Spinner Shah ten-for seals thrilling Pakistan’s 75 runs victory over England , Yasir shah declared man of the match for ten wickets in the match. Salute to the trainers of Pakistan Army by Pakistani team with pushups is now the symbol of unity
By: Asghar Ali Mubarak
Spinner Shah ten-for seals thrilling Pakistan’s 75 runs victory over England Pakistan took a 1-0 lead in the series after beating England by 75 runs at Lord’s. That is the simple version but there were multitudes contained within as Misbah-ul-Haq’s irrepressible side took the ten wickets they required for victory on the fourth day, four of them going to the talismanic Yasir Shah on the way to match figures of 10 for 141 in his first Test match outside of Asia.
Set 283 to win after dismissing Pakistan inside the first ten minutes of the morning session, England’s batsmen struggled to build partnerships. Only when Jonny Bairstow and Chris Woakes were putting together a stand of 56 over 31.4 gruelling overs did Misbah have to seriously ponder where a wicket was coming from.
The breakthrough came from Yasir, although there was little sleight of hand about a long hop that Bairstow simply missed attempting to swat through the leg side. His distraught reaction, head bowed over his bat as the Pakistan players celebrated around him, provided an illustration of England’s disappointment.
Yasir’s tenth wicket practically sparked a playground bundle as Woakes was taken at slip trying to hit out with No. 10 Steven Finn for company and 79 still required. Mohammad Amir rattled Jake Ball’s stumps an over later to put the final seal on an emotional comeback six years after his previous Test appearance.
More to follow…
Tea England 272 and 155 for 6 (Bairstow 28*, Woakes 5*) need a further 128 runs to beat Pakistan 339 and 215 (Shafiq 49, Sarfraz 45, Woakes 5-32)
Three wickets from Rahat Ali before lunch and two more in the afternoon for Yasir Shah put Pakistan on course for victory in the Lord’s Test. Set 283 to win after dismissing Pakistan inside the first ten minutes of the morning session, England’s batsmen struggled to build partnerships against a constantly probing attack.
History was with the visitors: only once has a team made more in the fourth innings to win a Test at Lord’s. While Jonny Bairstow remained in the company of Chris Woakes – a man with nine first-class centuries, not to mention 11 wickets in the match – England could at least hope to induce some nerves in the evening.
This has been a gripping match, fought in excellent spirit and holding the attention of a packed crowd throughout. A sizeable contingent of Pakistan supporters cheered every wicket as their side pushed for a first Test triumph at Lord’s since Waqar Younis and Mushtaq Ahmed’s exploits in 1996.
England recovered from 47 for 3 through a partnership between James Vince and Gary Ballance that was worth 49 before the former was dismissed by Wahab Riaz, flinging his hands at a drive shortly after lunch. Wahab had begun to make the ball reverse away down the slope and a thick edge flew to Younis Khan at second slip, who this time held on to a juggling catch, has dropped a much tougher chance with Vince on 9.
Ballance, in the second innings of his comeback Test, seemed to grow in confidence, totting up runs with nudges and nurdles. He was vulnerable to Wahab’s probing outside off stump but generally played the ball softly and late, other than when slashing a four over the slips. He and Bairstow added another 39 runs in 13 overs of careful batting when Yasir, having changed to bowling from the Nursery End, struck for the first time.
The man identified as Pakistan’s likeliest match-winner had to wait until his 13th over but, for aficionados of legspin, it was undoubtedly worth it. Ballance had just pulled a sharply turning delivery through square leg for his sixth boundary; the next ball was a little fuller, spun a little harder down the slope and it darted like a swallow past Ballance’s attempted flick to hit leg stump. If the shot was questionable, the overall effect was reminiscent Shane Warne’s dismissal of Andrew Strauss at Edgbaston in 2005.
Moeen Ali did not last long, waltzing out of his ground and aiming a heave across the line at Yasir, only for the ball to spin between bat and pad to hit the top of middle. England was still less than halfway to their target; Pakistan were more than halfway to theirs.
England may have been primed to the threat posed by Yasir and Mohammad Amir but it was Rahat – a surprise inclusion in the XI for some – who gave Pakistan the early advantage. England lost their top three in little more than an hour of batting before Vince and Ballance fashioned a partnership to take them through to lunch.
Vince played a counterpunching innings, blocking out the chatter from the close catchers as Yasir began to wheel away, looking for the footmarks created by Pakistan’s left-arm seamers – Rahat was warned early on by the umpires for running on the pitch. Vince sliced a drive against Yasir that just cleared backward point before a forceful cut in the same over took him past his previous Test best of 35. His resolve, however, was broken by reverse swing.
After the third day’s play, Pakistan’s coach Mickey Arthur was hoping his side could “sneak another 19-20” more runs. They managed just a single from Amir as England took the last two wickets in 13 balls, though that was enough to push the requirement up above the 282 achieved by Michael Vaughan’s side against New Zealand in 2004. Stuart Broad picked up both, Yasir and Amir caught behind, to become the third England bowler to pass 350 Test wickets.
Adrenaline coursed through the first overs of England’s assault. Cook chopped the opening delivery for four through point as Amir and Rahat were wayward to begin with. England raced to 19 for 0 from three overs before hitting their first speed bump – Rahat found his line and found the tiniest contact with Cook’s outside edge, a kiss goodbye for the England captain who turned away ruefully as Kumar Dharmasena’s finger went up.
Joe Root also stroked his first ball to the boundary and Alex Hales had three fours to his name when he attempted to force a cut against Rahat. A thick top edge flew quickly to Mohammad Hafeez’s left at first slip, where he took a much harder catch than the one he dropped in England’s first innings.
Younis came close to pulling off a brilliant take to remove Vince, also off Rahat, the 38-year-old scooping the ball up inches above the turf diving to his right at second slip but unable to clasp the chance at the second attempt. Rahat bagged and tagged his third soon after, though, a misbegotten pull from Root sending a top edge out to the grateful Yasir, jogging to his right to take the catch some 20 yards in from the boundary at deep square leg. At the end special Salute were offered in solders style by Pakistani team to the trainers of Pakistan Army by with pushups the symbol of unity .Yasir shah declared man of the match for ten wickets in the match.
Pakistan 339 (Misbah 114, Shafiq 73, Woakes 6-70) and 215 (Shafiq 49, Sarfraz 45, Woakes 5-32) beat England 272 (Cook 81, Yasir 6-72) and 207 (Bairstow 48, Yasir 4-69, Rahat 3-47) by 75 runs.
