England gains upper hand as Pakistan stumbles late on opening day in Pindi

The opening day of the third and final Test between Pakistan and England in Rawalpindi proved to be an intense, see-saw battle. England finished their first innings at 267, and in response, Pakistan reached 73/3 at stumps, still trailing by 194 runs.

England’s bowlers managed to strike crucial blows late in the day to put Pakistan under pressure, despite a promising start from their openers.

While the pitch offered turn and sharp grip for the spinners, it also had some balls keeping low, which made life difficult for batters who tried to settle in.

Pakistan’s promising start, but early setbacks

Pakistan's innings began with openers Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique looking in fine touch. They started the innings positively, making good use of the slow and unpredictable nature of the pitch. With the uneven bounce evident from England's innings earlier in the day, the openers knew that any ball could keep low, and they couldn't afford to just play a patient, anchor-style innings.

England, sensing the conditions, opened with left-arm spinner Jack Leach and pacer Gus Atkinson. However, Atkinson bowled just two overs before Ben Stokes introduced off-spinner Shoaib Bashir from the other end, indicating the importance of spin on this surface.

Pakistan's Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique in action during the third Test against England in Rawalpindi.Reuters

Saim, showing his attacking intent, danced down the wicket and lofted Leach over long-off for a boundary. Meanwhile, Shafique kept things steady, rotating the strike with singles before he played a stylish inside-out shot off Leach for four.

Just as the pair seemed to be settling in, Bashir struck, trapping Shafique lbw for 14, breaking the 35-run stand. Bashir’s breakthrough was a crucial one for England, as Pakistan’s solid start was dented. Soon after, Leach joined the party by deceiving Saim (19) with flight and turn. The left-hander, trying to advance down the pitch, ended up chipping the ball to short midwicket.

Sensing the opportunity, Stokes brought Atkinson back into the attack to exploit the uneven bounce. The move paid off almost immediately. In his first over back, Atkinson delivered a ball that stayed low and shattered the stumps of Ghulam for just three. Pakistan had now slumped to 46/3, leaving them in a precarious position.

Pakistan captain Shan Masood (16 not out) and vice-captain Saud Shakeel (16 not out) managed to see out the remaining overs, ensuring no further damage was done.

Smith’s counter-attack saves the day for England

Earlier, England’s first innings had its own twists and turns. After deciding to bat first, Ben Stokes’ side found themselves in trouble at 118/6, with Pakistan’s spinners Sajid Khan and Noman Ali wreaking havoc.

The spinners continued their dominance from the previous Test in Multan, where they shared all 20 English wickets between them. On this occasion, they combined to tear through England’s top order in the first two sessions.

England started well, with Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley putting on a 56-run opening stand. Duckett looked in good form, following his century in the last Test, but Crawley (29) was the first to fall, caught driving loosely against Noman Ali’s flighted delivery.

Ollie Pope’s struggles against Sajid continued as the vice-captain fell for just three, misjudging a sweep shot and giving Sajid his first wicket of the day.

England’s talisman, Joe Root, didn’t last long either. Root, the top-ranked Test batter in the world, was trapped lbw by Sajid for five, with the off-spinner getting a sharply turning ball past the bat.

Duckett hit a six off Sajid en route to his fifty and got a reprieve when Noman spilled a return catch but the spinner dismissed the left-hander lbw in the same over with a delivery that kept low.

Sajid's trademark thigh-slap celebration was on display again when he bowled Harry Brook (five), who looked ill at ease against the turning ball.

At 118/6, England was staring down the barrel, but Jamie Smith mounted a spectacular counter-attack to bail them out.

Smith, in partnership with Gus Atkinson, put on a crucial 107-run stand that brought England back into the contest. Smith’s belligerent 89, including seven sixes, was a defiant response to Pakistan’s spinners, while Atkinson played the perfect supporting role with his patient 39.

England's Jamie Smith and Gus Atkinson in action during the third Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi.Reuters

The partnership was broken just before tea when Smith, aiming for a century, misjudged a slog-sweep against Zahid Mehmood and was caught. It was Zahid’s first wicket of the series, and his breakthrough helped Pakistan avoid a complete recovery by England.

Rehan Ahmed, who had shown some big-hitting form in practice, followed Smith to the pavilion shortly after tea, miscuing a charge down the wicket to Sajid and being bowled for 4.

Sajid completed his second five-wicket haul of the series by cleaning up the tail, finishing with 6/128, including the final wicket of Leach, who was stumped for 16.

As day two approaches, Pakistan will look to Masood and Shakeel to build a partnership and close the gap on England’s first-innings score.