Pakistan’s Sajid Khan is a fighter. After returning with a nine-wicket haul in the second Test in Multan on his comeback to lead Pakistan to a series-levelling victory against England, Sajid started the third Test in Rawalpindi with six wickets in the first innings. His energy, intensity and in-your-face attitude are not to be missed. One could almost sense that he still had a lot to do in this Test. and so he did. This time, with his bat, even before getting another crack with the ball and, dare we say, with his unmatchable courage and bravado.
Coming in to bat at No.10 when Pakistan were still two runs behind England’s first-innings total, Sajid hit an unbeaten 48 off 48 balls with four sixes and two fours. His 72-run partnership with Shaud Shakeel gave Pakistan an impressive lead. But that was not even the most intriguing part.
When Sajid was batting on 37, he tried to walk across his stumps and paddle England leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed fine but ended up getting a top edge into his chin. The impact was hard. Blood started dripping on his shirt but Sajid didn’t flinch. He looked as intense as he ever was even as the physios were attending him.
Sajid continued batting and even hit Rehan for a six. If Pakistan’s Zahid Mahmood wasn’t dismissed for a golden duck, Sajid could well have completed his half-century.
After the innings, he went for stitches but came back to bowl four overs before the close of play and dismissed Ben Duckett. England crumbled to 24-3.
Saud Shakeel’s brilliant century gives Pakistan advantage
Left-handed Shakeel exhibited immense patience for well over five hours to make 134 off 223 balls and dug in well with tailenders to craft a meaningful 77-run first innings lead as Pakistan got bowled out for 344 late on Day 2.
Spinners Sajid Khan and Noman Ali, who had earlier frustrated England with their useful contributions with the bat, trapped Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley leg before wicket respectively to expose England’s inability to bat on slow surfaces.
And Ollie Pope’s under-par series concluded when he edged a catch of Ali’s left-arm spin to leave England still 53 runs behind at stumps.
Earlier, recalled leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed ended England’s long frustration with figures of 4-66 in his first international game since February. Off-spinner Shoaib Bashir took 3-129 while Gus Atkinson grabbed 2-22 on a dry wicket specifically made to counter England’s aggressive batting.
Ahmed claimed three of the four wickets to fall in the first session as Pakistan slipped to 177-7 — still behind by 90 runs — before Khan (48 not out) and Ali (45) thwarted England’s plans by raising half-century stands with Shakeel.
Shakeel kept on rotating the strike with his deft pushes for singles on both sides of the wicket as he completed his century off 181 balls in the second session with a single off Ahmed to mid-wicket. His four boundaries, in his first test hundred against England, all came when he completed his half-century before lunch.
Captain Ben Stokes’ ploy to open up the field in the second session backfired as Ali and Khan batted confidently against spinners and pace of Gus Atkinson.
Ali, who successfully overturned an lbw decision against him on 10, fell at the stroke of tea when he was trapped lbw by Bashir with the second new ball.
But Khan counterpunched England spinners for four sixes and two boundaries before Atkinson’s short pitch ploy finally worked when Shakeel spooned a catch to mid-wicket after tea.
Earlier, Ahmed ignited a mini-collapse when he ran through the middle-order off his tidy bowling in the first session.
Ahmed had Mohammad Rizwan (25) and Salman Ali Agha (1) leg before wicket as the batters went for unsuccessful television referrals. Aamer Jamal (14) then chopped Ahmed’s googly back onto his stumps as Stokes intelligently maneuvered his three specialist spinners and claimed four wickets for 114 runs in an extended 2-1/2 hour first session because of Friday prayers.
Resuming on 73-3, captain Shan Masood and Shakeel defied spinners and stretched their stand to 53 runs. England had its moment to separate the left-handed pair but Smith couldn’t hold onto a sharp low edge of Shakeel when the batter was on 26 in Bashir’s third over of the day.
Masood was too defensive in his 26-run knock off 70 balls before Pope held onto a sharp low catch in a close-in second slip as Pakistan skipper lunged forward to Bashir’s sharp delivery and got a thick outside edge.
Shakeel completed his eighth test half-century and sixth against England when he smashed a sweep to Bashir to mid-wicket boundary and took the game away from England by combining in two resolute partnerships with Ali and Khan.
Pakistan leveled the series 1-1 with a 152-run win in the second test on a recycled wicket in Multan after England had recorded an innings and 47-run victory in the first test.
