England have put themselves in a commanding position to win the second Test against Pakistan after establishing a 281-run lead at stumps on day two.
Resuming on 107-2, Pakistan would have been confident of bettering England's first-innings effort of 281, a score which was deemed to be below par.
However, the home side collapsed to 202 all out before England coincidentally ended the day on the same total, albeit for the loss of just five wickets.
Before England turned the tide, Pakistan managed to add 35 runs to their overnight total before their third wicket fell, Babar Azam the player to depart for 75 after being bowled by Ollie Robinson.
From there, Pakistan lost their final seven wickets for 60 runs, Joe Root and Mark Wood chipping in with two wickets apiece while Jack Leach ended with figures of 4-98.
Holding a 79-run advantage, England could afford to continue with what is now their trademark aggressive approach, but they were temporarily halted when Zak Crawley was run out for just three.
"It's Abrar again and Root must go!" ❌
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) December 10, 2022
What a CATCH from Shafique 👏 pic.twitter.com/hfVnM8oItg
Will Jacks then followed for four after surprisingly being used up the order, yet it enabled Root to join Ben Duckett at the crease to reinstate some calm to proceedings.
Although Root made just 21 from 35 balls, his presence allowed Duckett to settle, and the opener proceeded to make a potentially-pivotal 79 off 98 balls to swing the contest completely in England's favour.
Abrar Ahmed, who took 7-114 in the first innings on debut, had taken another three wickets at this stage, and the run out of Ollie Pope for four reduced England to 155-5.
The importance of losing no more wickets before the close of play had grown considerably, yet Harry Brook continued his fine form at a rapid rate of knots with 74 from 108 deliveries as Ben Stokes nudged singles around at the other end.
While the Test match in Multan has not reached the halfway stage, England will look to accelerate the game on Sunday with the view of winning at some point on day four, rather than simply trying to bat Pakistan out of the game.
Darren Plant
