James Taylor slams maiden 50 as England dominate Pakistan on Day two in Sharjah

James Taylor remained unbeaten on 74

England continued to press the advantage over Pakistan in the second day of the final test in Sharjah, as they rolled to 222/4 at stumps. James Taylor reached his maiden test half-century, as the visitors largely dominated proceedings on the second day.

Earlier, after Pakistan folded for just 234 runs, England had a shaky start as they lost the wicket of opener Moeen Ali with just 19 runs on the board. Skipper Alastair Cook then joined Ian Bell in the middle, and the two steadied the ship for England with a 71-run stand for the second wicket.

Cook narrowly missed a half-century as he was dismissed for 49 by Yasir Shah. New batsman Joe Root did not last too long as he was caught behind by Ahmed, as England were in a little spot of bother at 97/3. Bell, who had been patiently playing his strokes, was unlucky to be stumped at 40, with the score reading 139/4.

Jonny Bairstow then joined James Taylor in the middle and the two played sensible cricket as the they were involved in an unbeaten 83-run stand, which rescued England and ensured the hosts had the upper hand at the end of the day’s play. Taylor especially, impressed with his batting as he notched up his maiden test half-century and remained unbeaten at 74 with 6 boundaries to his name.

Bairstow lent a good supporting hand as England drove forward the advantage going into day three. The 26-year old remained at the crease with a score of 37, bringing up 5 boundaries, and will be looking forward to get to his half-century and more.

Earlier, after Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat, the England pacers ran through the hosts batting, as they were bundled out for just 234 runs. Skipper Misbah alone stood tall and played a composed knock of 71 in 160 deliveries.

The pace duo of Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad shared 6 wickets between them, as the spinners snarled the rest of the wickets. England though will be worried about the injury of Ben Stokes and they will be effectively left with 5 wickets in hand when they come out in search of building a healthy lead tomorrow. For that, the visitors will be relying on the pair of Taylor-Bairstow to guide them forward going into day three.

Brief Scores: Pakistan 234; England 222/4 (J.Taylor 74*, J.Bairstow 37*, Y.Shah 2/79)