Eng v Pak, 1st Test Day 3 Review: Pakistan gain upper hand as wickets tumble

On Day 2 of the first England v Pakistan Test at Lord’s, it would be safe if one assumed that Pakistan had the upper hand. However, a spirited fightback from England, once again in the form of Chris Woakes saw the home side find themselves with a fighting chance as Day 4 beckons.

Asad Shafiq and Sarfraz Ahmed kept the fire burning for Pakistan as the visitors got their noses marginally in front. In a nutshell, the Test match is interestingly poised and will be expected to boast of a thrilling finish despite the probability of it completing on the fourth day itself.

The Day began with England at 253/7 and in a rather precarious position, given the impact made by Yasir Shah on the previous day. The last time England were in a similar situation was back in Lords in 2010, when Stuart Broad showed the world his class with the bat. However, this time around, there would most certainly be no tail-wagging. Yasir Shah claimed the wicket of Stuart Broad as he concluded with phenomenal figures of 6/72 while Wahab Riaz opened his wicket tally by knocking over the stumps of 30-year old Stuart Broad.

With enough time left to play before lunch, Pakistani batsmen Shan Masood and Mohammad Hafeez made their way out to bat. With the sun shining, it was clear that lady luck was smiling on the backs of Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes. Pakistan was thrown into a crisis when Mohammad Hafeez was dismissed for a rare 11-ball duck. Shan Masood and Azhar Ali got off to fine starts, scoring 24 and 23 respectively before they were sent back to the haven of the pavilion by the irresistible Chris Woakes.

Alastair Cook’s splendid captaincy was underlined by his introduction of Moeen Ali into the attack. This move was quite effectively the masterstroke. With the introduction to Moeen Ali, England snapped up the supremely valuable wicket of Misbah-ul-Haq. Moreover, the 42-year old Pakistan skipper was dismissed without tickling the scorers or the scorecard. Younis Khan hung around for a while as he stitched a useful partnership with Asad Shafiq before he too fell for 25 shortly after the tea interval.

Enter Sarfraz Ahmed. The wicketkeeper-batsman joined the well-set Asad Shafiq as they went about patching up the holes in the England batting unit. They succeeded by scoring 49 and 45 respectively before Chris Woakes struck once again, this time completing his first ever 10-wicket haul in Test matches. Wahab Riaz fell shortly after, becoming the unprecedented 11th wicket for the unassuming Woakes as Pakistan concluded Day 3 on 214/8. Yasir Shah was the hero at the end of the day, remaining unbeaten on 30 at stumps.

Brief Scores:

Pakistan 1^st innings: 339 all out

England 1^st innings: 272 all out (A Cook 81; Y Shah 6/72)

Pakistan 2^nd innings: 214/8 (A Shafiq 49; C Woakes 5/31)