Pakistan’s Struggles Continue as Robinson Strikes Before Rain Stops Play on Third Day

Pakistan endured a poor start to their second innings, losing two wickets to Ollie Robinson in the very first over. Their stay at the crease was cut short soon after as heavy rain stopped play and forced an early finish to the second day of the third Test at Edgbaston on Thursday.

The green shirts went into the break at 52/2. Azan Awais and Shan Masood managed to see out the difficult conditions and remained unbeaten at the close. The young Awais scored 29, while Masood returned to the pavilion after scoring 21 off 42 balls.

Talking about the start of the day, England resumed their first innings at 156/4 on the second morning, with Harry Brook and Dan Lawrence back at the crease after Pakistan had been bowled out for 133.

The pair continued to trouble Pakistan and took their fifth-wicket stand to 86 runs. Their partnership finally ended when Brook was run out. He left the field disappointed after making a quick 75 from 97 balls, hitting six fours in his innings.

Lawrence then continued with Smith, and the two added 64 runs for the sixth wicket. Pakistan eventually got the breakthrough when Mohammad Imran dismissed Lawrence, who had scored 65 from 82 balls with nine fours.

After Lawrence was dismissed, Smith looked to play carefully with Atkinson. The pair managed only six runs before the first session came to an end. England then started the second session at 299/6 and went on to add another 154 runs to build a big lead in the match.

Jamie Smith and Gus Atkinson continued their seventh-wicket stand after lunch and took it to 68 runs. Pakistan finally got the breakthrough when Mohammad Imran claimed his second Test wicket by removing Atkinson, who scored 19 from 36 balls.

Smith then put together another useful stand, adding 41 runs with Ollie Robinson for the eighth wicket. He finished as one of England’s leading scorers with 69 runs before debutant pacer Razaullah removed him with a stunning solo effort.

Afterwards, Robinson made life difficult for Pakistan’s bowlers with a quick 50 from just 47 balls. Archer also contributed 32 not out, while Josh Tongue finished unbeaten on 15 as England reached 453 in their first innings.

Coming out to bat again, Pakistan repeated the same mistakes and started their innings in an even worse way. With 320 runs still separating them from England, the visitors lost both of their experienced players in the opening over. Robinson first sent Saim Ayub back for a duck before getting Abdullah Shafique on the very next wicket.

The early blows left Pakistan in serious trouble, but Shan Masood and Azan Awais steadied the innings. The two batters avoided taking unnecessary risks and stayed together until the close, adding 52 runs without losing another wicket.