Pakistan V England | 2nd Test | Day 3 Review 'Pakistan hopes lie in the young'

[Genghis]

The Morning

The day began with England 50 runs behind - their aim to wipe out the deficit and get a lead to challenge Pakistan. Given the total control Pakistani bowlers had exercised at the end of the days play on Day 2, it was expected that Pakistan would be able to apply pressure and make life difficult for England to get to that objective.

In the event, things did not go according to Pakistani expectations. Although they were able to remove Prior early and Bell and Swann later, it was Broad who put Pakistani bowlers to the sword scoring a quick 50 in the process. Nothing Pakistan tried seemed to work against Broad!

With an able partner in Anderson, England ended this session on top with 66 runs ahead and 2 wickets in hand - 323/8

Post Lunch

Mohammad Hafeez was thrown the ball to start the session and by the end of the over, he had finished off the England inning. He had Anderson bowled to a nippy ball which he tried to cut and the hapless Panesar was unlucky to be given lbw when replays suggested there was an inside edge. England had ended at 327 with a lead of 70

The start of the Pakistan innings started at a good tempo, with the openers playing Broad and Anderson with relative ease. It took the introduction of Monty Panesar who had picked up Hafeez's wicket in the first inning. Hafeez attempted to hit out but never looked comfortable. It was no surprise then to see Hafeez fall leg before to the left arm spinner for 22. At the other end Swann was thrown the ball and almost identical to the first inning, he had Taufeeq bowled.

Younis Khan came and went in almost no time, bowled through the gate by Panesar for 1. The calm of Misbah then prevailed with a slightly edgy Azhar Ali who started to gain in confidence as the session ended.

At this point, England looking in command but could Misbah and Azhar take Pakistan to end of the day without further damage?

An enthralling last session was coming up. At Tea on Day 3 Pakistan were 54/3 trailing by 16 runs

Post Tea

Yet another early wicket fell at the start of a new session with Misbah adjudged lbw. He reviewed the decision but the umpires call remained. Hot Spot though did show there may have been some bat, and Misbah may consider himself unlucky.

This brought the two youngest Pakistani batsmen to the crease and with great responsibility. Pakistan did finally pass England's total but were already 4 wickets down and with a mountain to climb.

With a capacity crowd finally showing up after Tea, the 2 youngsters took Pakistan into lead but the scoring rate was painfully slow - a credit to the bowling abilities of England and partly due to the reluctance of batsmen to take any chances and lose further wickets. Importantly they gave England few chances other than a run out opportunity missed by Pieterson.

Summary

At stumps, Pakistan are 4-125, leading by 55.

England ended their first inning at 327 with Broad once again looking impressive finishing 58 not out. With the low scores thus far in the series, a lead of 70 was a good result for England and Pakistan faced a tough challenge to wrestle the advantage. Monty once again got England the initial breakthrough picking up Hafeez with Pakistan still 41 runs behind. Soon Taufeeq and Younis were also back in the pavilion. Misbah and the unflappable Azhar Ali took Pakistan safely to tea. After tea things went from bad to worse as Misbah fell to Monty leaving Pakistan still trailing by 6 runs. But Azhar and Asad to their credit took this responsibility on themselves and built a partnership which took Pakistan into a lead of 55.

If the last innings is any indicator, England will be searching for early wickets so they can get their teeth into the longish tail but with a little bit of luck and fortitude, Pakistan can take the game to England.

England are certainly in front and a series levelling win beckons.

[90MPH]

Good comeback by the 2 youngsters but England still hot favorites to win this match - they just need 1 wicket as the rest of the batting is very fragile.
Stuart Broad took the game away from Pakistan in the morning.
Pakistan need at least 130 runs to make England sweat - that is a long way away. But you never know if Asad or Azhar score a big one.

[Love Pakistan]

200 minimum and anything above that should be considered bonus! In the morning, these two should continue the way they have batted so far! If we dont lose a wicket till lunch, that would be awesome!

[Eht]

the next 25 overs are very important. Pakistan need to preserve wickets and also need to keep the score board moving at a decent pace. Batting will not be easy once england take the second new ball, the spinner will get extra purchase with the newish cherry.

So Pakistan should aim for something like 80 in the first session tomorrow preferably at the loss of 1 wicket at the most.

[Namak_Halaal]

Great spirit and temperament by the inexperienced Shafaq and Azhar, but Pakistan are no where near a sniff of a competitive victory.

Utterly disappointed with our openers who were out played by a 3rd rate spinner (Monty). Our experienced batsmen were even more disappointing, Haq and Khan.

Once again RR has come into question. Had Pak hit a 4 every 4 overs in the first innings, today would've been different.

But what really hurt me was the fact our pace bowlers failed to extrapolate reverse swing, given the English bowlers could.

Cometh the hour cometh the man, tomorrow is D-day. Careers will be cemented, careers will be questioned.

Ideally Pakistan should be batting till the end of the 4th day, and if necessary, demonstrate that Pakistan’s tail does indeed have some sting.

But over all, disappointing day for Pakistan.

PS: The only good news on the horizon, as far as I am concerned, is India's impending whitewash. ()

[Gobi Da Phul]

160/170 target Pakistan wil win!

[Love Pakistan]

Originally Posted by Namak_Halaal Great spirit and temperament by the inexperienced Shafaq and Azhar, but Pakistan are no where near a sniff of a competitive victory. Utterly disappointed with our openers who were out played by a 3rd rate spinner (Monty). Our experienced batsmen were even more disappointing, Haq and Khan. Once again RR has come into question. Had Pak hit a 4 every 4 overs in the first innings, today would've been different. But what really hurt me was the fact our pace bowlers failed to extrapolate reverse swing, given the English bowlers could. Cometh the hour cometh the man, tomorrow is D-day. Careers will be cemented, careers will be questioned. Ideally Pakistan should be batting till the end of the 4th day, and if necessary, demonstrate that Pakistan’s tail does indeed have some sting. But over all, disappointing day for Pakistan. PS: The only good news on the horizon, as far as I am concerned, is India's impending whitewash. ()

The only thing worries me is that our players might go into their shells and then get out! Our tail should learn from the innings Broad played and attack the ball more! Every run will hurt England!

[Namak_Halaal]

Originally Posted by Love Pakistan The only thing worries me is that our players might go into their shells and then get out! Our tail should learn from the innings Broad played and attack the ball more! Every run will hurt England!

England's tail (last 4) put on 80+ runs.

Pakistan's tail (last 4) out on a mammoth ZERO runs.

The thing is, no one expects a tail-ender to score 50s, or 100s, so the pressure is some what minimal, which brings us back to your point, tail-enders should simply attack, cos the got nothing to prove.

I bet you are right too, some of the players have probably conceded defeat in the dressing room. A sharp contrast to teams like Australia who play a dead rubber like it’s a world cup final.

[W63L35]

We need 125-150 more runs......

[Pakhtoon_Rules]

1st test 2005 comes into mind :thumbup:

[farazaidi]

Another day for England but Pakistan kept fighting throughout. We need to make good use of the old ball tomorrow as spinners have liked the new ball in this test so the 2nd new ball will be doubly dangerous.

any lead over 200 will challenge the poms

[farazaidi]

Originally Posted by Genghis Younis Khan came and went in almost no time, bowled through the gate by Panesar for 1.

Younus was NOT bowled through the gate

[Zamee]

Story of the match
Pakistan dominating last session of the day
England dominating first and second sessions of the day
We need to have an excellent first session of the day in order to win this match

[GLORY OF '92]

We need another 150 runs to be in the game.

[Pakhtoon_Rules]

Pakistan need to bat two more sessions atleast.

[cool n cool]

good test match......nothing beats the suspense of a good 5 day test match like this one

[Safar55]

Well stating the obvious here... Azhar and Asad need to score big tomorrow and then Adnan and the tail need to get some too... Then Pakistan have a chance.

England will definately chase anything below 100
100-130 would make it interesting, but England should do that with some sticky ajmal situations
130-150 would make England just favourites, mainly because their tail can bat
150-170 is 50-50 in my view and would bring a nail biting nervy finish for both teams
170 and above Pakistan start to becme favourites

[BoomBoomCricket]

Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq seem to have surprised a few of the English pundits, writers and commentators who thought Pakistan’s batting would falter as soon as the two big fishes, Younis and Misbah departed. That was an invaluable 5th wicket stand to keep Pakistan’s hopes alive at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium from the young technically and temperamentally well equipped batsmen to go through to stumps unbeaten. It’s important that they carry on tomorrow morning and stretch this lead to at least 200 along with wicket keeper batsmen Adnan Akmal and capable, but unreliable lower order bowlers who will need to wag, particularly Rehman who has potential with the willow as his FC record indicates, but has not been contributing in this department for quite some time. England is favourites at this stage, but Pakistan is still in with a decent shout. The first session tomorrow will be critical and Pakistan will be hoping to bat till around tea at least. We’ve got an interesting test match on our hands here.

[Sherlock]

These two will not last long imo.

The real test is tomorrow and with the pitch taking decent turn, England are way ahead of the game.

80-20% towards England.

[spoiled]

Originally Posted by Sherlock These two will not last long imo. The real test is tomorrow and with the pitch taking decent turn, England are way ahead of the game. 80-20% towards England.

sad but true

that no one wants to hear or admit

its the context of the match that keeps the hopes up

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Originally Posted by Sherlock These two will not last long imo. The real test is tomorrow and with the pitch taking decent turn, England are way ahead of the game. 80-20% towards England.

I'd agree with this. If we had a lower order who could get some runs it would be a different story but we are heavily reliant on our genuine batsmen to make a score. If we lose an early wicket it's game over basically.

[pak4life]

lots of poor cricket from Pakistan in the first few sessions our batsmen got undone by the pressure of the deficit.

As always first hour will be crucial these two will need to start again if they get through the tricky period they need to score big. Great opportunity for these two to prove the doubters wrong good luck boys!

[1137moiz]

Gripping, excellent, tense day.

[the Great Khan]

if these two can stay together and get us to 125 -4 (lead wise) then the tail and akmal can go hell for leather. We are not dead yet!! In test cricket you have tos tick in there no matter what, steve waughs aussies used to do this.

If these two players can continue as they are now it will be career defining!!

on another point, what an awesome series!! and there were some who wanted to ban Pakistan! shame on you..

[Amjid Javed]

Pakistan have alot of fighting to do to starve off a loss here. England effectively just need one more wicket and they are into pakistans very long tail.

We have two well set batsmen and pretty much BOTH need to score 100s. If they do then thats another 130 runs onto the team total atleast and Means we could have around 200 to defend.

If one of them gets out early i can see rest folding like a pack of cards. Plain and simple azhar and asad need to be not out at lunch atleast for pakistan to have a sniff, if and a massive if we are still batting at Tea then we have a chance at winning game.

However we are effectivelt 55/4 so any time a wicket falls we are just in a bigger and bigger hole!

[Sherlock]

It's when people get false hope, then when the players let the fans down, its always "we should drop x, because x player is better".

[AZulfi]

First innings is where we lost this game. 257 was a pathetic effort on this track esp. after winning the toss

As well as Azhar and Asad have batted today, England hot favourites to level the series possibly sometime tomorrow.

Needed a lead of 275-300 atleast (i.e. need a miracle now given how weak our tail is) to really test England in the 4th innings

It is clear that Pak need to strengthen their batting

I w'd even consider dropping Junaid Khan (bowled a mere 8 overs in England's 1st innings, did not bowl badly but is he really needed on these wickets?) and replacing him with Umar Akmal.

Gul + 3 spinners (Ajmal, Rehman and Hafeez) should be our attack. Younis Khan is not a bad parttime bowler either

or they could keep the same team apart from Junaid - replace him with Wahab who can bat a bit

[adnan yasin]

the key will be our tail they have to score minimum 60 runs in total ... ajmal can resist .. rehman can do it but just not delivering it .... england 8-9 gave the some good scores

[hazen_batti]

I'm worried too. But who know?

hope for the best

[majiz]

in general circumstances 55/4 isn't awful, but pakistan's lower order is awful so...

[Im Suds]

Originally Posted by majiz in general circumstances 55/4 isn't awful, but pakistan's lower order is awful so...

That's correct
It's the weakness in our side
I'm glad we didn't captulate like England did in the 1st test but our main batsmen have been very poor n have got us in this mess
Eng are clear favourities but you never know

[Faisalabadimunda]

Im thinking to wake up at 6am to watch the match, but i dont think there s any point especially with the long tail we have alongside this horrible feeling i have that england are going to wrap up everything quickly tmmrw. I reckon shafiq and ali wont stay at the crease for long.

[hz]

Originally Posted by Faisalabadimunda Im thinking to wake up at 6am to watch the match, but i dont think there s any point especially with the long tail we have alongside this horrible feeling i have that england are going to wrap up everything quickly tmmrw. I reckon shafiq and ali wont stay at the crease for long.

i also have that horrible feeling that england will win easily but there's still hope

[pakiman740]

we need to support pakistan,even if they collapsed,we still gotta have hope
i personally think englands batting will have some problem in the last inngings,and if asad and azhar can make a good total,well this is where magical monents are made,i still belive,you have to also

[Free Hit]

Insha'Allah

[Patriot]

We can do it. I feel a win.

[Tapori]

Well, they could all get out for about 10 more runs tomorrow.

But credit to Ali and Shafiq for showing true gritty resilience.

Let's hope they turn up in the right mind.

A Lead of 200+ is what they need, but if Adnan and a few slogs from Ajmal and Gul can take them up to 150+, then it's still game on.

A Fascinating 3 days of cricket so far; You'd never have thought it having looked at the past few matches at this pancake of a ground.

If only the unibrow was playing...

[liaqat]

after day 1 we were 256-7 and added 1 run,
england from 207-5 have gone on to 323, the tail has taken the game away from pak,
and then our top order batting has folded once again,

shafiq n azhar have stopped the rot but i fear 4th day morning session it will be all over,

england 1 wicket away from ending pak's second innings,

pathetic from pak and seriously questions shud be asked about the coachin staff. do they not have a game plan for our tailenders, or do they simply never bat in the nets,

[liaqat]

also dissappinted in younas khan, most experience player and his not fired in this series, every match his gotten starts and given it away,

he needs to realise his the back bone of the team

next match i would drop junaid and bring in umar akmal n strengthen the batting,
gul+3 spinners,+ myk,and azhar ali, who misbah seems to have forgotten that he can turn his arm around,

[iRfaN_LA]

This is what Geoffrey Boycott said on TMS:

England will come back refreshed in the morning and there is no doubt in my mind that England will win. I'll put my house on it. It's been a terrific game of cricket. Stuart Broad's counter-attacking innings was the man-of-the-match performance. He did exactly what I prefer the late-order batsmen to do, go after the ball. Monty bowled very well and it was nice to see him get back into his old rhythm

He is probably right, England do hold the edge but I do expect a fightback from Pakistan. I will be waking up at 1 am to watch tomorrow's play since its a weekend here and I am pumped up.

[Ace Base]

Originally Posted by iRfaN_LA This is what Geoffrey Boycott said on TMS: England will come back refreshed in the morning and there is no doubt in my mind that England will win. I'll put my house on it. It's been a terrific game of cricket. Stuart Broad's counter-attacking innings was the man-of-the-match performance. He did exactly what I prefer the late-order batsmen to do, go after the ball. Monty bowled very well and it was nice to see him get back into his old rhythm He is probably right, England do hold the edge. I will be waking up at 1 am to watch tomorrow's play since its a weekend here.

Boycott knows his cricket and I too feel the same way.

I don't think the Pakistani batting will survive even lunch (Oh Allah please make my hunch wrong and allow Pakistan to win; Aameen).

It could be argued that Broad took the game away from Pakistan but I'd say Pakistan lost the game after losing their last 3 wickets for 1 run. That is simply gifting the game away at this level and against opposition like England.

As many have said on here, tomorrow will be career-defining. Will new stars be born tomorrow or will we have more of the same, the almost men of Pakistan cricket, so close, yet so far?

I'm not very confident. I suppose its because I've been disappointed one time too many by Pakistan. They raise my hopes but eventually and ultimately dash them.

What I fear is that if they lose this Test, England will have the momentum and might go on to win the series. That will be truly heart-breaking for me.

[AZulfi]

Originally Posted by iRfaN_LA This is what Geoffrey Boycott said on TMS: England will come back refreshed in the morning and there is no doubt in my mind that England will win. I'll put my house on it. It's been a terrific game of cricket. Stuart Broad's counter-attacking innings was the man-of-the-match performance. He did exactly what I prefer the late-order batsmen to do, go after the ball. Monty bowled very well and it was nice to see him get back into his old rhythm He is probably right, England do hold the edge but I do expect a fightback from Pakistan. I will be waking up at 1 am to watch tomorrow's play since its a weekend here and I am pumped up.

Boyks has a point..

[icecube4000]

well Geoffrey Boycott is being too cocky. I hope we give the best possible response.

[KingKhanWC]

England came out firing and have now grabbed this match, it's theirs to lose.

Misbah was clueless against Broad setting the field far and wide which put the bowlers under pressure but credit to Broad who did what you are supposed to do, take it to the opposition.

Hafeez and Taufeeq falling to the same spinners again was pathetic. If you can't defend against orthodox spin then try attacking but these two had no clue.

Nice fight shown by Ali and Shafiq but only 55 runs ahead means one wicket and England will be confident of wrapping up the tail very quickly.

England can win this by tea while Pakistan need a small miracle. Once England levels the series they will be hard to stop taking the series 2-1.

75-25 in favour of England now.

[Poison]

Great spirit shown by most of our team today. Won't even be dissapointed if we lose this one, just hope it's not limply. England are a great side atm and we've been all over them for a number of sessions here. One good session for Pakistan and the game changes back towards us.

[MMHS]

Actually, I am not so optimistic on PK fightback anymore. This match was even at the start of the day, but within 15 min., I think Eng won it & it was before Broad came to bat.

The catch drop of Prior was crucial. Prior added only 1 run after that, but it shows the mindset & focus of a team. Pakistan was not ready to take Eng on the neck; that drop started the day with a casual mindset & Broad just took the advantage of that. At the start of day 2, Eng came with a determination of clearing Pakistan tail as early as possible & ruthlessly finished the task with a single run addition. Pak had the same situation on 3rd morning, had they taken Prior & Bell within first 3 overs, Eng might have been all out 75 runs earlier, if not 100. This additional 50-60 runs 'll determine the match & may be the series. You can't drop that sort of catch against quality opposition at the start of a day.

I can remember in '00, on 4th morning of Hobert Test, Pak was in a very good position, probably 325+ in lead with still 4/5 wickets in hand & Inzi on 119 NO. I woke up early morning & saw IChappel was very nervous with his words. He said that chasing 350+ 'll be very difficult & how the Aussies approach the game in field 'll determine the mental strength & focus of the team. Inzi was 119 NO overnight, there came Warne on the first over of the day & bowled a long hop. Inzi went for a squire cut, but still he was not well set, got a thick edge & the ball was flying through the gully. Somehow MWaugh from only slip flew to his right & plucked the ball from 1 metre behind his body, landed awkwardly on his tummy but did hold on to the catch. Pakistan lost last 5 wickets (quite a good tail then with Moin, Wasim & Saqui) for about 35 more runs & Aussies chased the total (though Aussie umpire didn't gave a plumb LBW of Gilly & a nick of Langer).

I was bitterly disappointed with the efforts of Khan & Rehman this morning. So far idiocy & casualness has cost Pak 100-125 runs (that review of Trott & the drops of this morning) & they are playing the No. 1 team.

1-1 & may be 1-2.

[Im Suds]

Originally Posted by MMHS Actually, I am not so optimistic on PK fightback anymore. This match was even at the start of the day, but within 15 min., I think Eng won it & it was before Broad came to bat. The catch drop of Prior was crucial. Prior added only 1 run after that, but it shows the mindset & focus of a team. Pakistan was not ready to take Eng on the neck; that drop started the day with a casual mindset & Broad just took the advantage of that. At the start of day 2, Eng came with a determination of clearing Pakistan tail as early as possible & ruthlessly finished the task with a single run addition. Pak had the same situation on 3rd morning, had they taken Prior & Bell within first 3 overs, Eng might have been all out 75 runs earlier, if not 100. This additional 50-60 runs 'll determine the match & may be the series. You can't drop that sort of catch against quality opposition at the start of a day. I can remember in '00, on 4th morning of Hobert Test, Pak was in a very good position, probably 325+ in lead with still 4/5 wickets in hand & Inzi on 119 NO. I woke up early morning & saw IChappel was very nervous with his words. He said that chasing 350+ 'll be very difficult & how the Aussies approach the game in field 'll determine the mental strength & focus of the team. Inzi was 119 NO overnight, there came Warne on the first over of the day & bowled a long hop. Inzi went for a squire cut, but still he was not well set, got a thick edge & the ball was flying through the gully. Somehow MWaugh from only slip flew to his right & plucked the ball from 1 metre behind his body, landed awkwardly on his tummy but did hold on to the catch. Pakistan lost last 5 wickets (quite a good tail then with Moin, Wasim & Saqui) for about 35 more runs & Aussies chased the total (though Aussie umpire didn't gave a plumb LBW of Gilly & a nick of Langer). I was bitterly disappointed with the efforts of Khan & Rehman this morning. So far idiocy & casualness has cost Pak 100-125 runs (that review of Trott & the drops of this morning) & they are playing the No. 1 team. 1-1 & may be 1-2.

A bit long winded
In short to poor batting performances have cost us this game
The bowlers have performed well to keep us in the game but our top order messed up twice

[Poison]

Dunno why you guys are aiming so high, England have proved they cannot play spin and this pitch is only going to get worse. Even if we get to a lead of 120+ there's a chance.

[Zamee]

Originally Posted by Poison Dunno why you guys are aiming so high, England have proved they cannot play spin and this pitch is only going to get worse. Even if we get to a lead of 120+ there's a chance.

Still they scored 300+ runs huh ?

[Markhor]

England in control. Pakistan are relying on Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq to convert their starts into big scores, and hopefully Adnan and the tailenders can chip in too because a target of around 180-190 will be gettable for England. Anything more than that and our bowlers will be able to defend it as this pitch is getting increasingly difficult to bat on. Early wickets will be key, if Azhar and Shafiq are out cheaply, its game over.

[Blade]

This should realistically be a 5 Test series. The level of competition has surprised everyone

[adnan yasin]

Mistakes by pakistan

1) not reviewing Trott LBW decision when he was strucked on back foot ... it was plumb ..and he scored so many runs after that

2) 1 for 3 in morning session 257 all out

3) tuk tuk tuk ...in both innings allowed the bowler to bowl better and better


Remember the basics of cricket ... to dismantle the line and length of a bowler.... ATTACK a bit ... it will dismantle the length and line and closing fielders will be remove..so pressure release

I hope people understand this point ... despite of supporting misbah strategy ... u can do that with weaker teams... but good bowling attacks will sit on your head

honestly speaking .. missing umar akmal very very badly ...

[Markhor]

By the way, no scores of 450-500+, yet fans are entertained. Its a balanced contest between bat and ball. I thought we needed sixes and fours, huge totals and batsmen inflating their averages for an entertaining match...

This is Test cricket at its finest, a balanced and intriguing contest between bat and ball, batsmen are having to work for their runs, more of the same please.

[Taurus]

It's been a great Test Match so far. England still have the advantage given some of the performances from Pakistan's tail so far in this series. If England do win, then that will be where they win - on the superior performances of their bowlers with the bat. Pakistan's tail still has a chance for redemption, but if they fall in a heap tomorrow, Pakistan will probably lose.

[GLORY OF '92]

150 is not enough now I think, England batting is very long.

We really need these 2 to add at least, another 100 and then Adna
n to come in and get 50.

150 or less england win

250 we are in with a good chance

200 we are in with a chance

[TheHK16]

hopefully the pitch deteriorate even more than 100 will be hard to chase on this wicket

[iHammad]

I believe in the youngsters :asad and :ali

[osee_bhai]

England outplayed us today, but Pakistan played their hearts out, I am proud of the guys, and hope these two youngins can continue and make a name for themselves.

[hazen_batti]

Its 2 am and I cannot stop thinking about it.

[nosferatu372]

While England will probably win this unless Shafiq and Azhar can post another 80-100 runs, i am actually very pleased with our fight back yesterday. After we lost four early wickets, i thought for a moment that we might give up and simply fold but it was heartening to see just the opposite.

Looking at this game the only difference i see between the two sides is the tail, otherwise they have been every evenly matched

[James]

Broad makes a really good point that most people here seem to have forgotten - 61 overs, 120 runs on the board. Not only is that an outstanding economy rate from England; the new ball is due in just 19 overs. If things are frustrating in the first hour, the new ball represents a potential ace.

Any chase will be tough, as always in test cricket. Once again, not a clue what the day will bring.

[Faisalabadimunda]

Originally Posted by Whippy Broad makes a really good point that most people here seem to have forgotten - 61 overs, 120 runs on the board. Not only is that an outstanding economy rate from England; the new ball is due in just 19 overs. If things are frustrating in the first hour, the new ball represents a potential ace. Any chase will be tough, as always in test cricket. Once again, not a clue what the day will bring.

I know what the day will bring. England bowling pak out without any trouble and winning the game.

[Sjaloha]

England is in the driver seat at the end of day 3. Both batsmen have to occupy the wicket for a maximum time, in order for Pakistan to build a reasonable lead. Pakistan's big worry is the tail enders which cannot bat all. It would be fair to say that England should win this game from here unless Pakistan's remaining 6 batsmen come up with a gem of an innings to make it an even contest.

[Ozeirk]

I feel it's difficult for Pakistan to come back from this situation, their tail will not last for too long. They basically thre the match in the first session with seamers bowling all over the place with the new ball and tail not wagging before that. Also, to top it all off the batsmen went back to the hut in a very sort amount of time. You cannot afford to make so many mistakes one after the other and expect to win the match.

When they had the opportunity to seal the series they faltered, right when the nerve of steel were required they wilted. This does not represent a team that is a world beater.

Also, bad decisions were taken in selection when Wahab Riaz was not picked even though he has been one of the best performer for Pakistan in the test arena and it was due to him that we won the series in New Zealand ( which also was a tough series). with his pace he could have been able to clean the tail and get something out of the pitch. I dont have to mention his batting, it would have fitted the situation perfectly.

[iZeeshan]

I cannot wait for this day to start, so I'm really hoping Azhar and Shafiq don't disappoint and can at least bat out for a session and a half.

I just want to see them fight, and it'll be okay if we lose, so as long as we can set SOME kind of a competitive target. I'll take 150, it'll give us an outside chance of winning, but to really make a legit game of it I think we'll need at least 185+.

Just really really hoping that this isn't like the 2nd morning and our two shining stars can continue on, fight, and make a game of it. Here's hoping!

Good luck Azhar and Asad!