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England captain Joe Root was 29 not out on his Yorkshire home ground and Bess yet to score, after coming in late Friday following the fall of opener Alastair Cook for a well-made 46. The overcast conditions -- the floodlights were switched on to guard against bad light -- promised to assist Pakistan's bowlers.
But with England desperate to avoid a third straight Test series loss after reverses in Australia and New Zealand, Bess rose to the challenge again. The Somerset off-spinner may have still to take his first Test wicket but this innings followed the 20-year-old Bess's commendable 57 on Test debut during Pakistan's dominant nine-wicket victory at Lord's.
Bess cover-drove left-arm quick Mohammad Amir for four, one of several boundaries worthy of a top-order batsman. But there was fresh frustration for Root, however. Having often been criticised for failing to convert his Test fifties into hundreds, Root fell for 45 on Saturday when, chasing a scrambled seam delivery from Amir angled across him, he succeeded only in getting a thin edge to wicket-keeper Sarfraz Ahmed, the Pakistan captain.
But when Bess swept leg-spinner Shadab Khan, England had the lead. England saw their tea score of 199 for three quickly transformed into 212 for five as they lost both Dawid Malan (28) and Bess, who shared a fourth-wicket stand of 62. Amir struck with his first delivery after tea when a ball of extra bounce took the shoulder of Malan's bat and looped gently to Haris Sohail at first slip.
Bess was on the brink of another Test half-century when, trying to dab a quicker ball from teenager Shadab, he was well caught by Asad Shafiq at slip to end a 95-ball innings that included seven fours. England should really have been 220 for six when Buttler, who had made just four, stabbed at Shadab only for the ball to burst through Hasan Ali's hands at midwicket.
Not long afterwards, Buttler was hit flush on the helmet by a Hasan bouncer after missing an intended pull shot. But he hit the next ball for four. Jonny Bairstow too might have fallen in single figures when he was lbw playing no shot to medium-pacer Faheem Ashraf for eight only to be spared on review by height. Ashraf did dismiss the Yorkshireman for 21, however, when Bairstow edged to Sarfraz shortly before the new ball became available.
But the last over of the day saw England finish with a flourish as Curran pulled and drove two fours in as many balls off Hasan. England were in sight of a new record at the close. No batsman has yet made a fifty this innings. England's highest Test total without an individual half-century is their 315 against the West Indies at Port-of-Spain in 1986.
Commentary (Pakistan innings)
15.2 S Broad to U Salahuddin, Pitches this up again, this time on that off pole, Usman does not time it well enough and gives it to covers. 60/3
15.1 S Broad to Salahuddin, Fuller ball on the fifth stump channel, Salahuddin watches the ball go through. 60/3
The landing area from where the previous over was bowled is getting some serious attention. Anderson was seen being anything other than happy with that in the previous over. As a result he even switched sides. Wary of landing his left leg there, he hobbled on one leg after delivering 14.2. Now the leveling has been done and play resumes.
14.6 J Anderson to Imam, In line of the stumps, Imam bunts this down with a straight bat staying within his crease. 60/3
14.5 J Anderson to Imam, Imam has played that off the front foot and into the ground. 60/3
14.4 J Anderson to Imam, Lands this on middle and off, Imam blocks it well. 60/3
14.3 J Anderson to Imam, Comes in from round the wicket now, Imam shoulders arms to let that one through. 60/3
14.2 J Anderson to Salahuddin, Usman works it down the leg side towards square leg for a single. Anderson goes down on his knees as his landing was not up to his liking. 60/3
14.1 J Anderson to Salahuddin, FOUR! Short and wide from Anderson. Salahuddin opens the bat face and cuts it over backward point. The ball runs away to the deep backward point fence. A bit of Mohammad Hafeez in that shot says my partner. 59/3
13.6 S Broad to Imam, That ball has taken the inside edge of the batsman and thudded into his pads. 55/3
13.5 S Broad to Salahuddin, Played with an open face bat towards covers. They pick up a single. 55/3
13.4 S Broad to Salahuddin, Broad pitches it up, Salahuddin covers his timber and bunts it down. 54/3
13.3 S Broad to Salahuddin, Wide outside off stump, Salahuddin leaves it alone. 54/3
13.2 S Broad to Salahuddin, In line of the stumps, Salahuddin is solid in defense. 54/3
13.1 S Broad to Salahuddin, Usman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. 54/3
12.6 J Anderson to Imam, Down the leg side from Jimmy to end the over, Imam tries flicking it but to no avail. 54/3
12.5 J Anderson to Imam, Imam ul Haq defends it from within the crease. 54/3
12.4 J Anderson to Imam, The batsman lets the ball go outside his off stump. 54/3
12.3 J Anderson to Imam, Nicely done from Imam. Fuller in length from James on middle and leg, Ul-Haq gets ahead and flicks it through mid-wicket. The fielder in the deep mops it up and restricts the batsmen to two. 54/3
12.2 J Anderson to Imam, Better line from Anderson. Darts this around off, Imam attempts to put bat on ball but fails. 52/3
12.1 J Anderson to Imam, Down leg, Imam goes after it but cannot make any contact. 52/3
James Anderson bowl from the other end.
11.6 S Broad to U Salahuddin, FOUR! Streaky! Full from Broad around off, Salahuddin pokes at it and gets a fat edge past the third slip. No third man and the ball rolls to the fence. 52/3
11.5 S Broad to U Salahuddin, Fuller in line of the stumps, Salahuddin goes for the drive but gets it off the inner half back to the bowler. 48/3
11.4 S Broad to Salahuddin, Bowls this in line of the stumps and Salahuddin gets behind the ball and blocks it well. 48/3
11.3 S Broad to Salahuddin, This one is a bit too far to make Usman play at it. 48/3
11.2 S Broad to Salahuddin, Once again catches Salahuddin off guard. Perfect length, forcing Usman for a drive. He feels for it and gets beaten. 48/3
11.1 S Broad to Salahuddin, Beauty to start with! Gets lovely movement off the surface. Comes in from over the wicket and lands this around off, it moves away and Usam plays and misses. 48/3
We are back from our break! We hope Pakistan have had some thoughts along with their Lunch. They need to show some confidence and play some gritty cricket. England will hope that their speedsters will do the damage ASAP. Imam ul Haq and Usman Salahuddin stride out to bat. Stuart Broad will bowl the first over of this session. Three slips in place.
Pakistan have a big job on their hands. They have to first make 141 more runs and then set England a target. With already 30 percent of their side back, things look uphill. It will be interesting to see their approach post the break. The hosts will look to get as many wickets today so that they won't have too much to do the next day. Take your break and be with us at 1340 local time (1240 GMT).
James Anderson and Stuart Broad, like they did in the first innings, troubled the batters enough and got three wickets to give England more than the upper hand. They were criticized before this game for not striking frequently and here they are replying in kind. Earlier on, Buttler ran out of partners and missed scoring his first Test ton. The tail couldn't last for more than an hour as the visitors got the job done soon enough, but not before conceding a lead of 189.
A wonderful session for England. They got quick runs with the bat and now have sent three of the Pakistan batsmen back in the hut. The Asian side came out to bat with great intent. Azhar Ali played some good shots earlier on and everyone thought it was the perfect mindset for Pakistan to wipe out the trail. He, along with Imam Ul Haq, played and missed on numerous occasions in the process.
10.6 Sam Curran to Imam, Good length ball outside off, Imam stays back and punches it to covers. That will be LUNCH on Day 3! 48/3
10.5 Sam Curran to Imam, Driven through the covers by the batsman. 48/3
10.4 Sam Curran to Imam, There is swing on offer. Bowls one on a good length, it moves away from Imam, who does not bother playing at it. 48/3
10.3 Sam Curran to Imam, Short ball on middle, Imam does well to evade it. 48/3
10.2 Sam Curran to Imam, Bowls this full outside off, Imam leaves it alone. 48/3
10.1 Sam Curran to Imam, FOUR! Starts by bowling one very full. Had the same trouble in the first innings. Angles this down leg and it is an easy flick for Imam. He hits to the deep square leg region to get four to his name. 48/3
Sam Curran to bowl, what should be the last over before Lunch.
9.6 S Broad to Salahuddin, Salahuddin fails to put bat on ball. A wicket and a couple of runs off this one from Broad. 44/3
9.5 S Broad to Salahuddin, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. 44/3
9.4 S Broad to Salahuddin, Well outside off, left alone. 44/3
9.3 S Broad to Salahuddin, Full on middle and leg, flicked away through mid-wicket to get off the mark with a brace. 44/3
Usman Salahuddin is the next batter in.
9.2 S Broad to Shafiq, OUT! Three of the Pakistan batters are out to have an early Lunch at Leeds! England are on a roll here, courtesy an excellent use of the Decision Review System. Broad steams in from over the wicket and spears it down leg. Shafiq would have flicked these ones nine times out of ten to the boundary. This turns out to be the tenth occasion. The ball seems to have gone off something to Bairstow behind. He takes it forward and puts in an appeal. Seeing no response from the umpire, Root intervenes. Has a word with Bairstow and Broad to know if there were two noises. He gets a confident nod and goes further with the review. The initial impression could have been the absence of any wood as the ball didn't zip through. Now time for the reviews, where the Snicko comes into play. It detects the tiniest of edges and returns a spike, one that signals Asad's fate. So, the batter had gloved it and then the ball went off his thigh pad to the keeper. Hence, didn't carry to the height it should have. Mickey Arthur has his head down in disgust, while England have their hands high in joy. Pakistan going down quite quickly here. 42/3
Is that it for Shafiq? Dear o dear! Shafiq misses the flick and it goes off something to the keeper. Bairstow takes that and puts in a not-so-confident appeal. Root asks him and the bowler if there were two noises. On getting the affirmation, he takes it upstairs.
9.1 S Broad to Shafiq, Fuller on middle, flicked away to mid-wicket. 42/2
8.6 J Anderson to Imam, Length outside off, easy leave for Imam. 42/2
8.5 J Anderson to Imam, Ul Haq shoulders arms to let that one through. 42/2
8.4 J Anderson to Imam, Full ball in line of the stumps, Imam plays it back to the bowler. 42/2
8.3 J Anderson to Shafiq, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. They pick up a single. 42/2
8.2 J Anderson to A Shafiq, FOUR! Edged and through the slip cordon for a boundary. Shafiq looks to play this one with soft hands. But the ball moves away just a bit and hence goes off the edge. It falls short of second slip and runs away to the third man fence. 41/2
8.1 J Anderson to Shafiq, Outside off, left alone. 37/2
7.6 Broad to Imam, And again! No shot offered and the ball goes on to hit the front pad of Imam. Length ball around off, Imam leaves it alone and gets hit on his pads. This time a low appeal as it looked like it would miss the stumps. 37/2
7.6 S Broad to Imam, FOUR! Broad oversteps and serves it down leg, Imam flicks it upishly towards the fine leg region for a boundary. Five runs for Pakistan, due to the no ball. 37/2
7.5 S Broad to Imam, The ball is too wide on the off side for the batsman to make any contact. 32/2
7.4 Broad to Imam, Loud shout again but the umpire is not interested. Length ball outside off, Imam points his bat skywards thinking the ball will move away, but it doesn't. It comes back in and hits Ul Haq on his pad. The English players appeal but the umpire says Not Out. No review taken from the fielding side. Hawk Eye says that it would have missed the stumps easily. 32/2
7.3 S Broad to Imam, The batsman chooses to leave the ball outside his off stump. 32/2
7.2 S Broad to Imam, Pitched up ball from Broad, Imam drives this through covers and will get two runs for it. 32/2
7.1 S Broad to Imam, The ball is too wide on the off side for the batsman to make any contact. 30/2
Asad Shafiq is the new man in.
6.6 J Anderson to Sohail, OUT! Bess takes a beauty to send Sohail for an early shower! He has done it with the bat, now does it in the field. Only thing left for him is to get wickets. Anderson runs in from round the wicket and bowls it full outside off, Sohail is early in his drive and ends up chipping one towards mid off. Dominic at short extra cover takes a couple of steps to his left and dives to grab it with his weaker arm. A one handed catch that. The ball sticks and Haris stands there in disbelief. Anderson gets his second and Pakistan still trail by 159 runs. 30/2
6.5 J Anderson to Sohail, The batsman lets the ball go outside his off stump. 30/1
6.4 J Anderson to Sohail, FOUR! Easy runs for Pakistan. Anderson misses his line, angles it down leg and Sohail helps it on its way towards fine leg for a boundary. 30/1
6.3 J Anderson to Sohail, No need to play at these. It is Anderson, you need to see off the new ball. Sohail goes fishing outside his off stump and gets beaten. 26/1
6.2 J Anderson to Sohail, Outside off, HS chooses to leave it alone. 26/1
6.1 J Anderson to Sohail, Fuller from Anderson, Haris hits it for the mid off fielder to collect. 26/1
There seems to be some problem at the bowling crease. Two ground staff run out, put some mud on it and do the leveling job real quick. Anderson has a look and is happy with it.
5.6 S Broad to Imam, Strays this down leg, Imam looks to work it to the leg side but misses the ball. 26/1
5.5 S Broad to H Sohail, Pitched up from Broad on off, Sohail gets behind the ball and drives it through mid off. The ball won't go all the way as the 35 year old, Anderson hares after it. Parries it to the 20-year old Curran who gives it back to the bowler. The batsmen take three. 26/1
5.4 S Broad to Sohail, Similar line from Broad, Sohail covers his stumps and leaves it alone. 23/1
5.3 S Broad to Sohail, Full this time outside off, good leave from Haris. 23/1
5.2 S Broad to Sohail, Beauty! Really good from Broad. Making the ball talk. Hurls this on the fourth stump channel, Sohail feels for it but gets beaten. 23/1
5.1 S Broad to Sohail, Length ball on middle and leg, Sohail stays back and hits it to short mid-wicket 23/1
4.6 J Anderson to Imam, On the pads again, worked away through square leg for a couple. End of a successful over from Jimmy. 23/1
4.5 J Anderson to Imam, Fuller on off, defended solidly. 21/1
Ian Botham analyses the slip cordon. He compares England's cordon to that of New Zealand. He observed that the Kiwis cover more space with the same amount of fielders than England do. The reason is that the slip fielders stand very close to each other while the Kiwis stand a bit further apart. Fair point.
4.4 J Anderson to Sohail, On a length around middle and leg, Sohail clips it off the inner half through square leg for one. 21/1
Haris Sohail is the next man in.
4.3 Anderson to A Ali, OUT! Knocked him over! What a delivery from the premier swing bowler from England. Anderson bowls it full on off and middle and gets it to move in a touch. Ali looks to play the drive sans any feet movement. Misses the ball completely to find his woodwork shattered. Jimmy is ecstatic and leaps to make it known. He was criticized in the first innings for not being full enough and not attacking the stumps. Here he has done both and that has borne fruit. Yet again Pakistan's opening pair fails to impress. 20/1
4.2 J Anderson to Ali, Huge appeal for a caught behind, turned down! Angled in from outside off, Azhar looks to defend with his bat close to his front pad. The ball goes off his pads and Bairstow takes it low to his right. Then England appeal vociferously for a caught behind but the umpire stays unmoved. Root ponders about DRS but decides not to take it, after having a long chat. Good call in the end as the Snicko didn't detect any spike when the ball passed the blade. It went only off the pad. 20/0
4.1 J Anderson to Ali, Outside off, left alone. 20/0
3.6 S Broad to Imam, Full outside off, Imam leaves it alone. 20/0
3.5 S Broad to Imam, Down the leg side this time, Imam goes for the flick but cannot make any contact. 20/0
3.4 S Broad to Imam, FOUR! Confidence booster for Imam. Overpitched ball from Broad outside off, Imam waits for it and drives it crisply through mid off for a boundary. 20/0
3.3 S Broad to Imam, Imam ul Haq lets the ball go outside his off stump. 16/0
3.2 S Broad to Imam, The ball is too wide on the off side for Imam to make any contact. 16/0
3.1 S Broad to Imam, The ball is way outside the off stump, easy leave for the batsman. 16/0
2.6 J Anderson to Ali, Huge appeal from England but nothing from the umpire. Anderson comes in from over the wicket and serves one on a good length outside off. The ball jags back and Ali shoulders his arms to it only to see the ball going to hit his pad. A long appeal but the umpire stays put. Root has a chat but opts against the DRS. 16/0
2.5 J Anderson to Ali, Full again on leg, Ali flicks it in the gap towards deep square leg for a brace. Some quick runs for the visitors. 16/0
2.4 J Anderson to Ali, The batsman flicks it away with a wristy shot. 14/0
2.3 J Anderson to Ali, Length ball outside off, Ali goes for it but does not make contact. 14/0
2.2 J Anderson to Ali, Ali chooses to leave the ball outside his off stump. 14/0
2.1 J Anderson to Ali, FOUR! Ali is looking good. Pitched up ball on off, Ali stands tall and punches it down the ground. Anderson tries to stop it on his followthrough but cannot get his hand to it. The mid off fielder chases it but comes second best. 14/0
1.6 S Broad to Imam, The batsman shoulders arms to let that one through. 10/0
1.5 S Broad to Imam, Fuller ball outside off, no need to play at that but Imam still goes for the booming drive. Misses the ball, that wasn't too far from the outside edge. 10/0
1.4 S Broad to Imam, Driven towards the mid on region. 10/0
1.3 S Broad to Imam, You beauty! Similar ball from Broad and he is due to get one edged now. Serves another one on a good length around off, Imam looks to block it but misses it completely. 10/0
1.2 S Broad to Imam, Jaffa! Peach of a delivery from Imam. Hurls it on middle and off, Imam has to play at it and the ball almost takes his outside edge. 10/0
1.1 S Broad to Imam, Comes in from over the wicket and bowls it outside off, Imam shoulders his arms. 10/0
Stuart Broad, as he does, will share the new ball along with his vintage partner, James Anderson.
0.6 J Anderson to Ali, The batsman lets the ball go outside his off stump. 10/0
0.5 J Anderson to A Ali, Guides this one to the gully fielder. 10/0
0.4 J Anderson to Ali, Four Leg Byes. Anderson angles this into Ali. Azhar looks to flick it away but it hits his thigh pad and runs away to the fine leg fence. 10/0
0.3 J Anderson to Imam, Slants this on leg, Imam fails to get bat on this attempted flick. It goes off his pads and a leg bye is taken. 6/0
0.2 J Anderson to Ali, Taps this to cover-point and sets off for the run. The fielder there has a shy at the stumps at the striker's end but misses. Imam was in though. Good intent shown from the Pakistan batsmen. 5/0
0.1 J Anderson to Ali, FOUR! WOW! Perfect from Azhar Ali. No need for sighters, no need to check whether the ball is swinging. Nothing. Anderson pitches it up around off, Ali uses his feet, gets forward and creams it through covers for a boundary. This will give him a lot of confidence. 4/0
First Published: June 3, 2018, 3:23 PM IST
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