Abdul Jabbar Faisal
RAWALPINDI: Determined England pacers, James Anderson (4 for 36) and Oille Robinson (4 for 50), restricted Pakistan to 268 in their second innings, as they were chasing 343 runs and they needed 263 runs on the last day of the Test match. Finally, England defeated Pakistan by 74 runs in the first Test match of the three-match Tie here at Pindi Cricket Stadium on Monday, as Pakistan needed 263 runs on the last day but they ended their journey at 268 runs total.
James Anderson (4 for 36), Oille Robinson (4 for 50) and skipper Ben Stoke (1 for 69) were the heroes for the English team, who demolished Pakistan's batting line, as only one batter Saud Shakeel could score a half century.
Pakistan top-order batters completely failed to stay on the pitch to reach the target. Imam-ul-Haq could score only 48 runs on a batting friendly track while injured Azhar Ali scored only 40 runs in 90 balls. Wicketkeeper bowler, Mohammad Rizwan showed some aggression and hit six four and two sixes for his 46 runs innings. Agha Salman contributed 30 runs.
Summarized Scorecard (Pindi Test):
Toss: England won and decided to bat
England Batting (First innings): 657 all out in 101 overs
Harry Brook (153 runs, 116 balls, 4x19, 6x5), Zak Crawley (122 runs, balls 111, 4x2, 6x0), Ollie Pope (108 runs, 104 balls, 4x14), Ben Duckett (107 runs, 110 balls, 4x15, 6X0), Joe Root (23 runs, 31 balls, 4x3, 6x0), Ben Stoke (41 runs, 18 balls, 4x6, 6x2)
Pakistan (Bowling):
Zahid Mehmood (4 for 235), Naseem Shah (3 for 140), Mohammad Ali (2 for 124), Haris Rauf (1 for 78)
Pakistan Batting (First innings): 579 all out in 155.3 136 overs
Babar Azam 136 (168 balls, 4x19, 6x1), Imam-ul-Haq 121 (207 balls, 4x15, 6x2), Abdullah Shafiq 114 (203 balls, 4x13, 6x3), Agha Salman 53 (67 balls, 4x7, 6x1) Saud Shakeel 37 (93 balls, 4x3), Mohammad Rizwan 29 (44 balls, 4x3), Azhar Ali 27 (48 balls, 4x5)
England (Bowling):
Will Jacks (6 for 161), Jack Leach (2 for 190), James Anderson (1 for 52), Ollie Robinson (1 for 72)
England Batting (Second Innings): Declared at 264 for 7 in 35.5 overs
Harry Brook 87 (65 balls, 4x11, 6x3), Joe Root 73 (69 balls, 4x6), Zak Crawley 50 (48 balls, 4x7), Wills Jack 24 (13 balls, 4x1, 6x3)
Pakistan Bowling:
Mohammad Ali (2 for 64), Naseem Shah (2 for 66), Zahid Mehmood (2 for 84) Agha Salman (1 for 47)
Pakistan Batting (Second Innings) Target 343
Saud Shakeel 76 (159 balls), Imam-ul-Haq 48 (77 balls, 4x8), Mohammad Rizwan 46 (92 balls, 4x6, 6x2), Azhar Ali 40 (81 balls, 4x4), Agha Salman 30 (64 balls, 4x4),
England Bowling:
James Anderson (4 for 36), Oille Robinson (4 for 50), Ben Stoke (1 for 69)
Pakistan (Playing XIs):
Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain & WK), Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Haris Rauf, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Ali, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Zahid Mehmood
England (Playing XIs):
Ben Stokes (c), Joe Root, James Anderson, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jack Leach, Liam Livingstone, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson
Schedule of Tests:
9-13 December – 2nd Test, Multan
17-21 December – 3rd Test, Karachi
