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On Day 1 of the third and final Test between Pakistan and England in the UAE, Misbah-ul-Haq, leading Pakistan in what could be his last match, won the toss for a consecutive sixth time, and predictably chose to bat first.
However, things did not go according to how the action had proceeded in the first two Tests, as James Anderson and Stuart Broad rampaged through the Pakistani batting order. The two fast bowlers had amazing combined figures of 28.1-15-30-6.
Anderson, who picked up 4 wickets, is now 8th on the all-time highest wicket takers list in Test cricket with 424 wickets. Stuart Broad bowled a very tight line and length as well, and picked up 2 wickets.
Mohammad Hafeez (27), Shoaib Malik (38) and Younis Khan (31) all managed to get starts, but looked vulnerable throughout on a track which looked difficult to bat on from the very onset – a stark contrast to the flatter pitches the other matches of the series were played on.
Misbah-ul-Haq was the steadiest batsman on the day, facing 160 balls for a patient 71, before also falling to James Anderson. Sarfraz Ahmed (39), who was looking fluent before going out to a disappointing shot, was the only batsman who provided Misbah with an able partner.
Stokes suffers nasty injury
The Pakistan innings folded with 234 runs on the board in 85.1 overs, leaving England the prospect of facing two overs in fading light. Alastair Cook and Moeen Ali, the openers, were up to the task – as they finished the match 230 runs behind at stumps.
England, who lost out on a win very narrowly in the 1st Test, and were outplayed in the 2nd, will be hoping they can continue the good work and end up levelling the series. Seeing how the pitch acted up on Day 1 itself, Pakistan might have other ideas.
However, the bigger worry for England with a long-term view was that their third seamer and all-rounder, Ben Stokes, suffered a horrible looking fall while attempting an athletic jump, and has sustained a suspected dislocated shoulder. He landed badly on his right shoulder, and immediately started throwing his legs around in pain. He had to be taken off immediately, and tests will be done to diagnose how long-term the damage has been to their valuable all-rounder.
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