Rizwan's gritty 60 holds up England, Pakistan gets to 223-9
Southampton: Mohammad Rizwan scored a gritty, unbeaten half-century to guide Pakistan past 200 against an increasingly frustrated England before bad light at the Rose Bowl brought an early end to the second day of the second Test on Friday.
The teams went off the field before tea because of the gloom, with Pakistan on 215-8, and reappeared for only another nine balls, during which Stuart Broad took his third wicket of the innings and the tourists moved to 223-9. The umpires took another meter reading and took the players off again for good this time.
Rizwan will return on Saturday on 60, the wicketkeeper's second-highest test score, alongside Naseem Shah (1).
England looked all set on wrapping up the Pakistan innings, which resumed on Friday on 126-5, after star batsman Babar Azam (47) edged behind a brilliant ball from Broad that seamed and squared up Babar.
That made the score 158-6 and two more wickets fell for 18 runs, with Yasir Shah (5) flashing at a delivery from Jimmy Anderson and edging to give wicketkeeper Jos Buttler another catch. Shaheen Afridi (0) was run out by Dom Sibley at the non-striker's end after a mix-up.
England's seam bowling unraveled in the final half-hour before the enforced tea, with the field set by captain Joe Root perhaps too negative under threatening skies and with two lower-order batsmen in the middle. On occasions, there were five or six out near the boundary as Root spread the field.
Anderson has the best bowling figures, with 3-48. Broad had 3-56.
The tourists trail 1-0 in the three-match series after losing the first match by three wickets in Manchester. Another victory for England will clinch a first test series against Pakistan in 10 years, and a second series of this pandemic-affected summer having already beaten the West Indies.
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Actor Esha Gupta returns to India after being stuck in UAE, says it was a ‘tough’ situation
Mumbai (PTI): Actor Esha Gupta on Tuesday said she has safely returned to India after being stranded in the United Arab Emirates amid escalating tension due to the Israel-US attack on Iran.
“Back home. Thank you all for your prayers and wishes. It was very tough to be in the situation we all faced. Truly God’s blessing to be safe,” Gupta said in a statement posted on Instagram.
Tensions in the middle east have escalated following a coordinated offensive launched by the United States and Israel against Iran on February 28. Iran responded by firing drones and missiles at Israel and US military installations across the Gulf, and also at the global business hub of Dubai.
The actor, best known for “Jannat 2”, “Rustom” and “Total Dhamaal”, also recounted the tense atmosphere at the Abu Dhabi airport.
“It started when I was at the airport on the 28th (Saturday). By 1 p.m., the airport was closed, chaos all around as none of us knew what had happened. Then the news started coming of the missile attack, and no one knew what the next minute held for us. Strangers consoled each other, all calling their families back home,” Gupta said.
The actor lauded the “strength” and the “composure” of the Abu Dhabi International Airport staff and added that ground security and airport personnel acted immediately to maintain order.
“I hadn’t checked in myself by then, so I took a turn and left for my hotel in Abu Dhabi,” she said, adding that passengers were provided accommodations at available hotels and highlighting the dedication of hotel staff during such a tense situation.
She further said the hotel management answered all their questions patiently to the best of their ability and that there was no shortage of any service.
“The lobby was full of people, including us, scared due to the security alert, but there was no chaos. The hotel security kept reassuring everyone. Not once did we see the people, all scared internally, create stress; we were all in this together,” Gupta said and even thanked the airline staff for their assistance.
“All this shows just the backbone of a country and its strength; they took action when needed, no blaming anyone, just strong decisions. Thank you to everyone who helped and is helping people of the world get back home. Your country is truly special,” she said.
Gupta concluded her post by thanking everyone who helped ensure her safe return.
“Thank you for our government for providing its citizens with reassurance and working towards getting us all back. Thank you to UAE government in working in solidarity with every country for the citizens of the world,” she said.
Actor Sonal Chauhan also updated her fans and admirers that she is heading back home after being stranded in Dubai.
The actor shared the update through her Instagram Stories with a few videos showing her travelling in a car on her way to the airport, with the song ‘Coming Home’ by Skylar Grey playing in the backdrop.
