ICC World Test Championship points table (updated) as on 18th August 2020
The rain-marred ICC World Test Championship match between England and Pakistan ended in a draw last evening. Pakistan's wicket-keeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan played a brilliant innings of 72 runs for his team, which was the only highlight of the game.
The visitors posted a total of 236 runs on the board in the first innings. Last match's hero Shan Masood lost his wicket in the third over as James Anderson trapped him in front of his stumps.
Masood's opening partner Abid Ali scored 60 runs off 111 deliveries, while Babar Azam backed him up with a patient knock of 47 runs.
Pakistan suffered a mini-collapse after crossing the 100-run mark as the English pace attack, led by Stuart Broad, reduced them from 102/2 to 176/8.
Rizwan then stitched good partnerships for the ninth and tenth wicket with Mohammad Abbas and Naseem Shah, respectively. The last two wickets added 60 runs to Pakistan's total before Broad dismissed Pakistan's young wicket-keeper batsman to complete his four-wicket haul.
In reply, England lost Rory Burns on the fourth ball of their innings. The constant rain breaks ensured that none of the teams would win the match, and ultimately, the home team declared their innings at 110/4 as Joe Root shook hands with Azhar Ali.
Zak Crawley's 99-ball 53 was the most significant positive for England from this Test match.
Rain dominated the second Test between England and Pakistan, meaning that the spoils and indeed a few ICC World Test Championship points were shared among the pair.
Here's how the ICC World Test Championship points table looks after the stalemate.
ICC World Test Championship updated points table
England had a chance to overtake Australia perch themselves in the top 2. However, they could only earn 13 points from this game and now need 18 more points to surpass Australia's tally of 296 points.
On the other had, Pakistan has inched closer to New Zealand. A win in the final ICC World Test Championship match could help them sneak into the top 4, replacing the Black Caps in the process.
The third Test between England and Pakistan is slated to begin on 21st August at the Ageas Bowl, with the hosts leading the series 1-0.