Innings break Pakistan 366 and 221 (Salman 63, Bashir 4-66) lead England 291 (Duckett 114, Sajid 7-111) by 296 runs
The stand, which came at almost a run a ball, was all the more painful for England, with Salman having been dropped twice – on 4 and 6 – in the space of three balls from Brydon Carse a few overs before tea. And although Jack Leach removed Saud Shakeel shortly after the interval, with Aamer Jamal and Noman Ali following in quick sucession, Salman countered effectively to lift Pakistan towards a lead of 300.
Salman eventually fell splicing a pull to midwicket off Carse, but he had by that stage put on by far the largest partnership of the day alongside Sajid, as the pitch continued to provide greater assistance to the bowlers and 14 wickets went down. It left England needing to achieve the second-highest fourth-innings chase in Pakistan overall, and by far their highest in Asia.
Shakeel had steered Pakistan through the afternoon, having been involved in consecutive 30-plus stands with Kamran Ghulam and Mohammad Rizwan, before Salman was twice reprieved off Carse: Jamie Smith failing to hold a regulation nick behind the stumps before Joe Root shelled another to his right, the fact he was wearing a helmet and standing in close only partial mitigation this time.
With Shakeel’s arrival, Ben Stokes had opted to bowl pace for the first time. But after two overs from Carse, during which Root missed a tough chance with Shakeel attempting to cut, England went back to spin at both ends. The fifth-wicket pair were watchful early on as they set about repairing some of the early damage.
When Stokes brought on Matt Potts, Rizwan looked to attack, thrashing fours either side of the wicket. But with the ball reversing and Carse again called upon, England broke the stand in the following over. Having troubled Rizwan with the ball coming back in, similar to how the batter was dismissed in the second innings of the first Test, Carse then managed to get one to hold its line wide of off, Root clinging on to a thick outside edge.
That was the first wicket to fall on day three to a seamer, as the Multan Test became a trial by spin. Sajid had claimed a seven-wicket haul to wrap up England for a 75-run lead early on, before Bashir struck three times at the start of Pakistan’s second innings.
The state of the surface in Multan could be summed up by Stokes’ approach, after his side had been bowled out inside the first hour. Leach and Bashir opened the bowling and Root was also given a couple of overs, while Pakistan briefly had two left-hand batters in the middle.
Bashir has not enjoyed much success on tour so far but showed signs that he could rise to the occasion. His third over produced the breakthrough, with Abdullah Shafique adjudged to have feathered a catch behind down the leg side – although it took some lengthy deliberations by the third umpire, Sharfuddoula, after England had gone to the DRS.
Shafique’s dismissal brought an end to Pakistan’s opening stand at 9 – the ninth time in ten innings that he and Saim Ayub have failed to reach double-figures together.
Shan Masood did not last long, despite looking to take the attack to Bashir, squared up by one that ripped away off a length to hit the splice for a sharp catch to Ollie Pope, in close under the helmet at second slip. There was turn and bounce aplenty for England’s spinners and with the final delivery before the break, Bashir dislodged Ayub, who propped forward to provide a simpler chance to Pope.
It was all a far cry from the first Test at this ground, when only 13 wickets fell across the first three days. The count was already up to 25 after eight sessions on the re-used pitch.
Sajid, whose four wickets during the evening session on day two had derailed England, picked up three of the last four to fall, with only a last-wicket stand of 29 – the fourth-highest of the innings – threatening to limit Pakistan’s advantage. Noman was the other bowler to contribute, notching his 50th Test wicket as England’s last recognised batter, Jamie Smith, tried to hit out alongside the tail. In all, England lost their last eight wickets for 80.
It did not take long for Sajid to start inducing jitters in England’s lower order. Carse tried sweeping and driving to little effect and after seeing an inside edge fall in front of short leg when defending, tried to go aerial – only to hit Sajid down the throat of long-on. Carse’s Durham team-mate Potts fell in the offspinner’s next over, getting in a tangle as he walked across his stumps to be bowled through his legs.
With Leach for company, Smith decided it was time to change gear; but their partnership only last eight balls, as England’s No. 7 was safely held at long-off looking to launch Noman out of the ground.
Alan Gardner is a deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo. @alanroderick
