Twitter Reactions: Pakistan extend their ascendancy on second day

Team Pakistan continued to dominate the proceedings on the second day of the first Test against England at Lord’s. Coming in to the game, the visitors had arrived on the winning form having beaten Ireland in the one off Test. However, their inexperienced lineup made many think that they could fall short in England. Now, as the things stand at the end of day two, England are well and truly playing the catch up game in the match.

On the first day of the match, the Pakistani seamers made merry with the ball. The Pakistan new ball bowlers, Mohammad Abbas and Hasan Ali bagged four wickets each to bundle out the hosts for a mere 184. Former English skipper Alastair Cook was the top scorer for his side with 70 to his name. Later, on the first day, Pakistan lost only Imam-ul-Haq as they finished with 50/1 on the day.

Azhar Ali and Haris Sohail resumed the proceedings for the visitors on the second day. Both the batsmen showed great skill to spend time at the crease. Sohail was dismissed on 39 by Mark Wood in the first hour of play. Meanwhile, Azhar Ali went on to score 50 in the 136 balls that he faced. He could not add more to his score and was dismissed by James Anderson.

Despite the fall of both set batsmen, there was no respite for England. Asad Shafiq and Babar Azam showed great adaptation in the conditions as well. Both went on to score their fifties. While Shafiq was dismissed on 59 by Ben Stokes, Azam headed back to the pavilion after being retired hurt on 68. Pakistani skipper Sarfraz Ahmed was the solitary failure with the bat as he was dismissed on 9 by Stokes.

Faheem Ashraf and Shadab Khan then started from scratch to extend the dominating run of the Pakistani batsmen. Both youngsters played very well to keep the hosts at bay. Faheem played an aggressive knock of 37 off 38 balls with 7 fours to his name. And Shadab went a notch better to score 52 before becoming Stokes’ third wicket. At the end of the day’s play, Pakistan finished with 350/8 with Mohammad Amir striking well on 19. The visitors extended their ascendancy in the match and now have a healthy first innings lead of 166 runs.

Here is how the Twitterati reacted to the day’s play:

166 runs … #Pakistan team is in good position to win this test match.
I hope babar Azam returns tomorrow and scores a Ton. #ENGvPAK #PAKvENG

— Enigma Wander (@farziparindi) May 25, 2018

Well played @babarazam258. Hope you come back to the crease soon. My most favorite batsmen of recent times.😊😊😊😊😊😊 #BabarAzam

— M.yar (@Muhamma26873373) May 25, 2018

England Has Dropped 5 Catches:
Haris Sohail By Ben Stokes
Asad Shafiq By Buttler
Babar Azam By Cook
Faheem By Cook
Shadab By Cook
Pakistan Didn't Drop a Single Catch In 1st Inning
This Is Simply Brilliant From Pakistan!

#ENGvPAK

— CRICKET RECORDS (@cricket_guru5) May 25, 2018

If G. Smith can bat with broken arm then why not Babar Azam? #ENGvPAK

— Zeeshan Asif (@ZeeSaying) May 25, 2018

Get well soon Babar Azam #EngvsPak pic.twitter.com/yfEEPheeg8

— T U B A (@tubayaseenmalik) May 25, 2018

Update on Babar Azam:
Team physio, Cliff Deacon is managing his pain and has not requested to take him for any scan or x-ray yet. If Babar is required to bat then team management will asses the situation and make the decision. #ENGvPAK#ENGvPAK pic.twitter.com/KybNX4GGxa

— Adee Cheema (@Usmancheema932) May 25, 2018

When you Cant get them out hurt them out.. pathetic by England tried on shadab too. Get well soon Babar Azam
#ENGvPAK

— Sardar Ali Paracha (@sardar_paracha) May 25, 2018

1.) Faheem Ashraf.
2.) Shadab Khan.
3.) Hasan Ali.
4.) Mohammad Amir.
5.) Babar Azam.

The future is bright for Pakistan. #PakistanZindabad. #ENGvPAK.

— Zeeshan Masih (@MrZeeshanMasih) May 25, 2018

Cricinfo on Babar Azam
"He's taking some painkillers and preparing to try and bat again, far as we know, Omer Khan. Certainly not been sent for an X-ray yet"

— Abdul Ghaffar (@GhaffarDawnNews) May 25, 2018

Both Shadab Khan and Faheem Ashraf has the better strike rate than Azhar Ali in the first innings.#ENGvPAK #LordsTest

— hassan khan (@hassanyarkhan) May 25, 2018

Second 50 by Shadab in only 3 Tests. His first 50 was against Ireland in Malahide when he partnered with Faheem Ashraf to save Pakistan.#EngvPak

— Myra Zafar (@MyraZafar) May 25, 2018

Faheem Ashraf is doing a Gilchrist. Finally a proper Razzaq replacement for Pakistan.#ENGvPAK #bbccricket

— Khalid (@kh4l1d23) May 25, 2018

Faheem Ashraf improving day by day. Good contribution in Pakistan's first inning.
A Pakistani model of Lance Klusner

#ENGvPAK

— Tariq Asif (@tariqasif) May 25, 2018

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