Rawalpindi Test: Sajid Khan shines as Pakistan take control over England on Day 1

Rawalpindi: Pakistan off-spinner Sajid Khan bowled exceptionally well on the first day of the third and final Test as his six wickets rattled England for 267 at the Rawalpindi Cricket Ground on Thursday.

At Stumps on Day 1, Pakistan are 73/3 with Shan Masood and Saud Shakeel unbeaten on the crease. The hosts still trail by 194 runs in the Rawalpindi Test.

The three-match Test series between the two teams is equally poised at 1-1.

Earlier in the day, England skipper Ben Stoke won the toss and elected to bat first in the series decider.

Batting first, England was able to score just 267 runs in the first innings. The highest scorer for the side was their wicketkeeper-batter, Jamie Smith who slammed 89 runs off 119 balls which was laced by five boundaries and six maximums in his innings.

Opener Ben Duckett scored a fifty too. The left-hand batter smashed 52 runs in 84 balls with the help of four boundaries and one six in his innings. All-rounder Gus Atkinson played a valuable knock of 39 runs from 71 balls which came with the help of five fours in his innings.

For the hosts, Sajid Khan was the pick of the bowlers as he snapped six wickets in his spell of 29.2 overs where he conceded 128 runs in his spell where he bowled four maiden overs.

Left-arm spinner, Noman Ali bagged three wickets in his 28 overs where he gave away 88 runs and managed to bowl two maiden overs. Leg-spinner Zahid Mahmood also took one wicket in his spell of 10 overs where he conceded 44 runs and bowled one maiden over.

In reply to England's 267, the Shan Masood-led side scored 73 runs with the loss of three wickets with the knocks from Saim Ayub (19 runs off 36 balls with 1 four), Saud Shakeel (16* runs in 34 balls with 1 four), Masood (16* runs from 32 balls), and Abdullah Shafique (14 runs off 27 balls, 1 four).

For the Three Lions, one wicket each was grabbed by Jack Leach, Gus Atkinson, and Shoaib Bashir in their respective spells.

Brief Score: England 267 all out (Jamie Smith 89, Ben Duckett 52, Sajid Khan 6/128) vs Pakistan 73/3 (Saim Ayub 19, Shan Masood 16*, Gus Atkinson 1/2).