Saud Shakeel falls three short of a Lord's century as England close in on victory
Saud Shakeel walked off Lord's three runs short of a hundred, his innings of 97 the heart of Pakistan's resistance on a day when England closed in on victory in the second Test.
Shakeel had looked set to reach three figures before Harry Brook held a catch off Josh Tongue's bowling to end the stand. It was the one wicket England needed most, and the moment that shifted the match firmly back towards the hosts.
The left-hander had reached his fifty off 54 balls, cracking nine fours along the way. That tempo — brisk for a Test innings, where patience usually rules — reflected a batter who came out with clear intent rather than mere survival on his mind. Rain had already paused the match when Pakistan sat at 94 for 3 in 25 overs, the kind of interruption that can break a batting side's rhythm. Shakeel, though, picked up where things left off.
He even survived a close call. A direct hit from point sent the ball crashing into the stumps, but Shakeel's bat had grounded in time. The third umpire — the off-field official who reviews tight calls on television — confirmed he was safe.
England's bowlers had applied pressure throughout. Ollie Robinson accounted for Shan Masood, trapping him LBW — leg before wicket, meaning the ball would have hit the stumps but struck the pad first — to chip away at the top order. The second Test, played at Lord's from 27 to 31 August as part of Pakistan's tour of England, had already seen its share of twists.
For Shakeel, a former captain of the Pakistan Shaheens — the country's A-team development side — the near-miss will sting. Ninety-seven is a fine Test score at any ground. At Lord's, on a pitch that has historically rewarded disciplined bowling, it is better than fine. But the gap between 97 and 100 is the gap between a very good day and a story that lasts forever.
England, meanwhile, were tightening their grip. With Shakeel gone, the lower order faced the prospect of batting out the remaining overs against an attack finding its lines and lengths. A Test match — the five-day, two-innings format, the longest form of the game — rewards the side that takes the last ten wickets, and England were closing in.
For Pakistan, the frustration is that their most fluent innings of the match came from someone who could not quite finish the job. For England, the relief is that they did.
