Mohammed Hafeez slams century as Pakistan hold edge

Pakistan grabbed two early wickets to hit England hard in their chase of a 284-run target as the third and final Test heads for an intriguing finish after Day Four in Sharjah on Wednesday. England were 46/2 with Alastair Cook (17) and Joe Root (six) fighting hard against Pakistan’s spinners, led by Shoaib Malik who claimed both the wickets on a weary Sharjah Stadium pitch. England will need another 238 runs on the fifth and final day on Thursday for a series-levelling win while Pakistan will fancy a 2-0 victory.

Pakistan won the second Test by 178 runs in Dubai while the first ended in a draw in Abu Dhabi. It was Malik, due to quit Test cricket after this match, who provided Pakistan early breakthroughs, trapping Moeen Ali (22) leg-before and then bowled Ian Bell (nought) in successive overs.

Cook and Root survived confident leg-before appeals off Zulfiqar Babar in the dying moments, much to the relief of the England camp.

Scoreboard Pakistan (1st innings): 234 England (1st innings): 306 Pakistan (2nd innings): Mohammad Hafeez c Bell b Ali 151, Azhar Ali run out 34, Shoaib Malik lbw b Anderson 0, Younis Khan lbw b Broad 14, Rahat Ali b Anderson 0, Misbah-ul-Haq lbw b Broad 38, Asad Shafiq b Broad 46, Sarfraz Ahmed b Patel 36, Yasir Shah c Broad b Rashid 4, Wahab Riaz run out 21, Zulfiqar Babar (not out) 0. Extras: (b6, lb5) 11. Total: (in 118.2 overs) 355. FoW: 1-101, 2-105, 3-146, 4-152, 5-245, 6-257, 7-312, 8-319, 9-354. Bowling: Anderson 26-8-52-2, Broad 23-6-44-3, Patel 19-1-79-1, Ali 21.2-1-72-1, Rashid 29-3-97-1. England (2nd innings): Moeen Ali lbw b Malik 22, A. Cook (batting) 17, I. Bell b Malik 0, J. Root (batting) 6. Extras: (nb1) 1. Total: (for 2 wkts, in 22 overs) 46. FoW: 1-34, 2-34. Bowling: Rahat 2-0-13-0, Riaz 2-0-10-0, Babar 9-2-11-0, Malik 7-3-8-2, Shah 2-0-4-0.