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And that's that! Five days ago, there was uncertainty over the scheduled start of this Test. A couple of days later, there was close to near certainty among conjecture that this will peter out into a tame draw. We didn't expect it to play out the way it did eventually but if anything, this has set things up for a fascinating couple of Tests in the rest of the tour with England taking the bull by the horns and Pakistan having to play catch up. The Multan Test begins on Friday (December 9) and we'll be here again to bring you all the action from that contest on Sportskeeda. In the meantime, do keep yourselves updated with further cricketing news and action from around the globe on this very platform. For the moment though, thanking you for joining us right through the course of this Test on behalf of the entire team here at Sportskeeda is the duo of Raghav Tikmany and Sooryanarayanan Sesha. See you around soon - goodbye for now!
It was a bold declaration at Tea on Day 4 but England, under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, have walked the talk. They picked a questionable bowling combination on a dead surface and had to toil hard but they made it count. And they've produced the result they were after to take the series lead and make a statement. This will be talked about in English cricketing history for a long, long time. Make no mistake about that. Talk about producing a result after the most entertaining moments in the contest at one stage was Joe Root shining the ball on Jack Leach's head. Or Root himself switching to a left-hander's stance while taking guard. This was something special from England!
As for Pakistan, they will rue what could have been a famous victory of their own. Not often does a team concede 657 and end up winning a Test match and as Babar Azam mentioned, they had a great opportunity to do so. But alas, they succumbed to the pressure and have lost yet another Test this year, leaving their chances of making the World Test Championship in serious jeopardy. In the immediate context, there is plenty of work to do in order to keep this series alive as the caravan now moves to Multan.
Ben Stokes (England Captain): There were a few things you can plan for. But some of the things, you can't plan for. That seems a long time ago, when we were running around (on the eve of the Test with the viral bug). But I've got to give the seamers a lot of credit for turning up. We've played 8 or 9 Tests with myself and Brendon in charge. One thing we focus on is ourselves and not the oppostion. We're trying to not second guess ourselves. We're a very exciting team. It was a real opportunity for the talent we've got to go express ourselves. Jimmy is what 48 now (laughs). As a captain it's amazing to see the amount of enthusiasm and heart that we're seeing in the team. Keaton Jennings coming out and fielding with Liam Livingstone unfortunately picling up injury. One thing I like to see is the players putting their body on the lines. We wanted to come to Pakistan and carry on our mantra of exciting cricket and give ourselves the best chance of winning the Test. I'm not interested in playing for draws. Nobody in the dressing room is interested in playing for draws. We always look for the positive option. On wickets like this you've got to make things happen. You've got to make rash and bold decisions with your field placements. Today we were very fortunate that we got the ball to reverse swing. That played dividends - James Anderson and Ollie Robinson were fantastic today. I told the lads at Lunch that this is why we want to play. It's a great place to be and personally it may be up there with one of England's famous Test match wins. Pretty lost for words. Jimmy Anderson feeling emotional in the dressing room - having a guy who has played close to 180 Test matches feel that way is pretty special.
Babar Azam (Pakistan Captain): Yes, we were not up to the mark with the ball. After conceding 600 odd, we had to change our plans. I think our bowling is very young, Rauf's injury was a big blow. Full credit to the unit for giving their all despite a man short. It was difficult as a captain when the opponent was scoring 7 runs per over. We had planned according to the situations for the run chase, we were ahead at some point on the final day but we didn't get the partnerships going towards the end. The batting effort was one of the few positives, I think the batters did a great job.
Player of the Match, Ollie Robinson: Yeah the pitch wasn't good for us seamers but we managed to get going. I think we need to be patient, take our chances when the reverse swing is on offer. The batters gave us the opportunity by getting those runs quickly and it was our job to get the wickets. Possibly the best match I have played to date, playing in Pakistan on this difficult surface.
Match Summary: England beat Pakistan by 74 runs to go 1-0 up in the series!
Saud Shakeel 76 (159) | James Anderson 4/36 (24)
It didn't look like a possibility at the end of Day 1. It most certainly didn't at the end of Day 2. Not with Pakistan batting with ease on a benign surface and light taking effect every evening. But for all the hype around Bazball and a refreshing brand of cricket that England have come out playing Test cricket with, they have walked the talk to script an unbelievable victory on overseas soil! That too, after there was a cloud over the scheduled start of play after a viral bug affected the visitors' camp.
All three results were possible at the start of the final day but when England smashed records for fun on the opening day of this contest, racking up well in excess of 500 on a deck as flat as the national highways in Pakistan, a tame draw is what many expected the contest to peter out into. Mind you, England looked like getting something in excess of 850 with the rate at which they were going but had to settle for 657 (yes, settle for 657) not too far away from Lunch on Day 2. With Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq getting through to the end of the day at 181/0, it seemed clear that this pitch would not break too easily.
Liam Livingstone was picked to bat at number 8 but an injury saw him not have a bowl in the contest. If not for Ben Foakes' not turning up well owing to the bug, Will Jacks wouldn't have got his Test cap yet and ended with a six-fer in the process. There were as many as seven centuries scored - Shafique, Imam and Babar Azam did the needful for Pakistan, while Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope and Harry Brook were the corresponding protagonists for the visitors.
England took a lead of 78 in the first essay and activated Bazball yet again. So much so, that Joe Root even fancied his arm at batting left-handed, just signifying how there was little to nothing to work with for a bowler. Yet, they managed to find a way out and took the extra aggressive route by declaring with a 342-run lead to make a game out of it. It was bold, but one wondered if it tipped the line of being a tad too bold. Stokes and Co. were clear though - they weren't here to muck around for a draw.
Having said that, the result was within Pakistan's reach as well. Despite Azhar Ali retiring hurt and Babar not stepping up in the last innings, they had enough ammunition to get the job done. Yet, an extremely sedate start on the final morning meant that they took the safe route of saving the Test first. That, even if in hindsight, backfired once England's seamers put in a reverse-swinging masterclass post Tea, although Agha Salman and Azhar, who returned to resume his innings, kept all results wide open ahead of the last session.
England were proactive with their field placements and had men breathing down the batters' necks all through this contest. Not once did they let the game meander along and that is why they are the last men standing atop the pile at the end of these five days. Azhar's wicket was the final nail in the coffin with Stokes' unique fields, coupled with the guile and mastery of Anderson and Robinson, doing the needful. All eyes were on the light as Naseem Shah and Mohammad Ali hung around to defy the visitors but it was an arm ball from Jack Leach that brought the curtains down on a Test that will be talked about for a long time for various reasons. Stick around for the presentation folks...
That looked stone dead! Naseem has to review of course but this could be the Test match. No bat on it. England just need an Umpire's Call here...the Barmy Army is cheering in anticipation...and three reds it is! England have scripted a famous victory on a dull surface in Rawalpindi! They win by 74 runs to go 1-0 up in the series!
96.3 Jack Leach to Naseem Shah, OUT! Naseem reviews. The arm ball does the trick for Leach. Length delivery on off-middle, Naseem expected some turn but the ball kept straight, beat his defence and struck the pads.
The ultraedge confirms that no bat was involved. Pitching in line, impact in line and the wickets are hitting! England win! Naseem Shah lbw b Jack Leach 6 (46b, 1x4, 0x6)
96.2 Jack Leach to Naseem Shah, on length and outside off, Naseem lets it pass
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Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium
