Twitter Reactions: 'Unpredictable' Pakistan collapse in second essay on a fascinating day of Test cricket

England began Day 3 at 92/4. They were trailing by 234 runs and needed a big partnership to turn things around in their favor. Ollie Pope and Jos Buttler began proceedings for the hosts. The former was batting on 46 while the later was on 15. They had a good start, adding 35 more runs to their overnight partnership of 30.

Naseem Shah dismissed Pope with a peach of a delivery. He made an impressive 62 before falling prey to the young pacer. Chris Woakes and Buttler made a small 32-run stand, but post the keeper’s dismissal, England could not get in any major partnership. As a result, they were bundled up for only 219 runs.

The Pakistan bowlers did a great job as every bowler ended with at least one wicket to his name. Yasir Shah was the standout performer as he ended up with four wickets. Coming to the other bowlers, Mohammad Abbas and Shadab Khan picked two wickets each while Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah got a wicket each.

Pakistan batsmen have no answers to the English bowling line-up

With a 107-run lead, the Asian side was well ahead when they came in to bat for their second innings. However, as it has often been, the hosts came up with a surprise once again. If on the first two days their bowling had lacked zeal, they compensated for it by being at their best this time around.

Even after a few missed catches, they managed to restrict the Asian side to 137/8. They did not allow the visitors to get any big partnership. This clearly showed as the highest individual score for the Pakistan side was 29 runs made by Asad Shafiq. After losing 8 wickets, the Asian side would be looking to maximize on their last couple of wickets in order to put up a match-winning score.

For England, Ben Stokes came into bowl, which was definitely great news for the side. He also picked up two wickets to give his team crucial breakthroughs. Chris Woakes and Stuart Broad also ended with two wickets each while Dom Bess chipped in with one. Shafiq lost his wicket to a direct hit by Dominic Sibley. If the hosts can get the final two wickets early on Day 4, it would definitely be a chase to watch out for.

Here’s how Twitter reacted on Day 3