MANCHESTER, United Kingdom: English team decided to bat again instead of preferring follow on as Green Shirts went to pavilion for only 198 runs at lunch on the third day of the second Test against England at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Earlier, Pakistan’s first-innings collapse continued as they slumped to 119 for eight at lunch on the third day of the second Test against England at Old Trafford on Sunday.
That left them a mammoth 470 runs behind England’s first-innings 589 for eight declared and on the verge of being made to follow on in the second of this four-match series.
Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq was 22 not out after Yasir Shah was held in the slips by Joe Root — his fourth catch of the innings — off Chris Woakes in what became the last delivery before lunch.
Woakes has now taken four for 42, having captured three wickets on Saturday as Pakistan slumped to 57 for four come stumps on the second day.
James Anderson, England’s all-time leading wicket-taker, marked his return to Test cricket on his Lancashire home ground after missing Pakistan’s series-opening 75-run win at Lord’s last week with a shoulder injury by taking the first wicket to fall on Sunday.
Shan Masood had held firm for more than two hours in all.
But having moved on to 39 from his overnight 30 not out, the left-handed opener exited in familiar fashion when he pushed outside off stump and edged Anderson to Root at second slip.
Pakistan were now 71 for five, their total at the rain break.
Shortly after play resumed, Asad Shafiq fell for four when he drove loosely at a Stuart Broad slower ball and lobbed a catch to Alex Hales at point.
Sarfraz Ahmed may have come in at 76 for six but the wicket-keeper saw no reason to change his attacking game and got off the mark when he cut Broad just over the head of Hales for four.
By contrast it took Misbah 47 balls to score the first boundary of his innings, a square-driven four off Anderson.
Woakes, who took 11 wickets in defeat at Lord’s, saw his first over Sunday cost 11 runs as Sarfraz hit two well-struck boundaries.
What Pakistan needed above all, however, was someone to bat time.
Typical of their plight was that when Sarfraz played defensively at Ben Stokes he succeeded only in giving Root another routine slip catch.
Sarfraz’s 26 featured five fours but Pakistan were now 112 for seven.
Root had guided England into a commanding position on Saturday with a Test-best 254 after captain Alastair Cook made 105.
