Shan Masood's unbeaten 151 takes Pak past 300

MANCHESTER: Opener Shan Masood scored a gritty hundred as Pakistan reached 312/8 against England at Tea on Day 2 of the first Test being played at the Old Trafford on Thursday.

Masood got to his third ton in a row by milking James Anderson for two runs as batting coach Younis Khan rose to his feet, flashing his signature smile as the 30-year-old reached triple figures in 251 balls, showing composure of the highest order.

The left-handed batsman went on to score 150 and remained unbeaten on 151 at the end of the second session. His marathon innings of 314 balls was laced with 17 fours and two sixes.

The second session almost belonged to Pakistan after Masood and Shadab Khan (45) shared a 105-run stand for the sixth wicket.

Shadab looked good for a fifty until off-spinner Dom Bess had him go for a wild wipe through the line, top edging the ball to England skipper Joe Root who took an easy catch at mid on.

Jofra Archer then removed Yasir Shah and Mohammad Abbas in quick succession just before Tea but there was no stopping Masood who made the most of his two reprieves on Day 1 -- Jos Buttler dropped and missed a stumping when he was batting on 45 -- to hold one end up and soak in all the pressure to bat majestically.

Earlier, resuming the day at 139/2, Babar Azam (69) couldn't contribute anything to his overnight score as he was enticed into a false drive by James Anderson who had him caught at first slip by hosts' skipper Joe Root.

Asad Shafiq (7) followed suit soon after as Ben Stokes took a superb catch at second slip off Stuart Broad's bowling to get rid of the new batsman.

Wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan tried to play watchfully alongside Masood at the other end but half an hour before the end of the first session, Chris Woakes did him with a wider from the crease delivery that caught Rizwan's edge of the bat and flew to 'keeper Jos Buttler.

Brief Scores: Pakistan 312/8 at Tea (Shan Masood 151 batting, Babar Azam 69; Jofra Archer 3/45) vs England. IANS 

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