"The pressure's kind of over to them" - Ben Duckett ahead of Day 3 of ENG vs PAK 2024 Test

England opener Ben Duckett believes the pressure is on Pakistan to force a result in their favor in the second Test. He claimed that the pitch in Multan will continue to get worse. The Nottinghamshire opener reckons the first hour on Day 3 (Thursday, October 17) will be critical for England.

Having been dismissed for 366 in the first innings, Pakistan roared back with the ball after a couple of big partnerships. Off-spinner Sajid Khan rallied the home side's charge with four wickets to reduce England to 239/6 by Stumps on October 16.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Duckett, who slammed a hundred, said that England are still in the game, but a 200+ run target could be tough in the fourth innings. He said:

"The pressure's kind of over to them. We're one-nil up in the series. We won the last series three-nil. I know that they're going to fight the whole way through this game and try and make it as hard as they can for us. But we always believe we're in the game… If we bowl well and if we can try and keep the chase to anywhere around 200 or less, we'll believe we'll be in the game."

The England openers shared a 73-run stand, while Duckett added 86 with Joe Root. However, Sajid triggered a collapse, making the tourists go from 211-2 to 225-6. For Pakistan, Kamran Ghulam starred with a century, while Saim Ayub scored a vital fifty.

"Runs are going to be so, so vital" - Ben Duckett

The southpaw also opined that looking to score runs is the way to go on this surface. He added:

"We bat all the way down. I think it's going to be really important that we look to score runs. We know on this pitch, it's not going to be a draw and we're definitely not going to play for a draw. Runs are going to be so, so vital… That first hour, if we can try and get as close as we can, we know that they can crumble."

With Jamie Smith still at the crease, the visitors can hope to get close to Pakistan's total of 366.