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Pakistan left England in a spin on day two in Multan, with Ben Duckett’s fine century not enough to prevent the hosts running riot in the second Test.
Having bowled their hosts out for 366 just after the lunch break, Duckett’s masterful display of sweeping brought him 114 runs and led his side to a formidable position of 211 for two.
England were scoring at a rapid rate and seemingly dictating terms but Pakistan’s pre-match gamble on a reused pitch was about the pay off handsomely as the tourists tumbled to 239 for six at the close.
Having loaded their attack with a phalanx of spinners, Pakistan were merely waiting for a surface that was well into its seventh consecutive day of Test cricket to start playing tricks. And, when the moment came, it came fast.
Joe Root, Duckett, Harry Brook and Ben Stokes all fell in the space of 18 deliveries, sitting ducks as the track began to offer lavish assistance.
Off-spinner Sajid Khan, one of a trio of slow bowlers recalled in a major selection pivot by Pakistan, was the instigator. The 31-year-old, a striking figure with a clean-shaven head and carefully coiffured moustache, took out four of England’s top five, celebrating with blood-curdling roars and furious eyes.
Khan had already picked up the wicket of Ollie Pope, bowled round the outside edge for 29, when he initiated what could prove a decisive collapse. Root (34) was his second victim, reaching outside his off stump on the sweep but only succeeding in dragging the ball on at a trickle.
Duckett had played his hand brilliantly to that point, dropping instinctively to one knee to sweep the ball with a relentless predictability.
The left-hander claims to possess more than 10 variations on the stroke and showed off most of his arsenal here, combining standard and reverse sweeps, hitting in front and behind square and tickling fine as well as hoisting over the top. He even brought up his hundred with a classic of the genre, powered through midwicket.
But when he slashed a turner from Sajid to slip, England had lost their anchor. Brook made just nine before being comprehensively bowled by a massive off-break, staying back and losing his leg stump as the ball ragged back devilishly.
That plunged Stokes into a snake-pit for his first competitive innings since tearing his hamstring in July and his resistance was brief. He lingered only five balls before he poked defensively at Noman Ali, diverting the ball into his bat and looping up for Abdullah Shafique to catch diving forwards at short-leg.
Noman had earlier taken the first wicket when Zak Crawley aimed a flashy drive at the left-arm finger spinner and nicked behind.
It was a remarkable shift in fortunes, with Pakistan’s ploy of going all in on spin in the hope that the recycled surface would oblige looking like it might backfire as it inadvertently played into Duckett’s hands. By stumps, they held all the cards with a 127-run lead that could prove impossible to overturn.
It was a completely different proposition at the start of the day, with Pakistan resuming on 259 for five and England putting their faith in pace.
Brydon Carse bounded in to take Mohammad Rizwan’s outside edge in the third over, angling it in and nipping it off the pitch. Carse’s accuracy saw him concede just 19 from his first 15 overs of the innings but he finally tired, with the last over of his spell leaking 16 on its own.
Matthew Potts swapped ends to replace his Durham colleague and brought an end to Salman Agha’s lively knock of 31 but the total breached 300 as the lower order made important runs. An awkward ninth-wicket stand of 49 between Aamer Jamal and Noman detained England but Jack Leach (four for 114) and Carse (three for 50) ended the battle at the start of the afternoon session.
England went on the attack from the off, hammering 69 off their first 10 overs as Duckett’s sweeps held sway. Their rapid scoring rate was in stark contrast to Pakistan, who built their score at a more genteel 2.96 an over, and for a while it seemed their refusal to stand still would pay off.
By the time Duckett reached three figures he had scored more than half his runs with sweeps, bringing up his fourth Test ton. Three of those have come in Asia, following previous knocks at Rawalpindi and Rajkot, but his badge-kissing celebration was a high watermark on a day that was destined to get much worse.
