Pakistan in charge against England after Shakeel century

Saud Shakeel’s brilliant century saw Pakistan regain control in their deciding Test against England, with the help of some late wickets.

The tourists had started the day strongly, but their momentum slowly fizzled out through the day as they struggled to cope with Shakeel.

England took three late wickets on Thursday and picked up where they left off as Shoaib Bashir took Shan Masood before Rehad Ahmed's 4-66 put Pakistan in trouble at 187-7, the youngster scalping three in quick succession.

However, Shakeel was in control with the bat, plundering 134, and he was helped by lower-order partnerships with Noman Ali (45) and Sajid Khan (48 not out) as he pushed Pakistan towards their 344 total, and a 77-run lead.

Any hopes England had of quickly regaining their lead were quickly squashed, as they lost three wickets in the nine overs played before stumps, with Zak Crawley (2), Ben Duckett (12) and Ollie Pope (1) failing to put their stamp on things.

Joe Root (5 not out) and Harry Brook (3) are set to resume at the crease on Saturday on 24-3, with a lot of work to do as they trail by 53.

Stumps on day two with Pakistan in control of the Rawalpindi Test Noman and Sajid take three important wickets as England are 53 runs behind Scorecard: https://t.co/KZy76OPc1b#PAKvENG | #TestAtHome pic.twitter.com/N0zEh48T4A

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) October 25, 2024

Data Debrief: The driving force

Shakeel got 16 of his runs at the very end of day one and stood firm through Friday's extended morning session in Rawalpindi as he used his smarts to stay in the game.

He faced 223 deliveries during his stand, but only hit five boundaries in his knock, all fours.

Instead, it was his partnerships that proved fruitful, racking up 88 runs with Noman before adding another 72 with Khan before he was trapped lbw by Gus Atkinson.