1st Test Played at Old Trafford, Manchester from 5-8 August 2020

Brief scorecard at stumps on Day-4

Pakistan  1st Innings:  326 All Out  in 109.3  (Shan Masood156, Babar Azam 69, Shan Shadab Khan  45, Abid Ali 16, SCJ Broad 3/56, JC Archer 3/59 CR Woakes 2/43) and Pakistan 2nd Innings 169 All Out In 46.4 Overs. (Yasir Shah 33,  Asad Shafique 29, Mohammad Rizwan 27, Abid Ali 20, Azhar Ali 18, Stuart Broad 3/37, BA Stokes 2/11, C Woakes 2/11)

England 1st Innings 219 All out in 70.3 Overs (Olie Pope 62, Jos Buttler 4/38, Yasir Shah 4/ 66, Shadab Khan 2/13, Abbas 2/33, Nasim Shah 1/44, Shahin Shah Afridi 1/51) and England 2nd Innings 277/7 in 82.1 Over ( Chris Woakes 84*, Jos Buttler 75, Je Root 42, Yasir Shah 4/ 99)

England won by 3 wickets

In a test match of fluctuating fortune England holding their nerves at critical stages won the historic match by 3 wickets.

Set for scoring  275 runs on a dry 4th day wicket and pitted against top quality bowling attack comprising of three quality bowlers – two express and one mover including two leg spinners England batted out of their skins. From a hopeless situation losing 5 wickets for 117, last recognized batting pair Jos Buttler and Chris Waokes counter attacked Pakistan bowlers. Adding brilliant 139 runs for the sixth wicket they won the match by 3 wickets for England.

What a test match. Every session every day the match fate kept swinging from end to end. Test cricket is truly Unpredictable. Unbelievable. Intense. Intoxicating.

Pakistan started day four at 137/7 in the second innings. Experts predicted that if the tail-enders can add 20-30 runs that would put Pakistan firmly on the drivers seat. Yasir Shah inspired tail added 32 in no time. England was set a difficult task to chase.

Wicket surprisingly lost some venom. Yet Pakistan bowled brilliantly. At one stage Burns, Sibley, Roots, Stokes and Pope, the cream of English batting were gone for 117 on board. Even the staunched of English supporters did not believe England would win from there. But with back to wall Buttler and Woakes counter attacked. Perhaps Pakistan made a strategic mistake. Pakistan pacers should have targeted Woakes with occasional bouncers. But there were hardly any. How brilliantly the pair batted taking the team close to the target when Buttler was trapped in front by Yasir at 75. That was away too late. England raced to the target losing off course Broad also on the way.

Very few times a team loses a test in such a manner after dominating the match through 75-80% duration of it. Pakistan really batted very poorly in their second innings.

Anyway series is only one test old. England has nose in front. But the way England got up from the mat and knocked out Pakistan must give them a shot in the arm. Hope young Pakistan bowlers would learn. Hope Waqar Yunus would tutor his pacers varying lengths and using occasional bouncers to rattle batsmen.

Shan Masood and Babar batted superbly in the first Innings. All bowlers bowled well. Fielding improved remarkably.  Hope Pakistan would learn lessons and prove competitive in the remaining two tests.

BDST: 1226 HRS, AUG 09, 2020

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