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Pakistan vs England: 2nd Test Day 2
Pakistan against England showed some resistance at the start of the day lead by Salman Ali Agha and Aamer Jamal followed by Noman Ali as they scored 31,37 and 32 respectively. Pakistan scored a total of 366. England started off greatly as Ben Duckett scored a fabulous ton. However, Pakistan spin rattled England batting as they are 239/6.
Scorecard
Pakistan’s spin bowlers caused havoc in the middle of England’s batting line-up, completely changing the course of the second Test in Multan on the second day.
Ben Duckett’s aggressive 114 helped England steadily advance in their pursuit of Pakistan’s 366.
The tourists reached a score of 211-2, hoping for a significant lead, but were then boosted by off-spinner Sajid Khan leading Pakistan’s comeback.
The pitch came to life, causing Sajid to get Joe Root out, tempt Duckett into an edge, and bowl Harry Brook with a fantastic delivery.
England had lost four wickets for 14 runs in just 18 balls after Ben Stokes was caught at short leg off Noman Ali.
England ended the evening chaos at 239-6, trailing by 127 after dominating most of the day.
Jack Leach secured four wickets and Brydon Carse got three as England finished off the Pakistan inning shortly after lunch.
Carse returned to the center by the end, staying close to Jamie Smith.
Sajid’s Spin
It seemed inevitable that the pitch from the first Test would have an impact on the second, more a question of timing than possibility.
Before it happened, Pakistan must have felt like they were experiencing the same situation all over again from the first Test. During that game, they scored a solid 556 but were completely demolished by England’s Bazballers. As Duckett continued to excel, forming partnerships over 50 runs with Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, and Root, the past was coming back again.
Even with Duckett attacking and England scoring rapidly, Sajid posed the most significant threat amongst the four changes made to the Pakistan XI.
And, towards the end of the seventh day of cricket on this pitch, the field showed its true nature. Root’s sweep shot may have encountered a slight low bounce, Duckett attempted to drive the ball out of the rough, and Brook made a poor decision by trying to play aggressively against the spin. Stokes poked around like someone who hasn’t played in four Tests due to a hamstring injury.
England were quickly brought down in a split second. Hopes of securing a lead in the first innings transformed into a tough struggle to stay alive. Even reaching equality from this point would require a significant amount of effort.
Also, consider the potential challenges England could encounter in the fourth innings. Pakistan have all the advantages to even the series.
Duckett lead the Charge Before Collapse
England’s reply to Pakistan’s score was a journey into uncharted territory, an attempt to make sense of their bowlers’ hard work in the previous four sessions.
Despite dislocating his thumb in the first Test, Duckett effortlessly made scoring runs appear easy. Given a steady stream of misleading information, the left-handed player utilized his signature sweeps and reverses.
England got off to a quick start, despite Crawley struggling with the spin. He was lucky to survive being dismissed on 20 and 24, but eventually got out to Noman on 27 after an appeal for leg-before. Pope began the match peacefully, but was eventually bowled by Sajid for 29.
Duckett, an equally skilled spinner, teamed up with Root and almost got caught on 72 while attempting a reverse sweep against Sajid. However, the slip fielder Salman Agha anticipated the ball’s direction and moved accordingly. When Duckett reached 88, he surpassed 2,000 Test runs, achieving a strike-rate faster than any other player in history to reach that milestone.
Duckett scored a century from 120 balls, once again executing a sweep shot, this time against Salman’s off-spin. It was his fourth century in Test matches, his first in 18 innings.
He had brought his partnership with Root to 86 runs, and England was comfortably in control. Next was Root’s sweep, prompting the chaos that ensued.
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