Pakistan’s spinners ripped through England's middle order
to turn the second Test on its head on the second day in Multan.
England were making serene progress in response to
Pakistan’s 366, thanks to Ben Duckett’s swashbuckling 114.
The tourists reached 211-2, eyeing a crucial lead, only for
off-spinner Sajid Khan to inspire Pakistan’s revival.
With the used pitch suddenly alive, Sajid had Joe Root drag
on, enticed Duckett into an edge, then bowled Harry Brook with a ripper.
When Ben Stokes was caught at short leg off Noman Ali,
England had lost four wickets for 14 runs in the space of 24 deliveries.
The evening chaos left England 239-6, 127 behind at the end
of a day they enjoyed the better of for so long.
Jack Leach ended with four wickets and Brydon Carse three as
England wrapped up the Pakistan innings just after lunch.
Carse was back in the middle by the close, clinging on
alongside Jamie Smith.
Sajid springs to life
It always felt like a matter of when, rather than if, the
pitch recycled from the first Test would play a part in the second.
Before it did, Pakistan must have been suffering deja vu
from the first Test. On that occasion, they posted a strong 556, only to be
pulverised by England’s Bazballers. When Duckett was going strong, sharing
partnerships in excess of 50 with Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope and Root, history was
repeating.
Sajid was one of four changes to the Pakistan XI and, even
in the face of Duckett’s assault – England were scoring at five an over – Sajid
carried the biggest threat.
And, late on the seventh day of cricket played on this
pitch, the surface had its say. The ball for Root’s sweep may have kept a touch
low, Duckett tried to drive out of the rough and Brook was unwise in trying to
force against the spin. Stokes prodded like a man who has missed four Tests
with a hamstring injury.
In the blink of an eye, England were floored. Dreams of a
first-innings advantage turned into a grim battle for survival. From here, even
getting to parity would be a remarkable effort.
Then there is also the thought of the conditions England
might face in the fourth innings. Pakistan hold all the cards in their bid to
level the series.
Duckett leads charge before chaos
England’s response to Pakistan’s total was a step into the
unknown, an exercise in giving context to their bowlers’ toil of the previous
four sessions.
Duckett, who dislocated his thumb during the first Test,
immediately made run-scoring look effortless. Fed a heavy diet of spin, the
left-hander tucked in with his trademark sweeps and reverses.
England began at a run a ball, even though Crawley was less
comfortable against the spin. He should have been run out on 20 and overturned
being given leg-before on 24 before he edged Noman on 27. Pope started calmly
until a drive at Sajid had him bowled through the gate for 29.
Joined by Root, a similarly accomplished player of spin,
Duckett could have been caught attempting a reverse at Sajid on 72, but slip
fielder Salman Agha moved in anticipation of where the ball might go. When
Duckett reached 88, he passed 2,000 Test runs, his strike-rate faster than
anyone else in history to reach that landmark.
Duckett notched three figures from 120 deliveries, fittingly
with another sweep, this time off Salman’s off-spin. It was his fourth Test
hundred and first in 18 innings.
His stand with Root had reached 86 and England were
coasting. Then came Root’s sweep and the pandemonium that followed.
Carse shows credentials again
Durham’s Carse impressed on debut in the first Test and
again on the opening day of this match, when England’s seamers played a vital
role in limiting Pakistan to 259-5 overnight.
Mohammad Rizwan and Salman were Pakistan’s best hopes of
reaching a truly imposing total, only for Carse to jag the ball away from
Rizwan, who was sharply taken by wicketkeeper Smith, standing close to mitigate
the low bounce.
Salman favoured running the ball to third man, but when he
attempted one too many to a fired-up Matthew Potts, followed by Sajid tapping
Leach to short cover, there was a chance England could have dismissed Pakistan
below 350.
But Aamer Jamal, a real asset to be batting as low as number
eight, found an ally in number 10 Noman, who has a Test best of 97. Some
England players left the field with stomach discomfort, while Stokes did not
bowl on Wednesday as he makes his return from a hamstring tear.
Their partnership was worth 49 when Carse was given the ball
immediately after lunch, needing only one delivery to scuttle into Jamal’s
stumps.
Carse was also involved for the final wicket, backpedalling
on the leg-side fence to hold Noman’s top-edged sweep at Leach.
'We know they can crumble' - reaction
England opener Ben Duckett, speaking to Sky Sports: "Obviously
I'm happy with how I played. It would be nice to be going back out there
tomorrow, maybe a couple of wickets less but credit to them, I think they
bowled so well throughout our whole innings.
"We'll really stress that first hour tomorrow. It's
really important we look to score runs. On this pitch, it's not going to be a
draw and we're not going to play for a draw.
"We know that they can crumble and so the pressure is
over to them."
Former England seamer Steven Finn on OceanNewsUK Test Match
Special: "Tomorrow morning, the first half-an-hour will be
vitally important.
"If England can suck a bit of wind out of Pakistan's
sails and accumulate a few runs, leave some gaps in the outfield for them to be
able to rotate the striker and move that scoreboard forward, then England can
have dreams of getting somewhere close to 50 runs behind."
