Openers Alastair Cook and Moeen Ali batted solidly to take England to 56-0 after Shoaib Malik’s double century lifted Pakistan to a mammoth total in the first Test in Abu Dhabi yesterday.
Cook was unbeaten on 39 and Ali was 15 not out as England trail by 467 runs in reply to Pakistan’s first innings of 523-8 declared after day two at the Sheikh Zayed International Stadium.
TOUGH TASK
Photo: AFP
England batsmen face a tough task to thwart Pakistan’s pace-cum-spin attack on a pitch which did not help the bowlers on the first two days, but can change its nature as the game progresses.
Ali survived a confident LBW appeal and the subsequent review when left-arm paceman Rahat Ali brought one in sharply to strike the pads, but Australian umpire Paul Reiffel gave the batsman not out.
It was a day to remember for Malik as he capped his return to the Test side after a gap of five years with an epic knock of 245, his best score in Test cricket, after coming into bat in the third over of the match on Tuesday.
Asad Shafiq, who scored 107 for his ninth hundred, added 248 runs with Malik — a new record in Pakistan-England Tests — as Pakistan added 213 runs in the two sessions after resuming the day at 286-4.
BOUNDARIES
Malik hit 24 boundaries and four sixes during his 420-ball knock before he smashed a Ben Stokes delivery straight into Ian Bell, who took a well-judged catch at short-midwicket.
Malik steered paceman James Anderson toward third man for two to complete his double-hundred off 367 balls.
He took off his helmet and bowed down on the turf in celebration.
Shafiq also completed his century with a sweep boundary off leg-spinner Adil Rashid.
Shafiq went soon after tea, when he was trapped LBW off seamer Mark Wood, while Sarfraz Ahmed (2) and Zulfiqar Babar (0) also fell to Stokes.
Pakistan declared soon after tea, leaving England to bat the remaining 23 overs.
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