England clinched the 74-run victory in the first Test against Pakistan at Rawalpindi with only a few minutes left in the fifth day, with Jack Leach pinning Naseem Shah. James Anderson and Ollie Robinson were the heroes on the final day, picking four scalps each.
When England captain Ben Stokes declared their second innings after lunch on the fourth day, with Pakistan getting about 100 overs to chase down 343, the cricketing world called him foolish. England’s ultra-aggressive approach was heavily criticised as some predicted the Bazball is about to burst in their face.
So when Jack Leach pinned Naseem Shah with lights fading quickly and only about 10 minutes left in the day’s play, the victory was one of for ages. The 74-run victory, on a pitch where bowlers had to grind out to find wickets, will go down as one of the greatest Test victories in English cricket. Even James Anderson believes he had never been part of anything like this.
For the first three and a half days, the match looked like a certain draw but Stokes’ early declaration meant the result was highly possible. Pakistan, who are fighting for a top-two spot in the World Test Championship, had a golden opportunity to claim 12 points. And they were pretty much on course.
Having lost first innings centurions Abdullah Shafique and Babar Azam on the previous evening, Pakistan lost Imam-ul-Haq in the sixth over of the final day. Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan then batted brilliantly to add 87 runs between them. And when it looked like Pakistan were in a strong position, the veteran English pacer Jimmy Anderson produced the nick off Rizwan with a magnificent display of reverse swing bowling.
Ollie Robinson was extremely crucial in England’s victory as well. He removed Saud Shakeel on 78 when the batter looked composed throughout the innings. Agha Salman and Azhar Ali then kept Pakistan in the hunt with a 61-run partnership before Robinson removed them in a span of six balls.
Zahid Mahmood showed some resistance but could not last long as Anderson sent him and Haris Rauf back in the same over. Naseem and Mohammad Ali kept defending, even had one reprieve, and they frustrated England for more than half hour, batting out more than eight overs before Leach managed to get the last wicket.
Earlier, England posted a massive 657 in the first innings on the back of centuries each from Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope and Ben Duckett. Pakistan made 579 in response with Imam, Shafique and Azam registering individual centuries. The visitors then batted with even more aggression in the second innings, with Brook smashing 87 off just 65 and Joe Root adding 73 off 69 before they declared on 264/7.
On a pitch where runs were being scored for fun, Robinson was awarded the player of the match for his impactful bowling effort of 4 for 50 in the fourth innings.
Brief scores
England 1st inns – 657 (Brook 153, Crawley 122, Pope 108, Duckett 107; Mahmood 4/235)
Pakistan 1st inns – 579 (Azam 136, Imam 121, Shafique 114; Jacks 6/161)
England 2nd inns – 264 for 7 dec (Brook 87, Root 73, Crawley 50)
Pakistan 2nd inns – 268 (Shakeel 76, Imam 48; Anderson 4/36, Robinson 4/50)
