Anderson is now the eighth-highest wicket-taker in Test history

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

England pace bowler James Anderson ripped through Pakistan’s batting line-up with a four-wicket haul to put his side in command on the first day of the third Test in Sharjah.

Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq would have been regretting his decision to bat first as he was the only batsman to make a major contribution, scoring 71 off 160 balls, which included seven boundaries and two sixes.

Ul-Haq made a gutsy 71

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

Sarfraz Ahmed, Shoaib Malik, Younis Khan and Mohammad Hafeez all made encouraging starts, but were unable to convert them into bigger scores as they were dismissed for 39, 38, 31 and 27 respectively.

Anderson inflicted the most damage with four wickets, while Stuart Broad, Samit Patel and Moeen Ali claimed two wickets each as Pakistan were bundled out for 234.

Trailing by 234 runs, England captain Alastair Cook and Ali amassed an unbeaten four-run partnership in the two overs they faced.

Cook has yet to get off the mark, while Ali finished on four off six balls, which included one boundary.

England ended day one on 4/0 and will continue batting tomorrow at 10:00 local time or 06:00 GMT.