England pace it right

England pacer Stuart Broad celebrates the wicket of Pakistan's Babar Azam yesterday. Pic/Getty Images; (Right) James Anderson

Pacers Stuart Broad and James Anderson took three wickets each as England reduced Pakistan to 223-9 before bad light stopped play on Day One of the second Test here on Friday.

At the time of going to press, Pakistan wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan was unbeaten on 60, his second-highest score in eight career Tests following the 95 he made against Australia in Brisbane in November, and Naseem Shah was not out on one. At 176-8 at one stage, Pakistan were in danger of being dismissed for under 200. But Mohammad Abbas, two off 20 gave Rizwan staunch support, sharing 39 runs for the ninth wicket.

Overcast conditions
Earlier, in overcast conditions ideally suited to England's four-man pace attack, Pakistan did well to get through the hour's play that was possible in the morning after a rain delay without losing a wicket as they took lunch on 155-5. Babar Azam was dismissed soon afterwards for 47. There was little Babar could do when a full-length delivery from Broad moved away late and took the outside edge, with wicketkeeper Jos Buttler holding the routine catch. Rizwan, with no more specialist batsmen left for company, attacked and saw Buttler drop a difficult legside chance when he mishooked a short ball from Broad on 14.

Yasir Shah, who had briefly frustrated England with the bat during Pakistan's three-wicket defeat in the first Test at Old Trafford last week, then square-drove a boundary off Broad. But going for a booming drive, he was caught behind off Anderson, who moved to within seven wickets of becoming the first paceman with 600 Test wickets.

Rizwan fights back
And Pakistan were 178-6 when Shaheen Afridi was run out for a duck when Dom Sibley, running round from the slip cordon, threw down the stumps at the bowler's end. Rizwan kept playing his shots, however, and cleverly uppercut left-arm paceman Sam Curran over the slips for four before driving Chris Woakes through extra cover for a textbook boundary. England took the new ball but, bizarrely, still kept six fielders back when Rizwan was on strike even when conditions were clearly in their favour. But Rizwan still took a two off Broad that saw him to a fine fifty off 104 balls.

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