England, being outperformed by the visitors for most of the first Test, will be eyeing an improbable victory after getting rid of eight Pakistan batsmen on Day 3 in Manchester.
On what was a make-or-break day for both teams, England finished the day on a decent note. However, Pakistan is not too far behind as they already lead by 244 runs with two wickets in their hand.
With all the talk about Pakistani speedsters, it was the spin duo of Yasir Shah and Shadab Khan who stole the show. Both of them combined for six wickets and restricted the home side for 219 runs in their first innings.
Ollie Pope was the lone half-centurion for England as he scored 62 before falling to Naseem Shah. Broad scored a fiery 29 in 25 balls that helped England cut short the first innings deficit by some extent.
While for Pakistan, Shan Masood, who scored a magnificent century in the first innings went back to pavilion without opening his account in the second.
Asad Shafiq and Mohammad Rizwan tried to steady the Pakistani ship after the tourists lost their four top-order batsmen inside twenty-five overs.
But, England’s opener Dominic Sibley made his presence felt after his precise throw caught Pakistan’s Shafiq well short of the crease and broke the crucial partnership.
Rizwan pushed the ball towards cover-point and ran off for a quick single. Sibley, stationed at a backward point made a dashing sprint, picked the ball and uprooted the stumps at the striker end. His efforts cut short Shafiq’s innings who walked back to the pavilion after scoring 29 of 43 balls.
Here’s the video:
A piece of magic @DomSibley! 🎯
Scorecard/Clips: https://t.co/q1IXtTZFvR#ENGvPAK pic.twitter.com/1L5YPTcNFh
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 7, 2020
Rizwan too made his way back to the dressing room after falling prey to Ben Stokes. Pakistan will resume their innings on Day 4 with Mohammad Abbas and Yasir Shah at the crease.
