The tourists could only muster 234 all out in a chase of 565 at Edgbaston.

By Abdullah Ansari (25th July, 2016)

Toss: England won the toss, Alastair Cook chose to bat first.

Teams

Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Yasir Shah, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali.

England: AN Cook (c), AD Hales, JE Root, JM Vince, GS Ballance, BA Stokes, JM Bairstow (wk), MM Ali, CR Woakes, SCJ Broad, JM Anderson.

Pakistan's best hope, going into Day 4 would have been rain. Therefore, the sight of clear skies would have been demoralising for the tourists. There were no positive initial signs, as Cook and Root batted merrily, making 75 runs in 9 overs before declaring, setting Pakistan 565 to win.

Mohammad Hafeez started well for Pakistan, playing a few nice looking shots, but Shan Masood once again didn't last long against Anderson as he was dismissed by the pacer for the 6th times in 3 Tests. Azhar Ali's wretched form continued as his deficiency against the straighter deliveries once again showed as he was LBW to Anderson. Mohammad Hafeez and Younis Khan put on a 50 stand, but much more was needed. Mohammad Hafeez fell for 42, inside-edging to short leg off Moeen Ali for 42, meaning Mickey Arthur's hope of one of the the top-order batsmen playing a long innings remained unfulfilled. Younis Khan became more settled after lunch, but fell to Moeen Ali attempting to go for a big shot as he was caught at the boundary.

Misbah-ul-Haq and Asad Shafiq then came together and had a short partnership, but it was just delaying the inevitable. Misbah's innings of 35 came to an abrupt end just before Tea as he inside-edged a full delivery from Woakes onto his stumps. Sarfraz didn't last long after Tea either, gloving one down the leg-side off Chris Woakes. Asad Shafiq was next, as he fell LBW to Anderson; it wasn't initially given out, but things continued going England's way as the review clearly showed he was plumb. Yasir Shah and Wahab Riaz put up some fight, but Yasir eventually succumbed LBW to Moeen Ali. Wahab Riaz's fight was also brought to an end by the golden arm of Joe Root, as he got caught going for a big sweep. The last wicket partnership irked England a bit more, before Mohammad Amir fell to Woakes for 29 after playing a few nice shots; Pakistan 234 all out. England won by 330 runs. 

Summary: A huge win for England, and one that may just hurt Pakistan's confidence going forward in this series. They'll have a few days to recover, mentally and physically with a tour game also in between before the Test at Edgbaston, but results of this magnitude can damage teams. Pakistan were thoroughly outplayed here and will need to reconsider their team combination. Joe Root's brilliance will need to be countered, otherwise England may well run away with the series. The only positive Pakistan may take from this match is the batting of the tailenders, as they put up a good fight in both innings. 

Fall of wickets:

1-7 (Shan Masood, 4.3 ov)
2-25 (Azhar Ali, 10.2 ov)
3-83 (Mohammad Hafeez, 25.3 ov)
4-102 (Younis Khan, 31.3 ov)
5-145 (Misbah-ul-Haq, 45.5 ov)
6-163 (Sarfraz Ahmed, 49.3 ov)
7-167 (Asad Shafiq, 50.2 ov)
8-190 (Yasir Shah, 58.4 ov)
9-208 (Wahab Riaz, 63.2 ov)
10-234 (Mohammad Amir, 70.3 ov)

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