RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (AP) — Recalled leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed took three wickets on an engineered dry wicket to lead England’s strong comeback in the third and final Test against Pakistan on Friday.

Holding one end on a variable spring wicket, Saud Shakeel was unbeaten on 72 off 132 balls as Pakistan struggled to 180-7 at lunch on an eventful first session of Day 2.

England still lead by 80 after being bowled out for 267, largely thanks to a hard knock of 89 by wicketkeeper-batsman Jamie Smith after off-spinner Sajid Khan claimed a six-wicket haul.

The 22-yard strip was central to the series decider after the ground staff used industrial fans and outdoor heaters to dry out the wicket and counter England’s aggressive batting.

And the spinners have continued to dictate as 17 wickets have fallen in four sessions.

Pakistan exhausted their remaining two televised references when Mohammad Rizwan (25) and Salman Ali Agha (1) went for failed lbw reviews against Ahmed (3-25), who was playing his first international since February.

Aamer Jamal (14) then chopped Ahmed’s googly back onto his stumps as England captain Ben Stokes intelligently maneuvered his three specialist spinners to claim four wickets for 114 runs in an extended 2.5-hour first session due to Friday prayers.

Resuming at 73-3, captain Shan Masood and Shakeel defied the spinners and extended their stand to 53 runs on a wicket, with 13 wickets falling on the first day. England had their moment to separate the left-handed pair but Smith could not hold on to a sharp low edge from Shakeel when the batsman was on 26 in Shoaib Bashir’s third over of the day.

Masood was too defensive in his 26-run knock off 70 balls before Ollie Pope held on to a sharp low catch at close-in second slip as the Pakistan skipper lunged forward to Bashir’s sharp delivery and got a thick outside edge.

Shakeel completed his eighth Test half-century and sixth against England when he hit a sweep to Bashir to mid-wicket boundary before Ahmed’s three quick wickets put England back in control before lunch.

Pakistan leveled the series at 1-1 with a resounding 152-run win in the second Test on a recycled wicket in Multan after England recorded a memorable innings and a 47-run win in the first Test.

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