Pakistan have leaked more runs than they would feel comfortable scoring against England. On day two, they let a few partnerships brew as a result of a mix of lapses in bowling and fielding. Ali Usman, the only specialist spinner in the playing XI for Pakistan, grabbed a five-wicket haul to take Pakistan closer to getting England dismissed on the second day. England ended on 366 for 8, leading Pakistan by 195 runs.
However, Usman believes Pakistan could have done a better job with the ball, especially after finding conditions ideal for themselves at the start of day two. This happened after the start of play was delayed due to rain, and Pakistan bowlers got to have a go at England’s Joe Root and Jordan Cox under overcast conditions. They still, however, failed to turn things around in their favour, letting Cox and Root stitch a 150-run partnership.
“Our bowling was not up to standard today, including myself. I took five wickets, but we’ve given away too many runs as a bowling unit. We’ll work on our mistakes and try not to repeat them.”
A memorable five-wicket haul
Usman bagged his first five-wicket haul in Tests. He began by getting Cox to feather a ball to Rizwan behind the wickets. The wicket came as more of a surprise to Pakistan, who did not even appeal for it. But for Usman, more memorable than this wicket was getting Harry Brook in the nervous nineties. Brook looked relentless throughout his stay, hardly making any mistakes.
“I wanted to bowl within the stumps,” Usman said. “If they got even a bit of room, they were scoring runs. Dan Lawrence was struggling a bit against spin. But Harry Brook uses his feet very well, so he was harder to bowl to. That’s how I ended up taking the wicket I did.”
Usman says the surface is only going to get harder to bat on. He has reason to believe that, having seen the ball gripping early in the day and finding a lot more to work with by the time he wrapped up his five-wicket haul in the last session.
“Today, when I started bowling, it felt like the ball was gripping. It made me think there was something in it for the spinner. I tried to hit the right areas and that’s where I got wickets.”
“I think day-by-day the wicket is slowing down. It’s slow already, it’s not especially fast, but on the next three days it’s going to take a lot more turn.”
Pakistan’s plan with the bat
Pakistan’s only chance to get back on top in this Test game would be to bat as if their lives depend on it. That is what Usman thinks should be their strategy as they face a 200-plus run deficit in the third innings.
“In the batting, we’ll try to take it as deep as possible and score as many runs as we can. Our approach should be positive with the bat. We need to take it session by session. Anything can happen. We’re positive as a batting unit. We’ve scored runs in the West Indies and the warm-up game. Our batters are in form, so we hope they do well and we’re able to salvage this match.”
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