Pakistan vs England 1st Test Live Cricket Score

Abrar Ahmed to Zak Crawley, Flighted up, too full again and on off, Crawley plays it off the front foot towards mid off.

Abrar Ahmed to Zak Crawley, Nicely flighted around off, getting some dip as well, Crawley eases it away on the off side.

Abrar Ahmed to Zak Crawley, Tossed up, quite full and on off, Crawley gets on the front foot and jams it back towards the bowler.

STAT ATTACK! Joe Root, currently batting at 34, is just 36 runs behind Sir Alastair Cook in terms of the most runs scored in Test cricket for England. Cook scored 12,472 runs in his illustrious career and Root currently is the second-highest run-getter for England in Tests ahead of the stalwarts like Graham Gooch, Alec Stewart, and David Gower.

Shaheen Afridi to Joe Root, Just back of a length and around off, Joe Root covers the line of the ball and blocks it off.

Shaheen Afridi to Zak Crawley, Bowled on a hard length and around off, Crawley stays upright and hits it on the up through covers for a single.

Shaheen Afridi to Zak Crawley, FOUR! Edged down with soft hands and that will roll away into the fence. Good length, in and around off stump, Crawley presses back a bit to play at it but gets an outside edge well wide of first slip and racks up the runs.

Shaheen Afridi to Zak Crawley, Pitches this one up a bit and around off, Crawley gets on the front foot and plays it away to covers.

Shaheen Afridi to Zak Crawley, Back of a length and over middle, Zak Crawley hits it hard but mistimes it straight towards mid on.

Shaheen Afridi to Zak Crawley, Pitched up on the stumps, Zak Crawley smashes the straight drive and Shaheen Afridi gets hit on the follow-through as the ball rolls on the on side.

Abrar Ahmed to Joe Root, Tossed up on the stumps, Joe Root reaches out and blocks.

Abrar Ahmed to Zak Crawley, Floated up on the stumps, whipped away wide of mid on for a single.

Abrar Ahmed to Zak Crawley, Flighted away outside off, Zak Crawley plants his front leg across and hits it away wide of covers for a couple of runs more.

Abrar Ahmed to Joe Root, Tossed up around off, driven away on the full and through covers for another easy single.

Abrar Ahmed to Joe Root, Tossed up around middle, drifting in a bit, Root lunges forward to defend. Abrar Ahmed has overstepped though and a NO BALL is called.

Abrar Ahmed to Zak Crawley, A bit of flight on this one, bowled fuller and around off, Crawley leans on and pushes it past covers for one more.

Abrar Ahmed to Joe Root, Starts off on the shorter side and bowls it outside off, Joe Root presses back and hits it with the turn through the big gap at covers for a single in the deep.

Early spin then, Abrar Ahmed (4-0-31-0) to bowl.

Shaheen Afridi to Zak Crawley, Drags the length back now, bowling it around the top of off, Crawley stays put and just dabs it down in front of covers to bring the first over of the day to a close. England are 100/1!

Shaheen Afridi to Zak Crawley, Everything seems to be coming off the middle of the bat for Crawley. Pitched up around off, hammered on the up but yet again, Crawley finds the fielder at covers.

Shaheen Afridi to Zak Crawley, This is overpitched now on the fifth stump line, Crawley plays another stellar cover drive but hits it straight to the fielder there.

Shaheen Afridi to Zak Crawley, FOUR! Fabulous shot to get things underway on Day 3! A tad full and outside off, inviting the drive and Zak Crawley obliges. Crawley just presses halfway forward and punches it on the up, creaming it past covers for a boundary.

Shaheen Afridi to Zak Crawley, Keeps it relatively full and angles the ball into the stumps, Crawley gets across and clips it with good timing but straight to mid-wicket.

Shaheen Afridi to Zak Crawley, Full and wide outside off, bowled from around the stumps, Zak Crawley leaves it alone and the ball dies down towards the keeper.

All in readiness for the start of Day 3! The umpires Kumar Dharmasena and Sharfuddoula Saikat were seen having a chat with the Pakistani players near the ropes, not quite sure what it was about. Pakistani players now stride out after a brief huddle talk and take their respective fielding positions. Joe Root, unbeaten on 32, and Zak Crawley on run-a-ball 64 to resume the innings for England. And again, there's some chatter around with the umpires and the Pakistani skipper Shan Masood. Reading his body language, Masood wasn't looking quite pleased. But we are still not sure what the discussion was about. Well then, they take their positions finally and Shaheen Afridi (6-1-24-0) will get the proceedings underway with the ball with England trailing by 460 runs. Let's play...

JUST IN - David Gower on-air informs that Ben Duckett is doing well now and will most probably come out to bat today. A huge positive news for the English camp. He was struck with a left thumb dislocation on Day 2 in the process of taking the catch at the first slip, and his left hand was strapped as well. He was seen doing the fitness drills and also played some football with his teammates before the start of the day.

As we look ahead to Day 3, the pitch remains largely favorable for batting, though some signs of wear have begun to appear. Late on Day 2, the ball showed hints of grip and turn, with occasional variable bounce as well, but that wasn't as threatening for the batters at all. The Bazballers will not flinch a bit from motoring the score at a good pace, being obedient to their new embraced strategy. Pakistan, on the other hand, will be eyeing the crucial first hour of play. They'll aim to exploit any early morning assistance and potentially variable conditions to make inroads. With both teams having clear objectives, we're set for a fascinating day of Test cricket. Stay tuned as the first ball of Day 3 isn't far away.

Pakistan, buoyed by their initial success, have since been met with resolute resistance. While Naseem and Shaheen posed threats in their opening spells, the pacers have found little assistance from the pitch. The spinners have shown glimpses of grip and turn, but Crawley, in particular, has taken an aggressive approach against Abrar. Pakistan has used four bowlers so far and only a spinner. Also, with the pitch expected to wear and tear in the remaining days, we might see more spin being deployed to ambush the English batters. But it remains to be seen how effective the bowlers can be on this flat track.

England faced an early setback with the loss of captain Ollie Pope for a duck, but Zak Crawley and Joe Root have since steadied the ship, scoring at a brisk pace and dampening Pakistan's hopes of a collapse. Their ability to navigate the critical first hour will be pivotal. There's also uncertainty surrounding Ben Duckett's possibility to come out to bat after he dislocated his left thumb, an unwelcome development for the English camp following their long stint in the field.

Hello and a warm welcome to our coverage of the third day of this first Test between Pakistan and England at Multan. It has been pretty much dominated by the batters so far and the pitch is still favourable for batting. After being toiled and sweated for almost two days with the ball, England has come up with a positive intent with the bat. Although, Pakistan has a huge cushion of lead at its disposal. This 'Moving Day' can shape the narrative of the game.

... DAY 3, SESSION 1 ...

Well then, that's a wrap from Day 2. Pakistan has bossed up this match so far and would aim to continue this momentum. England, on the other hand, would be aiming to ascend with their little surge towards the backend with two well-established batters unbeaten on the crease. Day 3 is known as the 'Moving Day' in Test cricket by the pundits. So let us see how in whose favor it moves, and who dominates it. Do join us on 9th October for Day 3. The action will begin at 5 am GMT. But as you all know, you can join us an hour early for the build-up. Take care, ADIOS!

Aamer Jamal is down for a quick chat. He talks about the catch he took and says that he sets his mind every delivery, hoping that one might come his way. Adds that so far they have bowled stump-to stump which is the way to go and given the pitch is low and slow, they should bowl more into the pitch. Mentions that they will come with a good mindset on Day 3 morning and get a good first innings lead.

So whom does this day belong to? A silly question, eh? Well, Pakistan has made England field in the heat of Multan for almost six sessions - which is two whole days and have notched up above 500 runs - supported by three centurions, a fabulous 82 by Saud Shakeel, and handy contributions by the lower middle order as well.

Pakistan, replicating their batting performance, came out all guns blazing with the ball. Afridi and Naseem Shah troubled the English top order and constantly tried to create chances here and there with threatening spells in tandem. All in all, it was a job well done kind of a day for Pakistan first of course, with the bat, while they could have done much better with the ball. 

Determined to erase memories of their lackluster bowling display, England's batters strode out with an aim to strike back hard. However, their resolve was immediately tested as skipper Ollie Pope fell early. However, the alliance between Zak Crawley and Joe Root eased things up a bit for England as the two constructed a productive partnership. The pitch was still flat and good for the batters to pile up runs and the two effectively dashed the hopes of a collapse to see England through the session. 

The English attack endured a grueling ordeal, toiling for 149 long overs for almost two days under the unforgiving sun. Jack Leach emerged as the bright spot, snaring three wickets, while Atkinson and Carse managed two apiece. Yet, their efforts were marred by a couple of dropped chances late in the innings, adding to their frustration.

Pakistan decided to continue to bat after Tea. With the ball not doing much at all, they decided to come out with an aggressive intent.  Salman Agha and Shaheen Afridi, sensing the docile nature of the pitch, forged a blistering partnership of 85 runs off just 103 balls. Agha led the charge, crafting a masterful century, while Afridi provided crucial support with some lusty blows. Their efforts propelled Pakistan to a formidable 556, leaving England's bowlers battered and weary.

STUMPS, DAY 2 - 3rd Session Summary - 31 overs, 137, runs, and 3 wickets. With 96/1 after being toiled and soaked out in the sun for two long days, England would be quite pleased with the way they negotiated with the bat in this session. Although they have a huge mountain to climb and are still trailing by 460 runs. Pakistan would have aimed to pick a wicket or two more after an early success, but they do have a huge cushion of lead at their disposal.

Naseem Shah to Joe Root, Safely negotiated! Perfect length in and around off, just nipping back in, Joe Root tentatively gets on the front foot and blocks it off the inner half of the bat and gets the ball back onto the front pad. That will be STUMPS ON DAY 2!

Naseem Shah to Joe Root, Pitched-up delivery, on the fifth stump line and angling away, Joe Root leaves it alone.

Naseem Shah to Joe Root, Banged in short now, a surprise bumper around off and middle, Joe Root leans back and sways away from the line of the ball.

Naseem Shah to Zak Crawley, Good length but drifted on the pads, Crawley flicks it away through square leg for a single.

Naseem Shah to Joe Root, Good length around off, Joe Root stays back and just dabs it away in front of point.

Naseem Shah to Joe Root, Just back of a length and around off, Joe Root hops back on his toes and solidly punches it out to extra cover.

Probably the last over of the day? Yes, Naseem Shah to bowl it out to wrap Day 2.

Shaheen Afridi to Zak Crawley, Back of a length and wide of off, Crawley pounces on the width and slaps it away in front of sweeper cover for a couple of runs.

Shaheen Afridi to Zak Crawley, Ooh, that wasn't far away from the off pole! Pitches it full and on the fourth stump line, Crawley makes an assured leave and the ball just doesn't shape back in and goes to the keeper.

Shaheen Afridi to Zak Crawley, Back of a length around middle, worked away from the crease behind square leg for a couple of runs this time.

Shaheen Afridi to Zak Crawley, Nicely bowled and there's an appeal for LBW but it is turned down. Shaheen Afridi pitches this one a bit further up on middle and gets some shape back into the right-hander. Crawley gets pegged back and plays all over it, getting hit on the pads. Seemed high.