Rehan Ahmed maintained that the game was "still level" and that England were "very positive" after a day dominated by Pakistan concluded with the tourists three wickets down in their second innings and 53 runs behind. Saud Shakeel's meticulous 134, achieved over five hours and eight minutes, featuring 86 singles and just five boundaries, propelled Pakistan to 344 and secured a first-innings lead of 77. With nine overs remaining before stumps, England faltered to 24 for three, but despite their precarious position, their morale remains robust.
"We're still positive," Rehan affirmed. "There's no sense of negativity or heads down. Everyone understands there's a job to do and we're eager to do it. There's still a lot of batting to come, and we're very positive in the changing room. Obviously, the momentum is currently with them, but hopefully, we can absorb it a bit tomorrow, turn it around, and try to secure a lead.
"I think it's still level, isn't it? We've got plenty of batting left. Obviously, three down isn't ideal, but that's the situation." Rehan claimed four wickets upon his return after eight months, including three in five overs in the half-hour before lunch, briefly giving England control. "I still don't think that's my best bowling," he remarked. "I can be another level or two above this. As long as I keep learning and enjoying it, I'll be fine. I consider myself one of the luckiest guys in the world."
Post-lunch, Saud's partnerships with Noman Ali and Sajid Khan, totaling 160, altered the game's trajectory, his approach perfectly suited to a pitch where most batters have struggled. "When you play on such a pitch, you can get any ball that does something unpredictable," he explained. "You just need a clear mind and plan. For instance, I didn't play many sweep shots, even though I usually rely on them a lot.
"I thoroughly enjoyed batting with Noman and Sajid. Their aggressive approach made my job easier. I didn't have to do much, just keep accumulating singles." Sajid, who finished the innings unbeaten with a run-a-ball 48 including four sixes, claimed he had deceived England by feeding their two Urdu-speaking bowlers, Rehan and Shoaib Bashir, with misleading information. "We were doing it to trick them," he said. "We wanted them to think we were only looking for singles. Once they brought the field up, Saud told me to go for the big shot, as hard as possible."
However, Rehan denied being fooled. "He didn't fool me or anything," he stated. "He just said, not that I even heard him, something like, 'I'm gonna run down this ball', and I knew he was going to try and scoop me, so it didn't really work. He batted well, but he didn't really fool me or Bash."
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