ENG vs PAK 2nd Test: England tighten noose on Pakistan as lead swells on rain‑hit day at Lord's

England have tightened the noose on Pakistan in the ongoing Lord's Test as their lead has swelled to 357, and they have three more wickets left in their kitty. While frequent rain interruptions on day three worked in favour of Pakistan's bowlers, Dan Lawrence didn't let the stoppages affect his concentration as he scored a fifty and remained unbeaten at stumps.

The start was delayed due to persistent drizzle, and England lost Emilio Gay as soon as the rain gods relented. Mohammad Abbas pinned Gay in front of his stumps with one that kept abysmally low. Pakistan benefitted from the up‑and‑down nature of the surface as Harry Brook (34 off 56) fell to a delivery that climbed unexpectedly and took the splice of his willow before Mohammad Rizwan accepted the opportunity.

Abbas soon removed England's wicketkeeper‑batter Jamie Smith as the latter failed to time a flick and found Shan Masood at square leg. Mohammad Ali also made his presence felt as he removed Gus Atkinson, denying him another opportunity to pile on their misery. Lawrence held an end together and kept his composure as wickets continued to tumble from the other end.

He didn't look to survive and punished the Pakistan bowlers whenever they erred in line and length. He has already struck six fours and two sixes in his innings, and if he even bats for an hour on the fourth day, England would most likely be in a position to pose a target of 400.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's chances of winning this game look fairly slim. Their highest chase in the fourth innings of a Test match against England in England remains 148, which they scaled in August 2010 at The Oval under the leadership of Salman Butt. Therefore, Babar Azam and his men would have to rewrite the history books to win the Test and level the series.