Pakistan started the fifth and final day of the match on 80-2 with a target of 343, but Ollie Robinson and James Anderson grabbed four wickets each to end the game in defeat for the home team.
Fast bowlers Ollie Robinson and James Anderson got four wickets apiece as England pulled off a dramatic 74-run win over Pakistan Monday in the first Test in Rawalpindi. With the day fading and the stadium floodlights shining, Anderson took 4-36 and Robinson took 4-50 to bowl out Pakistan for 268. Naseem Shah (six) and Mohammad Ali (naught) were the last batsmen for Pakistan, and they fought England for 35 minutes and 8.5 overs before being dismissed by spinner Jack Leach (leg-before). With the victory, England took a commanding 1-0 lead in the three-Test series, and the country’s recently adopted “Baseball” cricket (named after coach Brendon McCullum’s nickname) received a boost in popularity.
Ben Stokes, the captain, was also quite busy during the day, putting constant pressure on the Pakistani hitters with tight fields and strategic bowling changes.
He called it a “special” triumph because they probably only had 10 minutes left to secure it before bad light was called.
Stokes regarded the victory as “perhaps up there with one of England’s greatest away wins.”
As one of our members put it, “This week we’ve accomplished something truly remarkable.”
This is England’s sixth victory in eight Tests since McCullum and Stokes took over as captains in May.
Pakistan was able to win after being set a goal of 343 runs to do it in 130 overs.
For a while, Pakistan had its opportunity.
At tea, Pakistan was 257-5 — need 86 runs to win in an entertaining concluding session.
It took England until the fourth over after the break, when Robinson trapped Agha Salman leg-before for 30, to get the fifth wicket they required.
In his next over he claimed Azhar Ali for 40 to push England close to victory.
There were four dismissals for a total of seven runs, and two of them came in the same over when Anderson got rid of Zahid Mahmood (one) and Haris Rauf (zero).
The situation eventually reached the point of extreme tension, with everyone chewing their nails as they waited for Leach to finally eliminate Naseem.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam said after the match, “We are upset as a team.”
“At lunch, we were optimistic that we could win, but credit to England on their brilliant effort.”
England scored 657 runs and Pakistan scored 579 runs in their first innings, for a combined total of 1,236 runs, before the tourists ignited the Test by declaring their second innings at 264-7 on Sunday.
Pakistan batted cautiously in the opening session, raising their overnight total from 80-2 to 169-3, despite losing opener Imam-ul-Haq for 48 to bowler Anderson.
In the second session, Mohammad Rizwan was one of just two wickets to fall, for 46. He and Saud Shakeel, who scored 76, had put up a valiant 87-run fourth-wicket stand.
Anderson dismissed Rizwan lbw in the fourth over after lunch, and Robinson sent back Shakeel thanks to an outstanding catch by replacement fielder Keaton Jennings at short cover.
After declining to travel to Pakistan in the years prior to this one due to safety concerns, England has finally returned for a Test series.
The second Test will take place in Multan, Pakistan, from December 9-13, while the third will be held in Karachi, Pakistan, from December 17-21.
