Pakistan’s top order collapses after sound start on day three of Abu Dhabi Test
SA 1st Inns 584/9 dec PAK 1st Inns 220/4
Pakistan surrendered a positive start for the umpteenth time this year as they stare at the prospects of a follow-on on day three of the second and final Test match at Abu Dhabi.
Resuming at the overnight score of 59/1 the pair of Taufeeq Umar and Azhar Ali started their rearguard action positively. Azhar Ali, who had hit some spanking drives in the final session on day two continued in the same vein reaching his fifth career fifty
and the third one in successive innings.
Taufeeq Umar, who had played a disciplined knock on day two, was content on occupying the crease, finally his patience ran out and he was sent packing by a Jacques Kallis delivery caught by the bearded Hashim Amla. Taufeeq scored 43 runs off 105 balls, he
hit 5 fours in his knock.
Taufeeq added 117 runs for the second wicket with Azhar Ali. Azhar carried on in the same vein yet on the verge of his maiden Test hundred he played an inexplicably tame shot lofting a ball from South African pacer http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Dale-c52110 Steyn.
Azhar missed out on scoring his first Test hundred for the second time. His 90 run knock included 12 fours and came off 175 balls.
He was clearly outfoxed by Steyn and looked under pressure the moment he lost his senior partner Younis Khan, who also went softly, scooping another harmless Steyn delivery to Hashim Amla in the covers.
Steyn, who had bowled a hostile spell, got the reward in the most unexpected ways as both Younis and Azhar gifted him their wickets.
Younis Khan, who scored a match saving hundred in the first Test match of the series at Dubai scored 14 off 40 balls, his innings included two fours.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 had slumped from a good start and the scoreboard read 156/4 from a seemingly comfortable position of 119/1.
The hosts of the neutral series will have to dig deep to recover from this precarious position.
Captain Misbah Ul-Haq and Asad Shafiq were troubled by the pace and swing generated by Steyn yet played out the rest of the session with relative ease after Steyn had completed a fiery spell.
Pakistan is 220/4 at tea with Misbah batting on 22 and the debutant Asad Shafiq not out on 38 off 65 balls.
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