Rawalpindi, Dec 6 (BNA): England secured one of their most memorable Test victories on Monday when Ben Stokes and his men beat Pakistan by 74 runs in the fading light on day five of a high-scoring opening series in Rawalpindi.
Barely 10 minutes before the scheduled last session ended, Jack Leach dismissed Naseem Shah to give England victory after Stokes on Sunday boldly declared Pakistan’s target of 343.
The game had threatened to become an endless running contest on a docile course that yielded seven hundreds in the space of three days, and the 1,768 runs scored in the match is the third-highest total in the history of Test cricket.
But Ollie Robinson (4-36) and James Anderson (4-50) produced reverse swing master classes for England to devastate Pakistan, who pulled out for 268.
“It’s a great place to be in, and I think it’s up there with one of England’s greatest away wins,” Stokes said after the win.
Jimmy Anderson said he was feeling very emotional as he tried to keep himself together.
“Having a guy who’s played nearly 180 Test matches to feel this way at the end of this, I think we’ve achieved something very special this week.”
Remarkably, England have struggled to field a team after a virus swept through their camp and forced them to realign their starting line-up.
Pakistan, who made their four-man debut in the match, could not be blamed for their efforts.
They resumed the match with a score of 80-2 at the start of the last day, and lost the opening match to Imam Al-Haq (48) early, but Muhammad Radwan (46) and Saud Shakeel (76) counterattacked to keep them in the match.
Even after they left, the excitement ran high as both sides entered the final tournament with a reasonable chance of victory – Pakistan needing 86 runs and England needing five wickets.
Azhar Ali (40), who retired from an injured index finger on Sunday, is back to continue fighting alongside Agha Salman (30).
But Robinson, man of the match, eventually dismissed both in successive innings to put England on the brink of victory.
Muhammad Ali who faced 26 balls and finished unbeaten without scoring, but Nasim refused to throw in the towel.
With the light fading quickly, England became wary and both Stokes and Robinson were seen running to their bowling mark for the next deliveries.
The Pakistani motorists were surrounded by a group of England players, who did not flinch despite being hailed by guards.
In the end it was Leitch’s left arm spin that sealed the deal but England couldn’t celebrate right away.
Nasim reviewed the decision, after it was ruled lbw, and the English players stood anxiously awaiting the result before they exploded with joy after replays confirmed that the ball was going to hit the leg of the leg.
“We were not up to the target,” said Pakistani captain Babar Azam. “We had a golden opportunity to win this Test, but we kept losing wickets in session after session.”
The second Test of the three-match series begins in Multan on Friday.
SM