Sajid bags six-fer as Pakistan trail by 194 runs on day one

 Pakistan trailed by 194 runs in reply to England’s 267 all out after stumps were drawn on day one of the third Test on Thursday at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

Sajid Khan led Pakistan’s bowling from front as he bagged his third Test five-wicket haul while half-centuries from Jamie Smith (89, 119b, 5x4s, 6x6s) and Ben Duckett (52, 84b, 4x4s, 1×6) along with a valuable contribution from Gus Atkinson (39 & 1-2) with both bat and ball, helped England fight back.

Pakistan managed 73-3 in 23 overs at the close of play with Shan Masood (16 not out, 32b) and Saud Shakeel (16 not out, 34b, 1×4) present on the crease.

Earlier, Shoaib Bashir pinned Abdullah Shafique in the 10^th over breaking the 35-run opening stand. Saim Ayub (19, 36b, 1×4) and Kamran Ghulam (3, 9b) fell to Jack Leach and Atkinson respectively with the scorecard reading 46-3 in 13.4 overs.

After England opted to bat first, Noman Ali drew first blood for Pakistan when he removed Zak Crawley (29, 43b, 3x4s) in the 14^th over putting an end to the 56-run opening partnership.

England’s middle-order crumbled against spin as they lost their next five wickets in a space of 13.2 overs as they were reduced to 118-6 with Ollie Pope, Joe Root and Harry Brook falling for single-digit scores.

Smith, who walked in to bat at No. 7, joined forces with Atkinson to put on a defiant 105-run seventh-wicket stand. Noman struck in the 60^th over, with 223 runs on the board to break the partnership. Three overs later, Smith fell 11 short of his century as Zahid induced a top edge which was safely grabbed by Mohammad Rizwan.

Sajid, who finished with 6-128 in his 29.2 overs, wrapped up England’s innings at 267 taking the last two wickets. Noman Ali returned figures of 3-88 while Zahid’s lone wicket came at the cost of 44 runs in 10 overs.

Scores in brief:

Day 1 of 5 – England won the toss and opted to bat first

Pakistan trail by 194 runs

England 267 all out, 68.2 overs (Jamie Smith 89, Ben Duckett 52, Gus Atkinson 39, Zak Crawley 29; Sajid Khan 6-128, Noman Ali 3-88, Zahid Mehmood 1-44)

Pakistan 73-3, 23 overs (Saim Ayub 19, Shan Masood 16 not out, Saud Shakeel 16 not out; Gus Atkinson 1-2, Shoaib Bashir 1-29, Jack Leach 1-33)