Razaullah, Abbas Lead Pakistan’s Late Fight To Set England 130 For Win in Edgbaston

Pakistan fought back strongly in the second innings, with debutant Razaullah and Mohammad Abbas putting together a crucial 121-run stand for the ninth wicket. Their partnership allowed Pakistan to finish the third day with a much better target for England at Edgbaston.

After being dismissed for only 133 in the first innings, Pakistan were staring at an innings defeat and needed 320 runs to stay in the game. However, they showed much more fight in their second attempt, eventually reaching 449 before being bowled out after facing 96.4 overs.

Pakistan began the third day with Azan and Masood at the crease, with the score standing at 52/2. The two left-handers picked up from where they had left off the previous evening and continued to build their partnership.

The stand finally came to an end in the 31st over when Dan Lawrence dismissed Azan. The Pakistan batter edged a delivery from Lawrence to Jordan Cox, who took the catch behind the stumps brilliantly.

After Azan walked back, Babar joined Masood at the crease. The experienced pair kept Pakistan moving forward and added 59 runs without losing any wicket before Lunch.

The visitors then added 113 runs in the second session, while England picked up two wickets as the game remained closely balanced.

Masood and captain Babar continued their fourth-wicket stand after the break and took it to 89 runs. However, Masood fell just five runs short of his century when Gus Atkinson dismissed him.

Saud Shakil then joined Babar in the middle to build another important partnership for Pakistan. The pair added 64 runs for the fifth wicket, with Babar also reaching his 34th Test century during the stand.

The Pakistan captain was looking set for a big score, but his innings ended when Josh Tongue had him caught behind on 76.  After the two set batters were dismissed, Saud and Ghazi played carefully and added 19 runs for the sixth wicket. The umpires then called for Tea, bringing the session to an end.

Saud and Ghazi then returned to the crease with Pakistan on 297/5 at the start of the final session. However, the green shirts could add only nine more runs before Ghori lost his wicket after scoring just 16 runs. Mohammad Imran also went back to the pavilion quickly, as England made a strong comeback through Robinson’s strikes.

Mohammad Abbas then joined Razaullah at the crease, and played a blinder to take the game away from England.

The duo added 121 runs together, taking Pakistan's lead beyond 100. Razaullah was certainly the star performer in this partnership, as he scored an impressive 81 off 63 balls to stun England completely. Due to his spectacular batting, Pakistan completed a remarkable turnaround and finished the day with 449 on the board in 96.4 overs.