Manchester: England opener Dom Sibley and captain Joe Root dug deep and played watchful cricket as the hosts reached 55/1 at Lunch on Day 4 of the first Test, chasing a target of 277 for victory against Pakistan at Old Trafford on Saturday.
At Lunch, Sibley was batting on 26 while Root was on 18. England still need 222 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Resuming on 137/8, Pakistan leg-spinner Yasir Shah top-scored with a breezy 33 off 24 balls to take the team to 169, more importantly setting England a challenging target on not-so-easy batting conditions.
For the hosts, Stuart Broad was the pick of the bowlers with 3/37 with Chris Woakes and Ben Stokes taking two wickets each. England were brilliant with the ball and did not let Pakistan batters settle as they fought their way back into the Test match after being in the dumps.
Chasing 277, England lost Rory Burns early as the left-hander was trapped in front by seamer Mohammad Abbas for 10 runs.
Sibley and Root then played cautiously as the likes of teenager Naseem Shah asked a lot of questions with a probing length and speed.
Yasir also bowled well and got the ball to turn close to Lunch but Sibley and Root did well to stave off the danger.
In the first essay, Pakistan put up 336 riding Shan Masood’s 156 and Babar Azam’s 69. England could only manage 219 in reply, failing to counter Pakistan’s bowling with Yasir picking up four wickets. Pakistan managed just 169 in the second essay.
Brief Scores: Pakistan: 326 and 169 (Yasir Shah 33; Stuart Broad 3/37); England: 219 & 55/1 (Dom Sibley 26 batting, Joe Root 18 batting)
