RAWALPINDI: Pakistan spinner Sajid Khan took six wickets as England were all out for 267 after electing to bat on the opening day of the series-deciding third Test in Rawalpindi on Thursday.
Sajid finished with 6-128 and Noman Ali grabbed 3-88 after a rearguard 89 by Jamie Smith enabled England to get past 250 after they stuttered to 110-5 at lunch.
Smith smashed six towering sixes and five boundaries in his 119-ball knock before he was caught off a miscued slog against spinner Zahid Mahmood in the last over before tea.
After tea, Sajid removed Rehan Ahmed for nine to complete his third five-wicket haul before also dismissing Jack Leach for 16.
England lost captain Ben Stokes in the third over after the break, caught Sajid for 12 but Smith, who reached his fifty off 94 balls, and Gus Atkinson (39) added 105 for the seventh wicket.
The morning session was dominated by Sajid and Noman Ali who bowled unchanged for 42 overs.
After England won the toss and batted, Pakistan gave the new ball to Sajid and Noman who benefited from the parched pitch offering spin and low bounce from the first ball.
Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett raced to 56 in a confident start but England lost Crawley (29), Ollie Pope (three) and Joe Root (five) in the space of just 24 runs.
Noman had Crawley caught off a miscued drive while Sajid removed Pope and Root leg before.
Duckett, who completed a half-century off 76 balls, was trapped leg before by Noman for 52 after hitting four boundaries and a six.
First Test triple centurion Harry Brook lasted for 14 deliveries before being bowled behind his legs by Sajid for five after he failed to connect on a sweep.
Both the teams included three spinners on a grassless pitch which the hosts dried with fans and heaters in the build-up.
Sajid and Noman shared all 20 wickets in Pakistan’s second Test win to level the series at 1-1 after England won the first by an innings, with both matches taking place in Multan.
Sajid takes six as England dismissed for 267 in third Test
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Sajid takes six as England dismissed for 267 in third Test
- Sajid Khan finishes with 6-128 as Noman Ali grabs 3-88 to skittle England on spin-friendly track
- Both teams have three spinners on grassless pitch which hosts dried with fans and heaters
Alcaraz powers into Indian Wells quarter-finals
- Alcaraz will next face 2021 champion Cameron Norrie, who earlier beat Australia’s Rinky Hijikata 6-4 6-2
World number one Carlos Alcaraz continued his dominant run at Indian Wells, beating Norway’s Casper Ruud 6-1 7-6(2) on Wednesday to reach the quarter-finals in the California desert.
The Spaniard relied on a near-flawless service game to seize control of the match, racing through the opening set in just 37 minutes after breaking Ruud’s serve three times.
Thirteenth-seeded Ruud raised his level in the second set and forced a tiebreak, hoping to push the match to a decider, but Alcaraz kept his foot on the gas to seal his 15th consecutive victory of the season to reach the quarter-finals for a fifth straight year.
“The conditions were difficult to be honest. Today the ball was tough to control but we both played great,” two-time champion Alcaraz said in his on-court interview.
“My first set was incredible I’m really happy of playing that kind of level, really happy to get through and hopefully I’ll play this level on the next round.”
Alcaraz will next face 2021 champion Cameron Norrie, who earlier beat Australia’s Rinky Hijikata 6-4 6-2, with the Spaniard looking to avenge a defeat to the Briton at last year’s Paris Masters.
SWIATEK, PEGULA THROUGH
World number two Iga Swiatek delivered a dominant 6-2 6-0 victory over Czech 13th seed Karolina Muchova, reeling off 10 consecutive games to secure her fifth win over the Czech, whom she also beat at the same stage of the tournament last year.
“I felt I was playing better and better, just great,” Swiatek said.
“I love playing here ... It’s a great place to play tennis, hopefully I can keep doing that until the end.”
Swiatek, chasing a third Indian Wells title, will face ninth seed Elina Svitolina in the quarter-finals after the Ukrainian advanced when Katerina Siniakova retired injured.
American fifth seed Jessica Pegula overcame Belinda Bencic 6-3 7-6(5) to secure her first victory in five meetings between the pair.
Pegula, coming off a dramatic comeback win over Jelena Ostapenko, took control as she clinched the opening set — her first ever against the Swiss — before edging a tightly contested tiebreak to close out the match.
Russian 11th seed Daniil Medvedev beat Alex Michelsen 6-2 6-4 in a commanding performance, needing just one hour and 27 minutes to dismantle the American and maintain his strong form after winning last month’s Dubai Open.
