Pakistan step up attempts to ambush England with another turning surface as giant fans and heaters are installed to dry out the pitch in Rawalpindi after spinners tore through tourists in second Test
- Pakistan’s decision to play a ninth day on the same field paid off for them
- England will have to win the series in Rawalpindi after a crushing 152-run defeat
- The home team is doing everything they can to create a comparable surface
Pakistan has stepped up its efforts to ambush England on another rotating surface during this week’s third and decisive Test in Rawalpindi, installing giant fans and heaters at the pitch ahead of Thursday’s start.
England slumped to a 152-run defeat in the second Test in Multan, with Pakistan spinners Noman Ali and Sajid Khan sharing all 20 wickets at the same strip used for the series opener.
Aqib Javed and Aleem Dar, two members of Pakistan’s restructured selection committee, headed north to Rawalpindi on the day the second Test ended, with instructions to oversee the preparation of another rotating pitch.
Pakistan captain Shan Masood had suggested after his team’s first win in 12 home Tests that it might not be easy to transform Rawalpindi – which traditionally has one of the flattest pitches in the world – into a spinner’s paradise.
Pakistan has installed giant fans and heaters at the pitch ahead of Thursday’s Test
Pakistan will once again be betting on stacking their side with spinners and winning the toss
But the sight of fans and heaters looming over the pitch in an attempt to dry it out confirmed that Pakistan will gamble again by supplying their side with spinners and crossing their fingers to win the toss.
England have three days to decide whether to hand a second cap to Leicestershire legspinner Rehan Ahmed.
He would be part of a three-pronged slow-bowling attack with Somerset pair Jack Leach and Shoaib Bashir, who shared 12 wickets in the second Test in Multan.