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Match evenly poised at end of Day 3; Mohammad Hafeez leads Pakistan fightback

Mohammad Hafeez of Pakistan hits James Anderson of England for six runs during day three of the 3rd Test

James Taylor and Johnny Bairstow resumed batting for England in the morning session, 12 runs behind Pakistan’s first innings score of 234. They would have been looking to build a healthy lead, but sustained pressure from the Pakistani bowlers got both their wickets in little time, exposing the lower order.

Samit Patel brought up his highest individual Test score – 42 – batting at No. 7, before becoming Yasir Shah’s third victim.

Shoaib Malik recorded his best Test bowling figures – 4/33 – claiming the last 3 England wickets cheaply. The last 4 wickets fell for 21 runs. Ben Stokes, who sustained a collarbone injury in the Test while attempting an athletic dive, came in to bat at No. 11, clearly because his team felt they hadn’t done enough. 

Bravery notwithstanding, Stokes fell to Malik’s spin for a duck. England were dismissed for 306, 72 runs ahead.

Pakistani openers Mohammad Hafeez and Azhar Ali came out to bat in the lunch session, and got about their job in a positive manner. They brought up a 101-run partnership, the longest in the match, bringing their team back in the lead.

A silly mix-up between them while running between the wickets ended their partnership, and sunk their team into trouble. James Anderson dismissed Shoaib Malik with an inswinger for a duck immediately after, and soon Younis Khan soon left shaking his head too, caught LBW by Stuart Broad.

Rahat Ali came out as night watchman, and will resume batting for Pakistan when play resumes on Day 4 – alongside Hafeez, who is three runs short of a century. They finished Day 3 on 146/3, with a lead of 74 over England.

With two final days remaining, Pakistan currently lead the 3-match series 1-0. 

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