England captain Ben Stokes’ boldness pays off as side seal famous fifth-day win over Pakistan in Rawalpindi | Cricket News

Ben Stokes was rewarded for his bold declarations, attacking pitches and tactical brilliance as England completed an epic 74-run victory over Pakistan in the final session of the first Test in Rawalpindi to claim one of the world’s greatest victories.

Jack Leach trapped Naseem Shah (6) lbw at slip as Pakistan were bowled out for 268 and Stokes became only the third England captain, after Ted Dexter in 1961 and Nasser Hussain in 2000, to win a Test for the country.

Stokes had announced at tea on the fourth day, dangling the carrot to Pakistan by giving them four runs to score 343 in a very quiet environment, hoping that the chance to win would boost their hosts and give England a good chance of 10 wickets.

Pakistan were favorites at tea on the fifth day, having turned their overnight 80-2 into 257-5 and needing just 86 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series ahead of Friday’s second Test in Multan.

But Ollie Robinson (4-50) opened for England by dismissing batsmen Agha Salman (30) and Azhar Ali (40) – a six-wicket haul of 61 – from back-to-back games with the old ball, which Stokes endured despite the new one.

Wicketkeeper Ollie Pope then took a stunning catch from James Anderson (4-36) to remove Zahid Mahmood (1), before Anderson left Haris Rauf (0) lbw two deliveries later in a double-wicket maiden to leave Pakistan. nine down and England on the edge.

Friday 9 December 4:30 am

Naseem and Mohammad Ali (0) troubled England for nine overs, with Naseem slotting Stokes between Pope and bowler Joe Root, but Leach finally got the ball out with the new ball as Stokes’ side registered a stunning victory. and their seventh win in eight Tests under his leadership.

England’s win was led by Leach but Stokes, who deserves a lot of credit for taking the risk to deliver the victory, with his excellent leadership and his team’s formidable batting throughout the Test ensured that both teams had a shot at glory. on the last day.

Anderson will bat at the start of the Pakistan series in Rawalpindi

England took two wickets in the fourth over – Abdullah Shafique (6) and Babar Azam (4) off balls from Robinson and Stokes respectively – and would have had a third if substitute Keaton Jennings managed to bowl Saud Shakeel (76) at short leg in the 22nd over. on the bowling of left-arm spinner Leach.

Shakeel capped the comeback by scoring a Test fifty, sharing a fourth-wicket stand of 87 with Mohammad Rizwan (46) from 89-3 after Anderson had Imam-ul-Haq (48) bowled down the leg side. and Pope in the first hour that brought only 13 visits.

Pakistan were 93-3 at the drink, with Rizwan not out on 23, but the tempo changed once the first over, when Rizwan smashed Will Jacks for four after the break.

Rizwan continued to target Jacks, Leach and Root – hitting a six in the middle of the boundary before lunch – while Shakeel resumed the opening, bringing up his fifty from 104 balls and removing four from Leach.

Stokes was always in the game as captain, lifting his team and persevering with aggressive fields, but he was not seen with the ball until just after lunch when Pakistan resumed on 169-3, needing another 174 runs to win.

Stokes promotes England as a famous success

It was fellow seamer Anderson who did well, forcing Rizwan to bowl the ball down the track outside Pope, and England bounced back when Jennings redeemed Shakeel late on Sunday night by picking him up at short cover on Monday afternoon. , in Robinson.

Azhar and Salman frustrated England while Stokes, Robinson and Anderson got another change – Stokes went through an 11-over spell – with both batsmen being beaten on the edge and seeing duckers looking for pads and stumps.

It was Leach’s curve that came close to producing another wicket but following the ball he said his delivery to Salman would have bounced off the stumps so the lbw decision was ruled out, with Pope dropping Azhar to Robinson’s side at the end. before we started drinking tea, the guests’ heads would have fallen.

Stokes was having none of it, chatting with his team on the field before going to the break to remind them that they can force a positive result and be rewarded for their decision not to bring in a new Kookaburra, and his use of it. the DRS, as Robinson trapped Salman leg earlier in the review.

Robinson then forced Azhar to whip Root over his next leg, before the tail, unlike England as the visitors recorded their first Test in Pakistan since 2005 with a win – which Stokes reinforced with his words about making the longest form a spectator and not playing a pull.

What he said

England captain Ben Stokes

“One thing we try to do is think about ourselves, not the opposition. We know that we are a very exciting team and we are very successful, so it was a real opportunity for the strikers.

“We’ve had broken bodies after that. It’s amazing to see the amount of passion and heart the guys have shown. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a group of players put their bodies on the line. [as much].”

Pakistan captain Babar Azam

“We start with bowling, but we are not up to par. After that, we try to raise our score in the first innings. I think in the second innings, we had a chance to win the game.

“We expected to announce, and we had a plan. But I think we have a chance to win, but we lost wickets and we didn’t make a deal.”

Sportsman Ollie Robinson

“I think the play was not in favor of our seamers, but we got the ball, and we worked hard today. Every man left nothing, and it was very difficult.

“We had to be patient, we knew if we could hit fresh we could have a good chance. We knew it would be difficult, but we persevered. The batsmen gave us a chance.”

What’s next?

The second test is held in Multan from Friday (build-up starts at 4.30am on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event ahead of first ball at 5am) with Pakistan looking to clinch the game ahead of the final in Karachi from December 17, also available on Sky Sports.