The first match of the three-match Test series between England and Pakistan took a turn for the worse on the final day. England went ahead with a wicket earlier in the day. Then the Pakistani batter built a wall of resistance. In the end, the English bowlers turned around again. England beat Pakistan in a last-minute thriller.
England’s third Test win in Pakistan. England won the Lahore Test in 1961 and Karachi in 2000. But the Rawalpindi Test will be remembered for the manner in which England won.
This decision was made at the very last minute of the Rawalpindi Test on Monday. England beat Pakistan by 74 runs to advance in the three-test series.
Two pacers James Anderson and Ollie Robinson contributed greatly to stopping Pakistan’s second innings target of 343 runs at 268 runs.
Robinson took 4 wickets for 50 runs. 40 Peruno Anderson gets 4 wickets for 36 runs. Captain Stokes took one wicket. Left-arm spinner Jack Leach completed the task of dismissing the last batter.
Pakistan ended the fourth day with 80 runs for two wickets. The hosts needed 263 runs on the final day to win. Imam-ul-Haq and Saud Shakeel were at the crease. Imam disappointed Pakistan at the beginning of the day. He got out after adding 9 more runs to the team’s account. Imam scored 48 off 77 balls before falling to James Anderson. Shakeel showed great tenacity despite Imam’s disappointment.
Shakil made his white debut with the Rawalpindi Test. His bat has been widened for the needs of the team. For half a century, he has known his caste. For the fourth wicket, Mohammad Rizwan made a partnership of 87 runs. This pair broke when Rizwan got out. This wicketkeeper scored 46 runs off 92 balls.
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Shakil also departed after adding 22 runs with Agha Salman. He played an innings of 76 runs off 159 balls. Shakil’s valuable innings had 12 boundaries. Azhar Ali returned to the field after his departure. He left the field as a retired heart yesterday. Today Azhar kept the team’s dream of victory alive.
Pakistan needed 86 runs and England needed five wickets to win in the last session. Pakistan started cautiously after the tea break. Still, Azhar survived being run out due to a misunderstanding. But it didn’t work. Ollie Robinson brought England back into the match by hunting Azhar and Salman in two consecutive overs.
Azhar scored 40 runs off 81 balls and Salman scored 30 runs off 64 balls. Pakistan beat all recognized batsmen by 260 runs. The tailenders could no longer dream of the hosts. Zahid Mahmood played 21 balls but scored 1 run and was the victim of Anderson. Anderson gave Haris Rauf a golden duck in the same over.
Jack Leach hammered the final nail in Pakistan’s coffin with Naseem lbw. Pakistan was all out for 268 runs. As a result, England won the match by 74 runs. Robinson and Anderson took four wickets each.
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A draw could have been the expected result after the runs flooded by both teams. But Ben Stokes thought otherwise. He took the risk, declared the innings with courage, and made a strong effort. His bowlers also showed their best. As a result, England won a great test.
Robinson also credited the English batsmen for the historic win, saying, “The batsmen were running fast and we got enough time to get them out twice.” Like Nasir Hussain, Robinson said, “To win on a wicket like that, I’d say it’s the best Test match I’ve ever played.”