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Debutant Saud Shakeel played a fine knock in the 2nd innings of the second Test match against England and looked set to clinch an exciting victory for the hosts before he became a victim of a controversial decision by the on-field umpire, which eventually led to Pakistan’s 26-run defeat in the game. While chasing 354, Pakistan batters put up a decent fightback against the quality bowling line-up of England but conceding wickets at regular intervals pushed the hosts into a critical position.

 However, Saud Shakeel (94 off 213 balls) got much-needed support from Imam-ul-Haq (60 off 104) and Mohammad Nawaz (45 off 62) to rescue their side. While Pakistan was heading towards an exciting win on the back of Saud Shakeel's brilliance in the middle, the 27-year-old found himself at the receiving end of a controversial decision by the third umpire on Day 4 of the ongoing Test at Multan.

The left-handed batter was given out after being caught down the leg side. As Shakeel pulled and managed to only glove it off the delivery from Mark Wood, he was caught by wicket-keeper Ollie Pope. Sensing the gravity of that dismissal, the on-field umpire reached out to third umpire Joel Wilson to have a close look again and the soft signal was given out despite some part of the ball appearing to have touched the ground when Pope took the catch diving to his right.

The third-umpire decision became a topic of decision among the cricket fraternity as many took to social media to raise questions on that dismissal. Check out the video of the dismissal and reactions to it. 


With that dismissal, Mark Wood turned the game on its head as England took just 9 more overs to bundle out the host at 328/10 in 102.1 overs. Harry Brook was adjudged Player of the Match for his spectacular batting display in the 2nd innings where he scored 108 off 149 deliveries.  

England has now clinched the highly anticipated three-match Test series 2-0, with one match yet to be played. Both the teams will regroup at Karachi National Stadium to play the third and final match of the series.