‘Ben Stokes and McCullum changing the way Test Cricket is to be played’- Fans overjoyed as England beat Pakistan at Rawalpindi
England took 1-0 lead in the Test series against beating Pakistan by 74 runs in the first match.
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Dec 5, 2022 5:57 pm
England vs Pakistan: (Image Source: Twitter)
Given how Pakistan and England batted in the first three days of the first Test match on a sluggish Rawalpindi track, it looked like the match would end in a draw. Riding on centuries from four English batters, England notched a mammoth score of 657 runs in the first innings. In reply, Pakistan too made the most of the great batting conditions and managed to score 579 runs in the second innings.
By the time the two innings were completed, three days had been completed. However, England had, earlier, set their intentions quite clear that they will go for the result and that did just that.
Ben Stokes and Co. came out to bat in their second innings with an aggressive mindset. The likes of Crawley, Root and Brook scored respective fifties as England notched 264 runs in their second innings in just 35.5 overs. With three wickets still in hand, England left everyone surprised by deciding to declare the innings.
Ben Stokes’ team set Pakistan a target of 343 runs to win the Test match. With four sessions still to play, suddenly everyone now were hoping for a result.
On the last session of day 4, England sent Shafique and Babar back to the hut early in their innings which meant Pakistan needed 263 more runs to win with 8 wickets in hand. In the first hour of the day, England bowled tight lengths and gave just 13 runs in 14 overs. But after that, Rizwan and Shakeel counter-attacked and added 86 runs in the next session.
With seven wickets in hand and 174 runs to get, fans backed Pakistan were hopeful of winning the Test. Anderson, however, broke the partnership in the 56th over in the form of Rizwan’s (46 off 92) wicket. A little later, Robinson put on an end to Shakeel’s (76) sensational knock, which brought England back into the game. England, at this stage, needed 5 wickets to win the Test match.
The likes of Azhar Ali (40) and Agha Salman (30) fought hard with the bat but Robinson was just too got today and Pakistan were, eventually, bundled out for 268 runs, thereby losing the match by 74 runs.
With that win, England now lead the series 1-0. The fans have been pretty impressed with England’s outstanding performance with the bat. Here’s a look at some of the notable reactions on Twitter:
Essentially, England have taken a game on a pitch designed for a dull batting draw and converted it into a thrilling test match. I am in awe of how England are playing test cricket
McCullum/Stokes changing the way test cricket is to be played. Courageous, fearless positive mindset gets them a win in Rawalpindi on the most docile surface. I don’t think any other team in world cricket would have rolled the dice like that.Bring on the Ashes next year.👏👏
Top win that! From rather dull and uninteresting to so very exciting because of the way this team has decided to play. Kudos. Big respect.#PAKvsENG#TestMatchCricket#Bazball
Well done to @benstokes38 for giving life to this test match on a batting paradise 👏🏽 Fortune favours the brave 🦾 #PAKvsENG@jimmy9 & Ollie superb… harry Brook unbelievable.
Still can't believe England got out a result on this absolutely dead pitch which hardly detoriated, with possibly 10 mins to end of play. It was Pakistan's match to lose and boy they did. #PAKvENG#EngvsPak#PakistanCricket
