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Ahmed's three wickets for England leave Pakistan at 187-7 on the second day of the third Test
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Ahmed's three wickets for England leave Pakistan at 187-7 on the second day of the third Test

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (AP) — Recalled leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed took three wickets on a constructed dry wicket and led England's strong comeback in the third and final Test against Pakistan on Friday.

Saud Shakeel held one end on a variable bounce wicket and was unbeaten on 72 off 132 balls as Pakistan struggled to a score of 180-7 at lunch in an eventful first session of the second day.

England still lead by 80 after being bowled out for 267, thanks largely to a hefty 89 from wicketkeeper-batter Jamie Smith after off-spinner Sajid Khan took a six-wicket haul.

The 22-yard strip was the focus of the series decider after ground staff deployed industrial-sized fans and outdoor heaters to dry out the wicket and counteract England's aggressive batting.

And the spinners continued to dictate as 17 wickets fell in four sessions.

Pakistan had exhausted its remaining two TV referees when Mohammad Rizwan (25) and Salman Ali Agha (1) made unsuccessful lbw reviews against Ahmed (3-25), who was playing his first international match since February.

Aamer Jamal (14) then hacked Ahmed's googly back onto his stumps while England captain Ben Stokes intelligently maneuvered his three specialist spinners to take four wickets for 114 runs in an extended first session of 2 1/2 hours due to Friday prayers.

Captain Shan Masood and Shakeel returned with 73-3, defying the spinners and extending their stand to 53 runs on one wicket, with 13 wickets falling on the first day. England had the right moment to separate the left-handed pair but Smith failed to hold on to a sharp low edge from Shakeel as the batsman was on 26 in Shoaib Bashir's third over of the day.

Masood was too defensive in his 26-run, 70-ball contest before Ollie Pope held on to a sharp low catch at a tight second slip, while the Pakistan captain leapt forward after Bashir's sharp throw and got a thick outside edge.

Shakeel completed his eighth half-century and sixth Test against England when he beat Bashir to mid-wicket before Ahmed's three quick wickets put England back in control before lunch.

Pakistan leveled the series 1-1 with a stunning 152-run win in the second Test on a recycled wicket in Multan after England recorded a memorable innings and 47-run win in the first Test.

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AP Cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

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