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Require 435 to win, Prior strikes ton
Tauseef Razi Mallick
NOTTINGHAM: Pakistan requiring 435 runs to win the first test, were crippling after loosing two early wickets to English seamers. England eyes a healthy opportunity to beat Pakistan, keeping in view their poor first innings performance.
England declared on 262 for 9, as Pakistan was unsuccessful to bowl them out, thus giving Pakistan another record making run chase opportunity to claim victory in the first test match at Nottingham.
Earlier its was Prior who became a hindrance in Pakistan swapping all English batsmen. He scored a magnificent century giving his team a upper hand and open chance of victory.
Umar Gul followed his exhilarating career-best innings to continue Pakistan's fightback with the ball, taking three wickets to reduce England to 120 for six at tea on day three of the first test on Saturday.
England still had the upper hand in the match at Trent Bridge with a lead that was worth 292 runs at the interval, but Pakistan had staged an impressive comeback having begun the day in danger of being defeated inside three days.
Matt Prior was 13 not out at the break with Graeme Swann on 14, as England looked to extend their lead to a seemingly unreachable score for the Pakistanis. Gul, after his 65 not out in the morning session, had taken three for 20 after a destructive spell of three for seven in 21 balls.
England slumped to 18 for two before lunch after captain Andrew Strauss (0) was caught in farcical circumstances when second slip Umar Akmal twice failed to hold on to his catch before his brother and wicketkeeper Kamran dived forward and got the ball.
Cook (12) flicked casually at an innocuous Asif delivery down the leg side and deflected an edge to keeper Akmal. Jonathan Trott (26) and Kevin Pietersen (22) then battled through tough batting conditions in the gloom, despite the presence of six floodlight towers, but the emergence of Gul saw off both batsmen.
Pietersen, without a test century now in 21 innings, was caught off the inside after a flying catch from the wicketkeeper Akmal. His patchy glove-work in the match and in recent series meant an element of surprise surrounded the wicket.
However, the next ball demonstrated Akmal's inconsistency when he dropped Paul Collingwood with an easier but still not simple catch diving to his right. Trott's two-hour innings of grit ended unfortunately when a short Gul ball kept low and bowled him. That was 66 for four.
Collingwood was unable to punish the tourists for their earlier lapse and was lbw to Gul for one in 19 balls. He discussed the potential of reviewing the wicket with Eoin Morgan but walked off, justifiably according to replays.
Morgan, whose first-innings 130 set up England's dominance, was run out for 17 after a mix-up with Prior.
Earlier, number nine batsman Gul entertained the capacity crowd with his 46-ball innings that contained eight boundaries and four sixes. He took 18 runs off Steven Finn in the second over of the day, with three fours and a six pulled over square leg. He repeated that stroke twice more. Pakistan started the day needing eight runs to avoid the follow-on and they did that before being dismissed for 182.
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