Eng Vs Pak: Yasir Shah outfoxes Ollie Pope with a quick delivery on Day 1 of 3rd Test

Yasir Shah is indeed having a good time with the ball in hand. He had earlier accounted for opener Dominic Sibley just when England were rebuilding their innings. He had bowled a beautiful delivery to get rid of Ollie Pope who is one of England's most reliable middle-order batsmen in red-ball cricket at the moment. 

Yasir's quicker delivery outfoxes OIlie Pope

This happened in the 39th over of England's first innings. On the final ball of that over, the leggie had bowled a quicker delivery on off but the batsman decided to play a poor shot on the backfoot instead of using his feet and playing it on the front foot which eventually cost him his wicket. Pope looked to play a defensive shot but was outfoxed completely as his off-stump was uprooted. He walked back to the pavilion with just three runs to his name as the hosts lost their fourth wicket.

Can Pakistan stage a comeback?

With the series on the line, Pakistan have no choice but to win this one as England have already won the opening contest at the Old Trafford, Manchester which means that if this Test match either gets washed out or ends in a stalemate, then the hosts would register their second consecutive Test series win. 

England skipper Joe Root won the toss and decided to bat first on a wicket that is expected to make batting difficult in the fourth innings. Speedster Shaheen Afridi and leggie Yasir Shah have provided a couple of vital breakthroughs for the visitors. Nonetheless, opener Zack Crawley has batted exceptionally well by holding one end tightly even when the hosts were losing wickets at the other end. 

He has now added 57 runs along with wicket-keeper batsman Jos Buttler (24*) for the fifth-wicket stand. The opening batsman is just three runs away from his well-deserved century as England are 187/4 at tea.

It remains to be seen whether Pakistan can stage a remarkable comeback in the third session of play as they look to win this match and level the three-match series.

READ: Leggie Yasir Shah Bamboozles Dom Sibley To Put England In A Spot Of Bother In 3rd Test

(Image Courtesy: AP)