Birmingham, September 9, 2026: Pakistan’s batting line-up collapsed under a relentless England pace attack on the opening day of the third and final Test at Edgbaston on Wednesday, with the visitors losing seven wickets before reaching 100.
Pakistan ended the first session in deep trouble at 100-7 after 23 overs, with Saud Shakeel unbeaten on 37 and Razaullah providing support on 11.
Asked to bat first, Pakistan suffered an early blow in the third over when Ollie Robinson trapped returning opener Saim Ayub leg before wicket (LBW) for a 10-ball duck.
Jofra Archer then dismissed Azan Awais for nine off 20 balls, including two boundaries, leaving Pakistan at 14-2 after 5.5 overs.
Robinson struck again to remove Abdullah Shafique for three off 16 deliveries, before Archer dismissed former captain Shan Masood for five off seven balls in the following over as Pakistan slipped to 28-4.
The visitors lost half their side in the 15th over when Josh Tongue bowled captain Babar Azam for seven off 18 balls. Babar hit one boundary during his brief stay as Pakistan fell to 48-5.
Debutant wicketkeeper-batter Ghazi Ghori opened his Test account with a boundary off Tongue but lasted only five balls before the England pacer dismissed him for four.
Tongue then claimed his third wicket by removing another debutant, Imran Randhawa, for a brief score as Pakistan slumped to 84-7 after 20.4 overs.
Saud Shakeel led Pakistan’s resistance, while Razaullah provided valuable support to take the visitors past the 100-run mark and prevent an even heavier collapse.
Playing XIs
England: Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Jordan Cox, Joe Root (c), Harry Brook, Dan Lawrence, Jamie Smith (wk), Gus Atkinson, Ollie Robinson, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue.
Pakistan: Azan Awais, Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood, Babar Azam (c), Ghazi Ghori (wk), Imran Randhawa, Razaullah, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Abbas.
