ENG vs PAK, 1st Test, Day 3 Review: Buttler and Bess help England survive another day

After a scary start to the day for the hosts, Jos Buttler and debutant Dominic Bess helped England survive another day in the first Test. It seemed pretty clear that the visitors will complete a victory on the third day, but as it turned out, their bowlers were bashed severely by two sturdy English batters.

The day began with Mohammad Amir adding a few more runs to his team’s over-night tally at 350/6, they were bowled out for 363 runs, adding 13 more runs. Most importantly for Pakistan, they earned a humongous 179 run lead, which really kept the English batters under pressure.

As it turned out, they succumbed to the pressure. Once again, the fast bowling contingent was firing on target for Pakistan and the star-studded English batting line-up failed to show any considerable resistance. It all began with Mohammad Abbas ripping apart Cook’s defence and trapping him leg-before.

Skipper Joe Root was the lone warrior for his contingent, who looked in no trouble facing the heat. He kept waiting for his chances and whenever there was a loose ball, he ensured it got him the best output. Root scored an important half-century but received very little support from the other end.

Mark Stoneman fell to Shadab Khan’s trickery whilst Dawid Malan, despite staying at the crease for 50 deliveries never looked composed. Eventually, Amir found an edge off his bat and followed it up with the wicket of Jonny Bairstow just two balls later.

The skipper, who was stuck in the middle for so long like a lone-ranger, succumbed to the pressure as well, which pretty much settled the deal. Ben Stokes’ poor run since his International return continued as he could register a single-digit score before Shadab sent him back.

Buttler and Bess to the rescue

Against the run of play and on a fairytale script, Buttler and Bess denied the visitors an innings victory. England’s trail was over 70 runs and there was immense hardship, the youngster Bess made the most of his opportunity. Both players seemed pretty comfortable facing the bowlers and all of a sudden, the visiting players lost control.

Bess started attacking the bowlers whenever he sensed an opportunity and Buttler too didn’t back away from scoring quick runs. But their main focus was to bat for as long as they could and to ensure their side was in a better position. Against all the odds, their partnership crossed the fifty-run mark and England took lead in the second innings.

Dominic Bess registered a half-century on debut as Buttler also completed a much-needed fifty. The wicketkeeper-batsman was in great touch very recently in the Indian Premier League and continued the same purple patch in the longest format as well. He finished with 66 off 130 balls and is looking set for a three-figure score.

Bess too would love to get a hundred on debut at the Lord’s as nothing can be a better start for his career. England currently lead by 56 runs and the partnership between the 7th wicket is 125.

Brief Scores

England 1st innings: 184 all out in 58.1 overs (A Cook 70; M Abbas 4/23, H Ali 4/51)

Pakistan 1st innings: 363 all out in 114.3 overs (Babar Azam 68, Shadab Khan 52, Asad Shafiq 59; James Anderson 3/82, Ben Stokes 3/73)

England 2nd innings: 235/6 in 78 overs (Joe Root 68, Jos Buttler 66*, Dominic Bess 55*; Mohammad Amir 2/35)

State of the Match: England lead by 56 runs in the second innings