England frustrated by bad light and Rizwan
England’s hopes of rolling Pakistan cheaply ran aground on day two of the second Test as gloomy weather and enterprising batting from Mohammad Rizwan stalled their momentum.
Just over 40 overs were possible yesterday, with the tourists’ first innings on 223 for nine at the end of a painfully frustrating day.
England managed four wickets for 97 runs across three broken passages of play but spent more time holed up in the pavilion than advancing the game in the middle.
Pakistan, who had Rizwan’s accomplished 60 not out to thank for keeping them in the conversation, were equally badly served by the circumstances as they would surely have fancied a long bowl at their opponents under overcast skies that rendered runscoring a fraught mission.
Just 86 overs out of a scheduled 180 have been possible so far and the game will need to accelerate briskly to keep a disappointing draw at bay.
Having taken three for 18 the previous evening to leave Pakistan 126 for five, England were left kicking their heels until 12.30pm by morning showers in Southampton. That left an hour-long session to make up for lost time, with Babar Azam and Rizwan sent out under a blanket of dark clouds that seam bowlers dream about.
Babar produced a wise, restrained display as the team’s most natural strokemaker temporarily shelved his impressive array of drives and left the ball consistently.
Englandbegantheafternoon session knowing they might need something special to get the better of Babar and Stuart Broad was the man to produce it. In his second over after the restart he left his opponent no option but to play at a ball that pitched around middle before drifting away off the pitch.
The edge was inevitable, Jos Buttler’s catch undroppable and England’s relief considerable. They would have been well on the way to wrapping things up had the wicketkeeper been able to cling on to Rizwan on 14, but when he gloved a Broad bouncer down the leg side Buttler’s leap was not quite enough.
There was no question of him holding on when Yasir Shah’s flat-footed swing gave James Anderson his third of the match and when Dom Sibley produced his second direct hit of the series to run out Shaheen Afridi for nought a swift decline seemed certain.
All that stood in the way was Rizwan, but that was more than enough. Having chiselled out 24 from his first 70 balls he scored 36 off his next 46 taking his knock to another level.
The evening session comprised just nine balls and ten minutes, enough for Broad to pin Mohammad Abbas lbw with some trademark movement off the seam.