Pakistan created a unique record during the first innings of the third Test against England in Rawalpindi, as all 68.2 overs were bowled by spin bowlers.
On a wicket that was expected to spin early on, England won the toss and elected to bat. They made good use of the hard new ball, as Pakistan opened the bowling with their two frontline finger spinners, Sajid Khan and Noman Ali. Openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett managed to put on 56, before Crawley mistimed a booming drive off Noman Ali to be caught at gully.
Thereafter, there was a slide from 70-1 to 118-6, as Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Ben Duckett, Harry Brook and Ben Stokes all departed in quick succession.
Wicketkeeper Jamie Smith then launched a counterattack, hitting six sixes and five fours on his way to 89 (there had been an adjustment to his final score) in a 105-run seventh wicket stand with Gus Atkinson. Atkinson's 39 and Jack Leach's 16 then helped England get up to 267, as they were bowled out in 68.2 overs.
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Pakistan set 142-year first with all-spin first innings
All 68.2 overs were bowled by spinners – 29.2 by Sajid Khan (6-128), 28 by Noman Ali (3-88), 10 by Zahid Mahmood (1-44) and one by Salman Ali Agha (0-3). The lone seam option in Pakistan's lineup, Aamer Jamal, did not bowl at all.
This marks the first time in 142 years that no seam bowlers have operated during the first innings of a Test match. The previous instance of this came in February 1882 in Sydney, where two Australian slow bowlers – Joey Palmer and Edwin Evans – bowled 115 overs between them to bowl England out for 133.
At the time of writing, Pakistan were 61-3 in their batting innings, having lost openers Abdullah Shafique and Saim Ayub as well as Kamran Ghulam.
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