England eye surprise victory on final day

Abu Dhabi: England, having eked out a 46-run lead, can force a first Test win at the Shaikh Zayed Stadium here if their lower order batsmen can pile on some quick runs to put ‘scoreboard pressure’ on Pakistan on the final day on Saturday, according to Joe Root.

“If you have some sort of a lead in the final day you never know what can happen. Over the summer we have seen how quickly Test cricket can change. This could be an exciting finish,” said Root, who scored 85 and was involved in a 141-run partnership with skipper Alastair Cook on Friday.

Root shed light on the spell from Wahab Riaz that saw the left-arm pacer create havoc with his reverse swing.

Pakistan only gave away 279 runs in the entire day and, considering the amount of partnerships England built, Root felt that was very economical.

“At no point of time did Pakistan’s bowlers give us the feeling that we could run away with the game. They controlled the economy rate very well and made it very hard to score freely. As a side they made it very hard on a not very responsive wicket. They showed skill with the reverse swing and bowled tightly when it has not spun for the spinners. As a unit they have bowled really well.”

Root also went on to hail his skipper Cook’s ability to concentrate for such long periods after he played the third longest innings in Test history.

“Two days in that heat showed huge amounts of skill, concentration and fitness. We have spoken a lot as a side about batting for long amounts of time here and how important it is going to be to give ourselves a chance of winning. Our captain led from the front there and set an example for the rest of the series. It gives some sort of hope that we can go there and get a result.”

The wicket has been back-breaking for Pakistan’s pacers but the impressive Riaz wasn’t complaining, saying playing for Pakistan was more important than getting concerned about the pitch.

“We are playing for Pakistan and that is more important. When you are playing for your country, you have to give it your full effort. Obviously, the wicket is slow, but we are doing our best to get the wickets. Given the conditions out there, I think I am very satisfied with the way we bowled,” said Riaz, who finished with figures of 33-3-116-3.

Speaking about his spell of reverse swing bowling that gave Pakistan something to cheer on a long, frustrating day, the 30-year-old said: “It was a good spell. The ball was reversing both ways and I was in my rhythm. I took full advantage of it and I was trying to get the batsman out all the time, even Ben Stokes, who was quite lucky I thought. In cricket, sometimes you get wickets and sometimes you don’t, but it was good for me.

“Whenever the captain gives me the ball, I always try to do something different and try to get the batsmen out. Motivation is that you have to play according to the situation of your team. Obviously, if we had given them the freedom they could have scored at a faster pace and then it would have become difficult for Pakistan to save the match.”