MULTAN: Pakistani spinner Abrar Ahmed continued his fairytale debut but England extended their overall lead to 281 to move into command position at the second Test in Multan on Saturday.
After claiming a handy 79 first-leg lead in the low-scoring contest, England solidified their position by finishing day two on 202-5 with the fifties through Ben Duckett and Harry Brook.
Abrar, who took seven wickets in the first leg, came back 3-81 in the second to prevent England running away with the game.
Brook was batting at 74 when poor light stopped play with England captain Ben Stokes at 16 at the other end.
“We hit so well there, it’s great to watch,” England spinner Jack Leach told Sky Sports as he praised Brook and Duckett for how they handled spin.
“As a spinner, I know how difficult it is when someone sweeps and sweeps in reverse. Defining a field is really difficult.
“They played very well and that puts us in a good position.
“I think it’s a very good day for us.”
Earlier, England claimed Pakistan’s remaining eight wickets for 95 runs in a lengthy morning session after the hosts came back 107-2.
Ollie Robinson made an immediate impact with the ball in the spin-dominated contest to trigger a batting meltdown.
Robinson generated a reverse swing to send Pakistan captain Babar Azam (75) through the gate.
Leach then took over.
The left-arm spinner prompted Saud Shakeel (63) to chase him down and James Anderson took a smart hold running back to give Leach his 100th Test wicket.
“It’s crazy to think I got 100 wickets in Test matches just because of how hard I found it at times,” Leach said.
“I definitely feel like I’m getting better and better the more I play, so that’s nice,” added Leach who finished with the numbers 4-98.
Joe Root’s part-time rotation also proved useful as he took two wickets in an over to hasten Pakistan’s collapse for 202.
Abrar had lit up his first test with his bag of tricks on Friday and the bespectacled 24-year-old was once again in the thick of the action after England started their second innings.
Waiting to be introduced into the attack, Pakistan’s man with the golden arm ran Zak Crawley for three with a flick under his arms from the middle.
When brought on serve, Abrar batted on his first innings.
A promoted Will Jacks (four) attempted to play a hard shot against the spinner and ended up having his woods rearranged.
Root (21) fell to Abrar for the second time but Duckett (79) smashed his second fifty of the match as England’s lead grew.
Duckett got a life when Babar Azam dropped a sitter to Abrar’s midwicket.
The spinner came back to fend off the opener’s off-stump for his 10th wicket on his first Test.
After claiming a handy 79 first-leg lead in the low-scoring contest, England solidified their position by finishing day two on 202-5 with the fifties through Ben Duckett and Harry Brook.
Abrar, who took seven wickets in the first leg, came back 3-81 in the second to prevent England running away with the game.
Brook was batting at 74 when poor light stopped play with England captain Ben Stokes at 16 at the other end.
“We hit so well there, it’s great to watch,” England spinner Jack Leach told Sky Sports as he praised Brook and Duckett for how they handled spin.
“As a spinner, I know how difficult it is when someone sweeps and sweeps in reverse. Defining a field is really difficult.
“They played very well and that puts us in a good position.
“I think it’s a very good day for us.”
Earlier, England claimed Pakistan’s remaining eight wickets for 95 runs in a lengthy morning session after the hosts came back 107-2.
Ollie Robinson made an immediate impact with the ball in the spin-dominated contest to trigger a batting meltdown.
Robinson generated a reverse swing to send Pakistan captain Babar Azam (75) through the gate.
Leach then took over.
The left-arm spinner prompted Saud Shakeel (63) to chase him down and James Anderson took a smart hold running back to give Leach his 100th Test wicket.
“It’s crazy to think I got 100 wickets in Test matches just because of how hard I found it at times,” Leach said.
“I definitely feel like I’m getting better and better the more I play, so that’s nice,” added Leach who finished with the numbers 4-98.
Joe Root’s part-time rotation also proved useful as he took two wickets in an over to hasten Pakistan’s collapse for 202.
Abrar had lit up his first test with his bag of tricks on Friday and the bespectacled 24-year-old was once again in the thick of the action after England started their second innings.
Waiting to be introduced into the attack, Pakistan’s man with the golden arm ran Zak Crawley for three with a flick under his arms from the middle.
When brought on serve, Abrar batted on his first innings.
A promoted Will Jacks (four) attempted to play a hard shot against the spinner and ended up having his woods rearranged.
Root (21) fell to Abrar for the second time but Duckett (79) smashed his second fifty of the match as England’s lead grew.
Duckett got a life when Babar Azam dropped a sitter to Abrar’s midwicket.
The spinner came back to fend off the opener’s off-stump for his 10th wicket on his first Test.
