Pakistan vs England 3rd Test Day 2 Review: England pip Pakistan in the battle of grits

Pakistan vs England 3rd Test Day 2 Review: England pip Pakistan in the battle of grits: On a day wherein just 218 runs were scored from 90 overs, it was no short of excitement for the fans. The Pakistani bowlers, who were expected to run riot on a pitch which wasn’t completely suited for batting, was handled exceptionally well by the English middle order batsmen. While Captain Cook impressed everyone with yet another sturdy knock, Bell proved his credentials with a gritty stay at the middle. But the real performer of the day is James Taylor, who went on to score his maiden half century in his 3^rd Test, in testing conditions, and helped England to post 222, losing 4 wickets and trailing Pakistan by 12 runs.

Earlier in the morning, Moeen Ali couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity to justify his promotion to the top of the order, as he fell to part-timer Shoaib Malik in the 9^th over of the innings, and the 7^th of the day. In what can be described as a brain-fade, Moeen Ali tried to hit a length delivery out of the park with a slog-sweep, only to top edge to the throat of the first slip. A very disappointing stay at the top for the make-shift opener, who averages just 12 in the series.

Then came in Ian Bell, and this started a period of solid resilience from the pair. Cook, who has been having an amazing series, dealt the bowlers with respect, and on a slow and low wicket, applied his tons of experience with the deft application. The runs dried up, but the batsmen were barely troubled. Even Ian Bell, who’s place in the playing side is under scrutiny following a poor outing in the Ashes and a couple of timid performances in the first two Tests, applied himself beautifully, and became the perfect partner for Cook to defy the Pakistani spinners.

Even though the introduction of Yasir Shah brought back some excitement within the Pakistani players; wherein Cook survived some close calls, things were really dim out in the middle, and it was a hard toil for the Pakistani bowlers. The Cook-Bell duo ensured that Team England won the session, as the teams went for lunch with the scorecard reading 87-1, trailing by just 147 runs.

But Pakistan were right back into the game after lunch, striking twin blows within a span of 5 overs. While Yasir Shah, who troubled Cook the most in this innings, bagged his man after he bat-padded to forward short-leg, just a run short of a well-deserved half-century. And within a short span, Rahat Ali bagged the crucial wicket of Joe Root, dismissing him for just 4 runs. At 97-3, with the departure of two best batsmen in the side, the English batsmen were directly looking at trouble.

Bell, meanwhile, continued his gritty stay at the crease. Joined by the inexperienced James Taylor, the duo were expected to do some damage control, and they did admirably. With the exception of a close caught behind appeal, James Taylor looked positive out in the middle, with Bell continuing his resistance. Going into tea, the English still had an upper hand, with Pakistan’s lead now less than 100.

But just like the beginning of Post-Lunch session, England lost yet another wicket immediately after the start of the session. Bell, who was playing admirably till then, was done by an away-spinning delivery from Yasir Shah. Coming down the track to defend the ball, the ball skidded past the outside edge of Bell, and Sarfaraz Ahmed made no mistake in clipping off the bails. The scoreline read 139-4, and yet another partnership was broken at a crucial juncture.

But James Taylor continued his excellent stay at the crease. Amongst the English batsmen, he was most positive, not refraining from punishing the bad deliveries, and at the same time, giving the required respect to the good ones. Bairstow, meanwhile, played the perfect foil for Taylor, adopting a rather defensive approach. The spin duo of Shah and Babar toiled hard unsuccessfully, albeit some close calls with the edges and bat-pad. While Taylor bagged a well-deserved half century, Bairstow made a good partner. Taylor ended the day with 74, whereas Bairstow finished with 37. England finished with 222 for the loss of 4 wickets at stumps, trailing by just 12 runs.

Summary:

Another hard day for both the bowlers and batsmen under the sun, but the English batsmen won the battle of grits. While Cook and Bell handled the Pakistanis bowlers really well in the first half of the day, inexperienced duo of Taylor and Bairstow frustrated the Pakistanis with some positive batting. Pakistani bowlers were running short of ideas, and will immediately take the new ball on the start of the third day. An exciting day of cricket awaits the fans.

Brief Scores

Pakistan 234 all out ( Misbah 71, Sarfaraz 39; Anderson 4-17)

England 222-4 (Taylor 74*, Cook 49; Shah 2-79)