Saud charges Pakistan to leave second Test with England nicely poised | Pakistan v England 2022

Sunday in Multan was the midpoint of this historic Test series, and an hour after lunch, as the bumper crowd sat silenced by the three dismissals usually associated with fast bowlers in these parts, England appeared to be cruising towards an unassailable 2-0 lead. .

A winning record of 355 on Pakistan soil after Harry Brooks’ second century of a tour-defining 108 off 149 balls, the home side were 83 for three and looked battered. Jimmy Anderson had steamrolled Mohammad Rizwan’s delivery to top his 674 in Tests, while Ollie Robinson and Mark Wood picked up their own hauls.

And yet, whether it was a sense of atonement for their first-innings collapse or simply the kind of back-wall predicament their cricketers relished in pushing Pakistan back, the small pairing of Saud Shakeel and ImamulHaq added 108 runs to the fourth wicket in two hours. , persistent beat.

Such control was shown on the field and throughout the match, England began to twitch. This was partly due to the collapse of the morning at five 19, which meant that the door was not fully bolted. They had also conceded a couple of lives to the Imams on 19 and 54, Will Jacks dropping the local hero off his own bowling and feebly tickling Wood’s leg which was not noticed by all.

But just a few minutes before sunset, on a day when his characters were throbbing a little, Jack Leach managed to alleviate some of this creeping English dread. Imam drove loose to slip for 60 to see Pakistan close to 198 for four in 64 overs. However, the superbly composed Saud remained unbeaten on 54 and a positively enthralling fourth day had been set up.

As in Rawalpindi, England’s seamers looked the most likely source of wickets and as the tourists regrouped after a poor morning, they made the ball do the talking. Three wickets fell in the space of 13 overs, and in all three the batsmen could sleep easy knowing there was nothing they could do.

Rizwan was the first to step up alongside Abdullah Shafique at the top of the order after Imam was out with a hamstring problem. Although he was beaten a couple of times early on by Leach as Ben Stokes opened the spin at the other end, the wicketkeeper looked decent in the order en route to 30 and an ominous 66-run opening partnership.

And yet, five balls into the afternoon session, Rizwan was left with the look of a man bewildered by a street magician when Anderson had turned the right-hander inside out with an inward ball, snapped away past the outside edge and hit top. from the stump. Had the ball held its line, Rizwan would have covered it well.

As replays of this gem were watched around the world, bringing Adelaide’s press box to a standstill, apparently Robinson then entered the beauty pageant by bowling Babar Azam for the second time in the match. This time, however, the defensive shot could not be struck, but Babar held out his arms to one who profusely sank from the surface, and heard behind him the sound of the deadly leather on the wood.

And with Wood becoming the third woodman on display, the talented Shafique bowling a 45 with one that this time winged, Stokes and his players could have been forgiven for watching for two days at Rumanza Golf Club before flying to Karachi.

Instead, they faced two obstacles in Imam and Saud, their left-handedness nullifying Leach as the seamers grazed and both players taking advantage of Stokes’ loathing for long on. Jacks struggled to hold onto his length and Joe Root’s sleeved Low-arm darts looked the most threatening until the Imams ran out their verdict late on.

This easing of conditions was marked first when Brook peeled off six fours to turn an already assured 74 into three figures. It was yet another display of the 24-year-old’s power and accuracy and why England’s middle order will be as crowded as the streets of Multan when Jonny Bairstow returns to fitness.

Brook also shared a 101-run partnership with Stokes, which should have set the template for those below, the captain carefully playing his 41. That said, when he first muscled Abrar Ahmed on screen, it was his 107th six. Test cricket matches his head coach Brendon McCullum’s record.

However, a bid to claim the title outright proved his undoing, as did England’s explosive start to the innings. Pakistan have been asked to break their own record of 315 at home against Australia in a one-wicket victory in Karachi 28 years ago, and yet 275 all out from 202 in five nights still felt sloppy.