England on brink after poor start to Multan chase

Second Test, Multan (day three of five)

Pakistan 366: Ghulam 118 & 221: Salman 63, Bashir 4-66

England 291: Duckett 114; Sajid 7-111 & 36-2

England need 261 runs to win

Scorecard

England are staring at defeat following a terrible start to their run chase on the third evening of the second Test against Pakistan.

Set a record-breaking 297 to win, England lost openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley to end on 36-2, leaving Pakistan on course to level the series 1-1.

The damaging losses came in the 11 overs England had to bat at the end of a demoralising day in Multan.

The tourists’ hopes of getting back into the match after giving up a first-innings lead of 75 evaporated through some costly dropped catches by Jamie Smith and Joe Root.

Wicketkeeper Smith and first-slip Root reprieved Salman Agha on four and six respectively, with the right-hander going on to make a priceless 63.

Salman tortured England in a ninth-wicket partnership of 65 with Sajid Khan, the off-spinner who had earlier finished with 7-111 to dismiss the visitors for 291 in their first innings.

Pakistan were eventually bowled out for 221, giving England what would be their joint-third highest chase in an away Test and best by any visiting team in Pakistan.

And Sajid was again in the action with the new ball, enticing Duckett into a top edge before Crawley was stumped off Noman Ali.

England’s victory on this ground in the first Test was historic because of the scale of their run-scoring. This week the numbers are smaller, but the magnitude of a victory would be much greater given the conditions and weight of history.

Never before have they made so many runs to win a Test in Asia. This would dwarf the 208 they overhauled against the same opposition in Lahore in 1961.

This iteration of the England team has a habit of incredible chases, but success on a used Multan dust bowl with the ball regularly shooting along the ground would rank as one of the great overseas wins.

Their task is made all the harder by the loss of Duckett, one of England’s best players of spin and centurion in the first innings. The left-hander tried to sweep Sajid’s third ball of the innings and skied to wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan.

Crawley is not a comfortable starter against spin and was stranded by one left-armer Noman got to dip.

In fading light, high tension and Pakistani excitement, Root and Ollie Pope somehow fought into the fourth day.

England are not completely out of this Test, yet would be in a far better position had they taken their chances.

The highly impressive Brydon Carse was the victim of three misses. Saud Shakeel had only two when he flashed past Root at first slip. Root, trying to mitigate low bounce, was standing so close he was wearing a helmet. It was incredibly tough, but the kind England had to take.

Carse had Rizwan edge to Ben Stokes to keep the door ajar, before a crucial over. Smith’s drop off Salman was an aberration – as bad as it gets for a Test keeper. Root has the excuse of being close, though it was still a regulation slip catch to his right.

If either had been taken, Pakistan’s lead would have been under 200 with six wickets down. England and captain Stokes were noticeably and unusually deflated.

England flickered when Leach and Shoaib Bashir combined to take three wickets for 11 runs after tea, including Shakeel for 31. Running out of partners, Salman had 25 from 57 balls and jolted into life.

He took 30 off the next 19 balls he faced, including a straight six off Jack Leach to pass 50. With the support of Sajid, who overturned being given lbw to a Matthew Potts full toss, the ninth-wicket pair scored at nearly six an over.

It was starting to become questionable if England would bat before the close until the tireless Carse induced a miscued pull off Salman. By then the damage had been done.

England were hit by Sajid’s three wickets in 10 deliveries on the second evening. Starting day three on 239-6, 127 behind, their best chance of getting back into the game rested on getting somewhere near Pakistan’s first-innings 366.

With the pitch turning more and more, Sajid continued his tear through England. Carse was uncomfortable before he holed out to long-on and Potts somehow bowled through his legs. England would have looked to Smith to counter-attack, only for a miscue off Noman to end at long-off.

Leach and Bashir were at least able to add 29 for the last wicket, Leach unbeaten on 25 when Bashir swiped to mid-wicket to give Sajid the best figures ever on this ground and the third-best by a Pakistan bowler against England.

Overall, England’s collapse across two sessions was eight wickets for 80 runs, while all 10 wickets fell to spin.

The tourists needed a response and got it from Bashir. His first wicket, Abdullah Shafique’s tickle down the leg side detected on review, was a strangle and his next two were classical off-spin.

Left-handers Shan Masood and Saim Ayub were drawn in edges to gully, leaving Pakistan 43-3 and England with a sniff. It faded with the drops.

England assistant coach Paul Collingwood, speaking to Sky Sports: “We have got to be realistic. It is going to be difficult.

“There will be belief in the dressing room. We have done some special things in the past we have broken records. We have got to be realistic as well that it will be a tough, tough chase.”

Pakistan all-rounder Salman Ali Agha, speaking to Sky Sports: “I wanted to be as positive as I can and play my shots. That’s what I did.

“If you only defend one ball will get you out. You need to make sure you score runs.”

Former England bowler Steven Finn on Test Match Special: “England had to take every chance that Pakistan offered them and those two dropped catches was the moment that deflated England.

“A couple of shoulders dropped after that as if to say that was their moment, and it’s led England towards a mountain to climb.”