Top 5 spells in England by Pakistani bowlers before Yasir Shah's match winning effort

Several Pakistani bowlers before Yasir Shah have had good outings when touring England

With Yasir Shah calling the shots at Lord’s and propelling his side to a famous win at Lord’s, the tourists are brimming with confidence leading up to the remainder of the series. Very few gave Pakistan a chance and the manner in which they bamboozled the English batsmen came as a huge surprise to the partisan crowd at the home of cricket.

But history has a different story to tell. Unbeknown to fans, there have been several instances of bowling bravado from the Pakistani stalwarts of the yesteryears when on tour in England.

Here, we take a look at five instances in Test match cricket where Pakistani bowlers stunned their English hosts with their famed pace and guile.

#5 Waqar Younis: 5/91 at Lord’s in June 1992

A stress fracture had kept Waqar Younis out of the 1992 World Cup in Australia. In the first Test at Edgbaston, he bowled gingerly while seemingly indicating that he was still healing. So it wasn’t surprising when Wasim Akram and Aaquib Javed opened the bowling at Lord’s in the second Test.

But Waqar, bowling first change, looked brisk from the word go. Shouldering the bulk of bowling responsibility, he sent down 21 overs – the most in the innings – and finished with 5/91. The fast-bowler accounted for the top order while allowing Akram and Mushtaq Ahmed to clean up the English tail.

Bowling the hosts out for 255 set Pakistan up for a thrilling run chase. His fine effort with the ball notwithstanding, Waqar returned with the bat in the second essay to team up with Wasim to close out the game for the tourists.