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England need 130 after thrilling Razaullah hitting
Confirmed
In Short: Debutant Razaullah's late assault on the third day of the third Test kept England's hopes of a clean sweep in the series alive.
In a thrilling turn of events on the third day of the third Test, Pakistan's debutant Razaullah launched a remarkable late salvo, keeping England's hopes of a clean sweep in the series alive. Razaullah, the tourists' number nine, clubbed three sixes off four balls from Ben Stokes, setting the stage for a match-changing innings. His audacious 81 from 63 balls, including nine sixes, tied Ben Stokes' record for the most maximums in a Test innings in England.
Fellow paceman Mohammad Abbas also joined the party, bringing up a ninth-wicket stand of 121 with Razaullah, who whacked two sixes of his own in his 42. The pair's late assault brought Pakistan's score from 318-8 to 439-9, with England seemingly powerless to stop the carnage. However, the innings did not end there, as Razaullah was stumped off Lawrence to end the day, setting the stage for England's challenging chase on Saturday.
England might have won inside two days had it not been for bad weather on Thursday, which disrupted play. Babar showed glimpses of his class but was discomforted when England went to a short-ball plan either side of tea. His dismissal to a Josh Tongue bouncer seemed to confirm a three-day finish, but Razaullah had other ideas. The 21-year-old's audacious hitting frazzled England and propelled Pakistan to 449, leaving England needing to score 130 to wrap up a 3-0 win.
What's confirmed
- In a thrilling turn of events on the third day of the third Test, Pakistan's debutant Razaullah launched a remarkable late salvo, keeping England's hopes of a clean sweep in the series alive. Razaullah, the tourists' number nine, clubbed three sixes off four balls from Ben Stokes, setting the stage for a match-changing innings. His audacious 81 from 63 balls, including nine sixes, tied Ben Stokes' record for the most maximums in a Test innings in England.
- Fellow paceman Mohammad Abbas also joined the party, bringing up a ninth-wicket stand of 121 with Razaullah, who whacked two sixes of his own in his 42. The pair's late assault brought Pakistan's score from 318-8 to 439-9, with England seemingly powerless to stop the carnage. However, the innings did not end there, as Razaullah was stumped off Lawrence to end the day, setting the stage for England's challenging chase on Saturday.
- England might have won inside two days had it not been for bad weather on Thursday, which disrupted play. Babar showed glimpses of his class but was discomforted when England went to a short-ball plan either side of tea. His dismissal to a Josh Tongue bouncer seemed to confirm a three-day finish, but Razaullah had other ideas. The 21-year-old's audacious hitting frazzled England and propelled Pakistan to 449, leaving England needing to score 130 to wrap up a 3-0 win.
What's still developing
- But Pakistan were not finished as Abbas joined Razaullah at the crease for their show of evening fireworks.
- But truth be told, England's seamers barely had to break a sweat to leave Pakistan 100/7 inside the morning session, and that's precisely what makes this so damning.