Keep in mind we r not playing against just Englad but also the umpires (specially Hair who has shown no shame in clearly being biased) so its going to be double difficult for Pakistan. Any lead less than 270 in my opinion is achieveable coz england will come out scoring like ODI’s and chase it as hard as they can … Tommorow my friends, is going be a hell of a day …
mannn... this test cricket is getting fun ( this time fun not in happy context )..... I am so glad inzi is still in and we got 4 wickets in hand... Lead is 199 right now... another 60 runs and surviving for 25-30 overs will be great. I think we have a good chance to bowl them out on the 5th day if they have to score 4 or 5 runs per over... We can't afford to lose this game... we owned day 1 & 2, now we r gonna have to show the same fighting spirit to save/win the match ... I hope umpires & controversies don't take further limelight..
on the upside... good cricket to be watched on a holiday eve here in US (thanksgiving)
New ball won’t be a problem. If Pak bats those 14 overs until the new ball is due, they would’ve wasted an hour of play in the morning and made about 30 more runs. 230 would be an interesting total for England to chase, with the odds in England’s favor.
I think Pakistan's been a victim of their defensive approach in 2nd innings batting. They were too slow, and didn't put enough runs on the board, hoping that they could bat England out of the match. Now the pressure is on Pak, and if Inzi goes, then the rest of the batsmen will fall quickly. If I were a betting man, I'd bet on England at this stage. England is fired up, and they are hungry for a win. Whatever total Pakistan puts up, they'll try to chase it. The pitch is benign, Pakistan's fielding and catching abysmal, and England would fancy their chances throwing the bat around.
I would have sent Afridi one down, instead of Younis to speed up the scoring and set the mood for wining. But I don't know what team mangement has in their minds.
A quick 50 runs in first hour will give a good defendable last day total of 250. I think England will be aggressive to get the total in 2.5 sessions.