Pakistan were bowled out for 366, before England's 'Bazball' batting style stumbled on Day 2 of the second Test in Multan.
England's batting stumbled on Day 2 of the second Test against Pakistan in Multan on Wednesday (October 16). Replying to Pakistan's first innings score of 366 runs, England ended the second day at 239 runs for the loss of six wickets. A collapse from a strong position of 211-3, losing three wickets for just one run, put England on the back foot. Except for opener Ben Duckett, who scored a century, other batsmen failed to establish themselves, which proved to be a setback for England's Bazball approach. Off spinner Sajid Khan took four wickets for Pakistan, while left-arm spinner Noman Ali claimed two.
Pakistan close day two on a high with Sajid and Noman shining bright 🏏
England are 239-6, trailing by 127 runs.
Scorecard: https://t.co/sDVJBTiJUN | pic.twitter.com/qU7IHfeX8b
England started their innings with their usual aggressive Bazball style. Openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley put on 73 runs in 12 overs before the former was dismissed by Noman Ali. With the Pakistani pacers failing to make an impact, captain Shan Masood's strategy of introducing spinners early paid off.
Duckett and Ollie Pope then took England past 100. Sajid Khan bowled Ollie Pope for 29. Ben Duckett, along with a fluent Joe Root, then steered England past 200. However, Sajid Khan came to Pakistan's rescue again. He dismissed Root for 34, followed by Harry Brook (9), who had scored a triple century in the previous Test. Khan then stunned England by dismissing centurion Ben Duckett (114). Before adding any further runs, Noman Ali got the better of captain Ben Stokes (1), leaving England reeling at 225-6.
At the end of the second day, wicketkeeper Jamie Smith was on 12 and Brydon Carse is batting on 2. With four wickets remaining, England still need 127 runs to equal Pakistan's first innings score.
Also read: Ajay Jadeja surpasses Virat Kohli as India's richest cricketer