Leach’s spell, fifties from Duckett, Brook give England 281-run lead over Pakistan in 2nd Test

Multan [Pakistan], December 11 (ANI): A superb show by English spinners led by Jack Leach and fifties from Ben Duckett and Harry Brook took England to a commanding position in the second Test against Pakistan, having attained a 281-run lead over the hosts at the end of second day’s play.
At the end of Day 2 play, England was at 202/5, with Harry Brook (74*) and skipper Ben Stokes (16*) unbeaten.
Pakistan started the second day at 107/2 with Babar Azam (61*) and Saud Shakeel (32*) a the crease.
Azam and Shakeel added some more to their partnership, with Shakeel bringing up his half-century. Ollie Robinson’s pace rattled Babar Azam’s stumps when he was at 75, ending the 91-run stand between the duo. Pakistan was 142/3.
Soon, Leach struck to remove Shakeel for a well-made 63 off 106 balls and Pakistan was 4 down at 158 runs.
Later, it was the trio of spinners Leach and Root and pacer Mark Wood that dominated Pakistan. No batter except Faheem Ashraf (22), who was the final man down, could put up a fight against the English attack.
The hosts were bundled out for just 202 and had given a 79-run lead to England.
In England’s second innings, Abrar Ahmed, the debutant who took seven wickets on his debut in the first innings, picked from where he left off. He ran out Zak Crawley (3) and removed Will Jacks (4) as well, reducing England to 25/2.
Joe Root and Ben Duckett put up a 54-run stand for the third wicket. It was Abrar’s golden arm ruling the day as he uprooted Root for 21 runs.
Duckett joined forces with Brook and took England beyond the 100-run mark. He brought up his half-century, his third in Tests. However, Abrar had the last laugh once again as he knocked down Duckett’s stumps when he was at 79, breaking the 68-run stand.
Soon after Duckett’s dismissal, Ollie Pope was run out for just four. Half of England’s side was back in the hut for 155 runs.
Brook brought up his half-century and paired with Stokes to take England through the remainder of the day without any further damage.
Brief Scores: Pakistan 202 (Babar Azam 75, Saud Shakeel 63, Jack Leach 4/98) against England 281 and 202/5 (Ben Duckett 79, Harry Brook 74*, Abrar Ahmed 3/81). (ANI)