3rd test: Buttler scores century as England reach 373-4 at lunch
Southampton: Jos Buttler survived a scare on 99 before reaching his second test century as England strengthened its grip on the third and final test against Pakistan in a wicketless morning session interrupted by two rain breaks on Day 2 on Saturday.
England took lunch on 373-4, with Buttler on a career-best test score of 113 not out and opening-day century-maker Zak Crawley unbeaten on 186.
Needing one run to get to triple figures, Buttler was given out caught behind off Mohammad Abbas, with wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan up to the stumps taking a sharp catch. The England batsman immediately reviewed and replays showed no contact, with the noise being his bat hitting his pad.
Off the next ball, he stroked a back-foot drive into the off-side for three runs to bring up his first hundred as England's wicketkeeper. The other ton 106 against India two years ago was as a specialist batsman.
Buttler removed his helmet and saluted his teammates on the balcony after an important innings that further quietened the critics calling for him to be dropped because of wicketkeeping mistakes against the West Indies and Pakistan this season. At the start of this series, he acknowledged he was batting for his place in the team.
Crawley is close to a big milestone of his own after adding 15 runs to his overnight 171, also a personal-best in tests.
The fifth-wicket partnership between Crawley and Buttler grew to 246 runs, after coming together following lunch on Day 1 with England 127-4.
Brief showers took the teams off twice during the morning session, resulting in lunch being taken an hour later than scheduled.
England, which started Day 2 on 332-4, leads 1-0 and is looking to clinch a first series victory over Pakistan in 10 years, as well as a second of the summer after beating the West Indies 2-1.
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Seven killed, three injured in separate road accidents in UP
Mainpuri/Muzaffarnagar/Deoria (UP) (PTI): Seven people were killed and three others injured in separate road accidents in Mainpuri, Muzaffarnagar and Deoria districts of Uttar Pradesh, police said on Wednesday.
All incidents took place on Tuesday night.
In Mainpuri, three persons, including a couple, were killed near the Shitala Devi Temple on Devi Road under Kotwali police circle when a pickup vehicle hit a motorcycle head-on, Superintendent of Police Ganesh Saha said.
The victims, Dharmendra Singh (50), his wife Baby (48), both residents of Ferozabad, and Sanjay Singh (40) of Tavepur village, were on the two-wheeler and were on their way to attend the cremation of a relative when the incident took place.
According to police, the pickup and a Wagon R car were attempting to overtake each other when the former went out of control and rammed into the motorcycle, killing all three riders on the spot. Police rushed to the scene and sent the bodies for post-mortem examination, Saha added.
In Muzaffarnagar's Charthawal town, a 30-year-old woman, identified as Imrana, was killed while another woman was injured after a speeding car hit them on Rajbaha Road.
Circle Officer Ravishankar said the victims were walking when the car struck them, throwing Imrana into a canal. She was declared dead by the doctors.
Following the incident, villagers staged a protest demanding action against the driver, who fled the spot without the vehicle. Police said efforts are underway to trace and arrest the accused.
In another incident in Deoria district, three persons were killed, and two others seriously injured when a car crashed into a tree in the Baghochghat area late Tuesday night, police said.
The accident occurred near Haji Market when a Bihar-registered Swift car coming from Pakaha went out of control and rammed into a roadside tree, leaving the vehicle badly mangled.
Police said five people were travelling in the car. Three of them died on the spot, while two injured persons were admitted to Maharshi Devaraha Baba Medical College in Deoria.
The deceased have been identified as Karan Kushwaha, a resident of Gopalganj district in Bihar, and Pintu Kumar of Dulharpur village under Phulwaria police station. The identity of the third deceased is yet to be established.
The injured have been identified as Govind Kushwaha (18) of Sisai village in Kushinagar and Bhola Srivastava alias Sonu (22). Police said the occupants had visited a relative's place in Kushinagar and were returning after attending a wedding function when the accident occurred.
Station House Officer Anil Tiwari said police had to use a gas cutter to rescue the victims trapped inside the vehicle.
The bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination, and further legal proceedings are underway, he added.
