Monitoring, Might 07 (INP) – Pakistan s bowlers were made to work hard for his or her wickets on the penultimate day of their tour match in opposition to Northamptonshire – their final warm-up fixture before taking up Eire in a historic Take a look at match at Malahide.
Heading into the final day, Northampton shire lead the vacationers by 71 runs with five second-innings wickets in hand.
The vacationers began the day on 357/7 and progressed to 428 all out, with Asad Shafiq scoring 186*. Given the relative inexperience of the batsmen in Pakistan s squad, these were welcome runs for certainly one of their more experienced players. Shafiq hit a pivotal century at The Oval on Pakistan s final tour of England in 2016, which helped set the platform for a series-levelling victory, and he showed a liking for English conditions once again, including 51 runs to his in a single day rating.
He ultimately ran out of companions as Steven Crook (4/89) noticed off Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Abbas before the off-spinner Rob Keogh (4/111) dismissed final man Rahat Ali, giving Pakistan a first-innings lead of 169.
Northamptonshire s openers placed on 35 before Ben Duckett (15), who played the most recent of his four Test matches in 2016, was caught behind by Sarfraz Ahmed off the bowling of Rahat, who then trapped Luke Procter lbw for 1 with the rating on 48.
When the leg-spinner Shadab Khan clean bowled Richard Levi quickly after, Northants were on the ropes, however opener Rob Newton (102*) and Adam Rossington (42), who hit 90 in the first innings, launched a spirited fightback.
They shared 56 for the fourth wicket and when Rossington supplied a catch to Shadab, giving Abbas his first wicket, Newton found a keen accomplice in Josh Cobb, who played aggressively on his way to a 74-ball 52.
Newton was glad to play second fiddle to Cobb, patient accumulating his runs and going through to a 13th first-class century which included 11 fours.
Shadab, who’s Pakistan s first-choice spinner on this tour within the absence of the injured Yasir Shah, picked up his second wicket of the innings and his eighth of the match when he bowled Cobb 12 overs before stumps. But Newton and Keogh (8*) held firm to frustrate Pakistan and finish the day on 240/5.