Monty Panesar returned from the wilderness to bag six wickets and help dismiss Pakistan for 214 in their second innings of the second Test on Saturday, setting England a victory target of 145 to square the three-match series.
Published: Jan 28, 2012, 05:29 PM (IST)
Edited: Jan 28, 2012, 05:29 PM (IST)
Monty Panesar (R), who is playing his first test since July 2009, finished with figures of six for 62 © Getty Images
Abu Dhabi: Jan 28, 2012
Monty Panesar returned from the wilderness to bag six wickets and help dismiss Pakistan for 214 in their second innings of the second Test on Saturday, setting England a victory target of 145 to square the three-match series.
Spin duo Panesar, who is playing his first test since July 2009, and Graeme Swann wasted little time after the lunch interval to finish off the Pakistan tail, removing the last three batsmen in just eight overs.
Swann was the first to strike, trapping Abdur Rehman lbw for 10 in the first over of the afternoon session as the Pakistan left-hander used up his side’s final review with a failed appeal.
Panesar then added the wickets of Saaed Ajmal (17) and Junaid Khan (0), having earlier snared Asad Shafiq (43) in the morning session.
The Sussex left-armer finished with 6-62 after replacing the injured seamer Chris Tremlett in the England attack to claim his best innings haul since May 2008.
Before lunch, England’s pacemen James Anderson and Stuart Broad used the new ball to good effect to remove key batsmen Azhar Ali (68) and Adnan Akmal (13) in successive overs after Pakistan had started the day on 125-4.
Ali and Shafiq had put together a partnership of 71 on Friday and began the morning’s play cautiously, scoring just 11 runs from seven overs, but became more attacking as the desert sun burnt through the fog shrouding the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.
Looking more assured with each passing over, Azhar reached his 14th test 50 with a flicked shot past square leg.
England captain Andrew Strauss had started with Broad and Swann before introducing Panesar, who lured Shafiq to play a thick edge Anderson at slip to finally end Pakistan’s fifth-wicket stand at 88.
In came Adnan Akmal. The wicketkeeper scored a career-best 61 in last week’s first test and he began aggressively here, but that was also his undoing, although Azhar was first to fall.
Azhar tried to fend off Anderson’s fierce delivery with his glove, but the ball edged off the bat for a routine catch for wicketkeeper Matt Prior.
Akmal (13) was to follow in the next over, Broad claiming his first wicket of the innings thanks to a catch from Strauss at slip.
Pakistan, who play their home matches in the Gulf due to security problems at home, won the first test in Dubai last week by 10 wickets.
Brief Scores: Pakistan 257 & 214 all-out (Azhar Ali 68, Asad Shafiq 43; Monty Panesar 6 for 62) lead England 327 all-out (Alastair Cook 94, Jonathan Trott 74; Saeed Ajmal 4 for 108) by 145 runs
