Pakistan's Shan Masood punishes lacklustre England at Old Trafford

MANCHESTER, England: Opener Shan Masood struck a stylish unbeaten century as Pakistan capitalised on some poor England bowling to reach 312 for eight at tea on the second day of the first test at Old Trafford on Thursday.
Shan (151 not out) has been the mainstay of the innings with his highest test score and will resume in the evening session with Shaheen Afridi (1 not out) as Pakistan look to post a competitive first inning score.
It is a third century in consecutive innings for Shan, who also managed three figures against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, his early patience rewarded as he grew in stature during his 311 ball stay at the crease.
Despite chipping away at the Pakistan wickets, it was another poor afternoon session for England, who might be feeling a sense of deja vu after a similarly lacklustre bowling display on the opening day had also undone good work in the morning.
Pakistan resumed the second day on 139 for two, but added only 48 runs in the morning session at a paltry rate of 1.86 per over, also losing key batsman Babar Azam (69), Asad Shafiq (7) and wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan (9).
But for the first hour after lunch, it was all Pakistan as Shan and Shadab Khan (45) punished England’s tepid attack, adding 105 runs in little more than 25 overs for the sixth wicket.
Once the latter fell, Pakistan’s long tail was exposed, with Jofra Archer (3-45) picking up the quick wickets of Yasir Shah (5) and Mohammad Abbas for a duck in consecutive deliveries.
On a wearing wicket, a first innings score of around 350 will be a handy one for the tourists, who have selected two leg-spinners in Yasir and Shadab.