RAWALPINDI: Sajid Khan wasted no time after lunch, claiming the wicket of England captain Ben Stokes as the hosts found themselves in a precarious position at 120-6 on day one of the third Test at Pindi Cricket Stadium.
Alongside his left-arm spin partner Noman Ali, Sajid applied relentless pressure on the England batsmen after taking their first wicket at 56 runs.
England, who opted to bat first on a pitch anticipated to favor spin, experienced a significant collapse despite a promising start from openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley.
The duo initially capitalized on favorable conditions, but Noman and Sajid quickly shifted the momentum. Noman dismissed Zak Crawley for 29 runs, while Duckett, playing in his aggressive 'bazball' style, continued to score but lacked support from his teammates.
Duckett reached his half-century, but England kept losing wickets. Ollie Pope (3), Joe Root (5), and Harry Brook (5) all fell to Noman and Sajid before lunch, leaving England at 110-5 after 30 overs, all bowled by the spin pair, who found plenty of assistance from the pitch. After the break, Stokes attempted to stabilize the innings but was caught at first slip by Salman Ali Agha off Sajid's bowling.
Playing XI
PAKISTAN: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (captain), Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan and Zahid Mehmood
ENGLAND: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wk), Gus Atkinson, Rehan Ahmad, Jack Leach and Shoaib Bashir
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