 then Eng should take this game, but for that some one needs to play a very god knock. Root needs to step up and do it for Eng. Lots of experience and ability. He has been in great form so that's not an issue.
 
TeymurBlake said:
Watching Nauman Ali's performance this series and somewhat his Intl. career makes me think, what on earth was M.Nawaz wasting his time doing.
Click to expand...
He was Babar's 'match winner' and got a rope way longer than he should have been given. He ended up losing us more games than he won.
 
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