Pakistan chip away at England but hosts' first-innings lead grows to 128 on Day 2 at Headingley

[Abdullah719]

 

[Deewana Mastana]

128 run lead. Advantage England.

England happy and Pakistan can only blame themselves.

 

[Plumb]

Pakistan will not go down easily whatever the lead england set pakistan.

This team of youngsters will fight till the last ball.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Abbas and Hasan were disappointing with the ball. Hasan's drop can prove costly too. Apart from that i dont think we could have done much. Think England catered the swing much better this innings compare to last match.

Difficult to come back now but hoping to see a big innings from one of the bats.

 

[Rayyman]

Need a hundred from a player. Hasn't been one on this whole UK tour.

 

[GLORY OF '92]

Need to get last 3 for 20 runs. Then get 350 minimum.

I predict us to get 280 max.

 

[Fahdi]

The dropped catch has cost us any chance of coming back into the match. Had that been taken England would likely have been all out by now and we would have been in the match with a chance albeit a very slight one. Now we will have to produce something close to a miracle to win this one from here.

 

[Kroll]

Azhar to lead from the front and get us the 400 total.

 

[GLORY OF '92]

Usman and Sarfaz will let us down. Azhar will deliver.

 

[Syed1]

Thank you Hasan Ali for bowling garbage and dropping Buttler

 

[Usman Chadda]

I don't see Pakistan saving this test bar a miracle. The bowlers have bowled really well, but England have been good enough to weather the storm.

 

[Sirris]

Credit to English batsmen for showing intent and hitting the boundaries on a consistent basis. It did hurt us.

Glad that Amir didn't go wicket less. Hopefully this is the turning point in his test career.

Time for the seniors like Azhar, Shafiq and Sarfaraz to prove their worth. The game isn't too much out of hands and they are getting a second chance.

 

[James]

Just got back from the ground. Pakistan bowled well but their fielding was really poor. Good day for England who are in pole position albeit not yet safe. A bit annoying waiting until gone half 2 for any play but enjoyed it immensely after that.

 

[GLORY OF '92]

Kind of a teaser. We are still in with a 10% shout.

England should be disappointed they didn't close the door completely.

You never know if the top order turns up and Faheem fires we might make them chase at least 150 to make it interesting.

The dream is to get 400 and make them chase 250.

 

[barah_admi]

Pakistan need quick wickets and to their credit, have bowled quite well throughout the day (not easy to do with a damp outfield and a terrible first innings by the batsmen). The issue is, Sarfraz still does not know the importance of taking wickets. Some of the fields he set for Shadab were far too defensive. Bess as a tailender had acres of space for singles and there were never enough fielders around the batsman.

warne always said that leggies needed to be treated with love, what he meant was that captains have to trust them to pick wickets, even if they are expensive. Shadab needs a captain who will give him catching opportunities. What harm is there in allowing the batsman to score over the top, rathert han giving him easy singles?

Sarfraz will need to improve if Pakistan are to draw the test.

 

[Mueez]

We are still going to win this match!
Azhar and Haris to score a century, with Shadab, Imam and Faheem to chip in with their fifties.

 

[Pete Rose]

What time does the game begin tomorrow

 

[AFM]

Just got back from the ground. Pakistan bowled well but their fielding was really poor. Good day for England who are in pole position albeit not yet safe. A bit annoying waiting until gone half 2 for any play but enjoyed it immensely after that.

Were you one of the Mexicans?

 

[Sarwar89]

Kind of a teaser. We are still in with a 10% shout.

England should be disappointed they didn't close the door completely.

You never know if the top order turns up and Faheem fires we might make them chase at least 150 to make it interesting.

The dream is to get 400 and make them chase 250.

To be honest give them a Target of 170 +, there will be nerves involved. Their current lead is 128. Lets give them 50 more. So their lead will be 178. What Pakistan needs is 360 odd score in 2nd Innings.
Target of 175-185 will be challenging.

360 is not overly demanding. All we need is 1 big innings of 120/130 runs from Shafique or Azhar.

 

[Amoeba]

The old Pakistan have returned - miss-fields, drops, & the bowlers bowling far too short.

The tactics employed by Hasan & Amir completely inexplicable. They had success pitching it up and they have just seen how England bowled.

 

[Iddy]

Just got back from the ground. Pakistan bowled well but their fielding was really poor. Good day for England who are in pole position albeit not yet safe. A bit annoying waiting until gone half 2 for any play but enjoyed it immensely after that.

I'm going tomorrow and hope the rain stays away and Pakistan can put up a good fight!

 

[Sherlock]

Thought Hasan Ali was very poor today. With the ball and then in the field with the drop catch.

Pakistan have done well to take the wickets they have. The pitch is barely alive and is good for batting. I do expect Buttler to smash it around tomorrow too. Uphill fight from here on in for Pakistan.

 

[James]

Were you one of the Mexicans?

I was not! But I ended up driving home behind a 7-seat taxi that was full of them!

 

[sjahmed23]

How's the weather looking?

 

[Usman Chadda]

Getting Buttler out early tomorrow is key. This 128 run lead can balloon to a 200 odd lead in no time if he bats for a fair bit of time. I honestly don't see Pakistan coming back, but stranger things have happened and I hope the batsmen come out with a positive intent to score rather than survive. If Azhar and Imam continue on their merry ways, an innings defeat is not out of the question either.

 

[On_the_up]

This is a strange Eng inns, everyone has got in, and no one has gone on.

The conditions are definitely easier to bat on than on the first 2 sessions.

The highest team total without an individual 50 is 315 I believe.

Limit the lead to 150 ish and score 350+ in their 2nd ins min and who knows.

 

[Sadevdesai]

We are chipping away at England ????? Hmmmmm ...... looks like England is chipping away at us !!!!!

 

[introvert]

Pakistan can't underestimate sam Curran's batting either. He is aggressive and fearless batsman. His hitting range is also good from what I seen in supersmash.

 

[Hasan123]

Awful day for us. Need to dismiss England asap and then hope our batsmen can score the runs.

 

[BaankeJi]

The old Pakistan have returned - miss-fields, drops, & the bowlers bowling far too short.

The tactics employed by Hasan & Amir completely inexplicable. They had success pitching it up and they have just seen how England bowled.

Pakistan aren't pitching too short. They have bowled exactly as they did in Lord's. That is what Michael Holding was explaining. It is just that English batsmen have applied themselves better.

 

[Square Drive]

Are we having a 30 minutes early start tomorrow?

 

[MeanAndGreen]

No point blaming the bowling. Fielding and batting let them down.

 

[Jabo]

restrict to 150 or less

then some tough days ahead or maybe just day

Azhar
Sarfraz

both need to step up
need big innings

but we'll see