Pakistan 201 all out after being set target of 343.

By Abdullah Ansari (7th August, 2016)

Toss: Pakistan won the toss, Misbah-ul-Haq chose to bowl first.

Teams

Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez, Sami Aslam, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Yasir Shah, Mohammad Amir, Sohail Khan, Rahat Ali.

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

Pakistan started the day well behind, and it showed in the very first over of the morning, as Moeen took Yasir apart, hitting him for 20 runs. Misbah realised that the spinner was under immense pressure, and brought on the pacers. Sohail Khan dismissed Bairstow LBW, and England played for a couple of overs before declaring at 445/6, leaving Pakistan 343 to win; Moeen finished on 86*.

Pakistan started nervously as ever, with Hafeez soon perishing as he just lofted a short delivery down the throat of deep backward square-leg off Broad, meaning that the opener contributed just 2 runs in the match. Aslam and Azhar once again looked comfortable, and scored runs at a good pace, bringing up a fifty partnership in just 11 overs. The scoring rate slowed down after that, but Pakistan went into Lunch just one wicket down.

England came out after Lunch with a lot more purpose, bowling very tightly and taking care of the ball well, as it started to offer something for the bowlers. Moeen got some good drift, and it soon accounted for Azhar Ali who drove away from his body loosely, getting caught in the slips. Aslam continued on his way, but Younis couldn't survive for long as he edged a good delivery off Anderson, getting caught behind. Misbah-ul-Haq came and steadied the innings for a bit as Aslam played a few shots to try and relieve the pressure.

However, the ball started reverse-swinging with England bowling exceedingly well, getting the crowd behind them as well. Finn came on and made the big breakthrough, as Misbah fell, caught behind. That started a slide of 4 wickets falling for one run. Shafiq was the next to fall, plumb LBW to Woakes to a straight delivery. Sarfraz also edged one to the slips, and then Sami Aslam finally perished after making an excellent 70, leaving one alone which swung in to take the top of off-stump. England took the extra 15 mins in the afternoon session, but Amir and Yasir stood firm. However, Yasir fell to Anderson straight after Tea. Mohammad Amir feel soon after, driving a ball uppishly to point off Broad. Sohail Khan and Rahat Ali came together and frustrated the England bowlers, combining for 11 overs and 50 runs before Sohail finally perished for 36, Pakistan all out for 201. England won by 141 runs to take a 2-1 lead in the series.

Summary: An excellent comeback by England, winning after Pakistan took a 100+ run lead in the first innings. Everyone contributed with the bat in the second innings and the home side planned it well, realising that they could grind down the bowlers and then take advantage of them when they were tired. Pakistan were in the match for large parts of the game, but England showed their mettle by coming back and then bowled excellently in the post-lunch session on Day 5 to trigger Pakistan's collapse. All is not lost for Pakistan, as a win at The Oval will draw the series which would be a commendable effort, but the tourists will rue the way they lost control of the game. They could have gotten a bigger lead in the first innings, and the evening sessions on Day 3 and 4 also proved very costly, ultimately.

Fall of wickets:

6-434 (Bairstow, 126.2 ov)

1-6 (Mohammad Hafeez, 5.5 ov)
2-79 (Azhar Ali, 30.3 ov)
3-92 (Younis Khan, 37.4 ov)
4-124 (Misbah-ul-Haq, 47.5 ov)
5-125 (Asad Shafiq, 48.6 ov)
6-125 (Sarfraz Ahmed, 50.5 ov)
7-125 (Sami Aslam, 51.3 ov)
8-149 (Yasir Shah, 56.5 ov)
9-151 (Mohammad Amir, 59.4 ov)
10-201 (Sohail Khan, 70.5 ov)

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