Rehan attacks put Pakistan on the back foot

England struck four times in the first session of the second day in Rawalpindi of the final Test, with Rehan Ahmed taking three wickets in no time and leaving Pakistan reeling at 187 for 7 at lunch. Saud Shakeel's unbeaten half-century remains the only hope for the hosts, and that too on a really helpful turnaround.

During an extended gaming session to accommodate Friday prayers, Bashir immediately began asking questions of Shakeel and Shan Masood. The offspinner found the edge but couldn't carry it, while Jamie Smith gave Shakeel a tough chance. Along with Jack Leach at the other end, the spinners bowled accurately to keep the strike rate down.

Masood eventually fell as he tried to work a ball on the leg side, but the outside edge ended up in the safe hands of Ollie Pope at the gully. Mohammad Rizwan, who initially remained calm, beat Leach six times and left Atkinson behind with a boundary. The two batters then continued to hit ones and twos and Shakeel brought up his eighth Test fifty with a sweep for four.

Ben Stokes' move to sign Rehan proved effective almost immediately. After a quiet first over, the legspinner caught Rizwan LBW, who took a reverse. He then tricked in-form all-rounder Salman Ali Agha into playing the wrong line, which also got him caught in front of the stumps. The wickets dried up the runs as even Shakeel faltered and was unable to fill the gaps he was able to fill with Rizwan. Aamer Jamal was Rehan's last head before Lunch as he hit the batsman with a false-un. It has put Pakistan in a difficult situation with just three wickets remaining and are still 80 runs behind.

Short results: England 267 (Jamie Smith 89, Gus Atkinson 39; Sajid Khan 6-128, Noman Ali 3-88) leads Pakistan 187/7 (Saud Shakeel 72*, Shan Masood 26; Rehan Ahmed 3-25, Shoaib Bashir 2-70) by 80 runs.