RAWALPINDI :Pakistan finished the first day of the third Test with 73-3 while chasing the England’s 267 at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday.
The visitors dented the hosts by taking three key wickets of Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafqiue and Kamran Ghulam as all three were dismissed before 20-run mark.
Skipper Shan Masood and Saud Shakeel will resume the batting on Day two of the series decided.
Earlier, England were all out for 267 against Pakistan in their first innings as Sajid Khan and Noman Ali ran through the visitors’ batting lineup.
Jamie Smith (89) and Ben Duckett (52) scored fifties but England’s most frontline batters overall struggled against the turning ball.
Sajid took six-wicket haul while Noman dismissed three and Zahid Mehmood claimed one scalp.
Earlier, England made a decent start after opting to bat first with Ben Duckett (52) and Zak Crawley combining in a 56-run opening stand before a collapse ensued.
Pakistan attacked with spin from both ends with Sajid and Noman, who shared all 20 England wickets in the previous test in Multan, bowling in tandem.
Pakistan did not use a third bowler in the morning session and the spinners bowled 42 overs before Pakistan captain Shan Masood made a change.
Left-arm spinner Noman drew first blood when he tempted Crawley (29) into a false drive with a flighted delivery.
England vice captain Ollie Pope (three) fell to Sajid for the third time in three innings after fluffing a sweep shot.
The off-spinner delivered a body blow when he trapped Joe Root, currently the top-ranked test batter, lbw for five with a sharply turning ball.
Duckett hit a six off Sajid en route to his fifty and got a reprieve when Noman spilled a return catch but the spinner dismissed the left-hander lbw in the same over with a delivery that kept low.
Sajid’s trademark thigh-slap celebration was on display again when he bowled Harry Brook (five), who looked ill at ease against the turning ball.
England risked folding for under 150 after Stokes’s dismissal but Smith counter-attacked and Atkinson, the lone specialist seamer in England’s spin-heavy attack, proved a perfect foil.
Smith, who smashed seven sixes in his belligerent knock, fell short of his second test hundred after failing to execute a slog sweep in the final over before tea.
THE TOSS
“We’ll have to wait and see until a bit of cricket and some traffic has gone over it,” Stokes said at the toss.
“But it looks a really good wicket.
“It’s another challenge we’re presented with and we’ll wait and see.”
Pakistan captain Shan Masood was reluctant to make a prediction about the pitch.
“The important thing is to see the situation, see what you’re under and respond,” he said.
“The preparation has been a bit different, until both teams have batted we’ll keep our opinions to ourself.”
THE TEAMS
On Wednesday, Pakistan announced the same team that beat England by 152 runs in the second Test for the final game. The PCB announced the squad one day after England confirmed a change in their bowling combination to match the triple-spin attack that led Pakistan to victory in Multan.
The England and Wales cricket board (ECB) announced it was recalling Rehan Ahmed to strengthen spin attack.
England won the first Test by an innings and 47 runs, before Pakistan levelled the series with a 152-run victory in Multan on a surface that offered plenty of turn – with spin duo Noman Ali and Sajid Khan taking all 20 wickets.
Pakistan are expected to create a similar pitch for the final Test match and Ahmed will feature alongside fellow spinners Shoaib Bashir and Jack Leach, while fast bowler Gus Atkinson was also brought in.
“We know it’s probably not going to swing and seam and do all sorts in the first session, so we look at the pitch and work out what the best team is going to be,” England batter Harry Brook told the BBC.
Ahmed, 20, played his first Test match in 2022 during England’s tour of Pakistan, taking a five-wicket haul on his debut as the visitors completed a 3-0 sweep of the series.
“He’s an outstanding cricketer. It’s not just his bowling, but his batting and fielding. He’s a young lad so he has a lot of time to come,” Brook said.
“He got five-for in the last test here, so hopefully he can do that again.”
England quicks Brydon Carse and Matthew Potts miss out.
The squads
Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (capt), Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Agha, Aamer Jamal, Sajid Khan, Noman Ali, Zahid Mahmood
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith, Gus Atkinson, Rehan Ahmed, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir.
