Rizwan frustrates hosts as ENG fails to wrap up PAK innings on stumps

Southampton:Mohammad Rizwan's unbeaten 60 helped Pakistan 223/9 on day two of the second Test against England at The Rose Bowl forcing play to be suspended early due to bad light here on Friday.   At stumps Mohammad Rizwan 60 off 116 and Naseem Shah 1 off 1 were at the crease.

Wet weather delayed the start of the second day in Southampton, with play finally getting underway an hour and a half after the scheduled start. Rizwan and Babar Azam looked determined to not give England anything before lunch, and with the day's revised timings, they faced only an hour before the first break of the day.

England bowled with discipline, ensuring runs were not easy to come by, and the pair scored just 29 runs in 15.2 overs, though crucially both batsmen made it through the session without incident.

Just three overs after the break however, Stuart Broad produced a wonderful delivery, nipping away off a length to take the edge of Babar to break the partnership nearly 20 overs after the pair had come together. James Anderson got the next wicket not long after, Yasir Shah flashing at a wide, swinging ball to become his third victim of the innings.

Shaheen Afridi had managed to keep out 19 balls without troubling the scorers before a mix-up left him short of his ground as Dom Sibley pulled off a sharp piece of fielding from gully to run him out at the bowler's end.

Mohammad Abbas's arrival at the crease prompted an increase in tempo from Rizwan, who began to play his shots. Abbas scored only two runs in a partnership worth 39, and it wasn't until after the tea break that Broad finally removed the seamer, pinning him in front.

Only five more balls were possible before bad light forced play to be suspended, ultimately ending the day's play. (UNI)