After their embarrassing defeat in the first Test against England in Multan, Pakistan have done very well to challenge their opponents. The Shan Masood-led side went on to win the second Test comprehensively and have impressed many with their performances in the third Test so far. Pakistan’s bowlers did very well to bowl out England for a score of 267. In fact, at one stage, Pakistan’s dominance was such that England batters could barely play the attacking style of cricket (Bazball) that they’ve become synonymous with.

As Pakistan’s bowlers tightened their grip on England’s batters, wicket-keeper Mohammad Rizwan decided to mock batsman Harry Brook saying, “No more Bazball now.”

As for the match, Pakistan off-spinner Sajid Khan bowled exceptionally well on the first day of the third and final Test as his six wickets rattled England for 267. At Stumps on Day 1, Pakistan are 73/3 with Shan Masood and Saud Shakeel unbeaten on the crease. The hosts still trail by 194 runs in the Rawalpindi Test.

Earlier in the day, England skipper Ben Stoke won the toss and elected to bat first in the series decider.

Batting first, England was able to score just 267 runs in the first innings. The highest scorer for the side was their wicketkeeper-batter, Jamie Smith who slammed 89 runs off 119 balls which was laced by five boundaries and six maximums in his innings.

Opener Ben Duckett scored a fifty too. The left-hand batter smashed 52 runs in 84 balls with the help of four boundaries and one six in his innings. All-rounder Gus Atkinson played a valuable knock of 39 runs from 71 balls which came with the help of five fours in his innings.

For the hosts, Sajid Khan was the pick of the bowlers as he snapped six wickets in his spell of 29.2 overs where he conceded 128 runs in his spell where he bowled four maiden overs.

Left-arm spinner, Noman Ali bagged three wickets in his 28 overs where he gave away 88 runs and managed to bowl two maiden overs. Leg-spinner Zahid Mahmood also took one wicket in his spell of 10 overs where he conceded 44 runs and bowled one maiden over.

In reply to England’s 267, the Shan Masood-led side scored 73 runs with the loss of three wickets with the knocks from Saim Ayub (19 runs off 36 balls with 1 four), Saud Shakeel (16* runs in 34 balls with 1 four), Masood (16* runs from 32 balls), and Abdullah Shafique (14 runs off 27 balls, 1 four).

For the Three Lions, one wicket each was grabbed by Jack Leach, Gus Atkinson, and Shoaib Bashir in their respective spells.

With ANI Inputs

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