Spinners strike for England as Pakistan is 298-3 in 1st test

Rawalpindi: England spinners hit back with three wickets on a flat wicket after Pakistan openers Imam-ul-Haq and Abdullah Shafique struck record-breaking centuries in the first cricket test on Saturday.

Pakistan still trails England by 359 runs after it reached 298-3 at lunch on Day 3 after the visitors had posted better than run-a-ball 657 in its first innings.

Azhar Ali (27) got a life when Zak Crawley couldn't grasp a difficult chance in the leg slip against James Anderson before he was trapped leg before wicket by Jack Leach (2-102) late in the first session.

Captain Babar Azam was batting on 28 with one of the four Pakistan debutants Saud Shakeel yet to score.

Left-handed Imam, who made centuries in each innings during the drawn test against Australia in March at the same venue, scored 121 off 207 balls. Shafique, centurion in the same test against Australia, also played a traditional test-match like 114 off 203 balls.

It was the first time in test history that openers from both teams had scored centuries in the first innings after England openers Crawley and Ben Duckett also struck hundreds in England's world record 506-4 on the first day.

The grassless pitch has been the focal point in England's first test in Pakistan in 17 years with even Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ramiz Raja saying the wicket is not good advertisement for test cricket.

Only 14 wickets fell over five days on a similar type of pitch when Australia last played at the Pindi Cricket Stadium and the wicket was rated as "below average" by ICC match referee Ranjan Madugalle. The pitch received one demerit point as a result.

England preserved its fast bowlers on an unresponsive wicket and persisted with its spinners for about 1 1/2 hours after Pakistan resumed on 181-0.

Shafique completed his 100 off 177 balls with a single after lofting Joe Root for a six on the legside before Imam also reached the milestone with a flicked boundary off Root.

With the wicket doing little for the England spinners, Imam threw away his wicket by unnecessarily going for a big shot against Leach and holed out in the deep. Leach then trapped Azhar lbw on the back foot.