Eng Pak T3 Day 2 Stumps: Azhar Ali, Yousuf Give Pakistan 75 Run Lead; Swann Gets 100 Wkts

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Sreelata YellamrazuAug 19 2010

Pakistan were seeing plenty of rays of sunshine even when the sky did not look particularly promising. The rain stayed away and the sun shone on Pakistan as they took a lead and some hope at the end of the second day's play in the third Test of the England Pakistan Test series at the Kensington Oval.

azhar ali

Azhar Ali was nto about to fritter away the advantage of having snapped England early yesterday, despite the fightback. But Pakistan did have the usual doubts as they lost three wickets in the morning before lunch, forcing Ali and Mohammad Yousuf to consolidate and steer Pakistan from one of their notorious batting collapses.

mohammad yousuf against england

From 111 for four, Ali and Yousuf fashioned a patient, intelligent innings of sixty-nine runs between them. England, after beginning to get confident about their chances, had a long wait ahead of them. Yousuf, coming into the Pakistan team after announcing his retirement, showed his experience as he played for a half century.

From Azhar Ali's perspective, after previously showing a glimmer of what he was capable of, outshone his more illustrious partner by scoring ninety-two runs that took Pakistan from the blushes and the blunders to building a fort around their efforts. That fort was then strengthened as he struck yet another half century of a partnership with Umar Akmal, overshadowing the fact that the England off spinner, Graeme Swann, had picked up his 100th Test wicket while picking four for the innings.

Bowled out for 308, Pakistan gained a decisive, impressive seventy-five lead, one that would test England. This time round, Alastair Cook was left to fight the battle after Andrew Strauss was sent on his way by Mohammad Aamer. Keeping him company in the short lived battle until dusk was nightwatchman, James Anderson, as England stayed alive at 6/1, on the backfoot by a margin for a change, not altogether pleasant. It is Pakistan who have the foot at the throat of the opposition. But do they have the killer punch?

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