Player of the Match
Player of the Match

Match Centre

Statistics

Best performances - Batsmen

Azhar Ali
Azhar Ali
139(293) 15x4 - 1x6
Control %90%
  • Productive Shot
  • flick
  • 32 runs
  • 2x4 - 0x6
3 12 12 37 29 7 14 25
MM Ali
MM Ali
86(96) 10x4 - 2x6
Control %89%
  • Productive Shot
  • on drive
  • 17 runs
  • 1x4 - 2x6
3 8 11 12 14 19 7 12

Best performances - Bowlers

Sohail Khan
Sohail Khan
O23
M3
R96
W5
Eco4.17
RHB
OFFLEG
1W1W
2W
  • FTFULL TOSS
  • YYORKER
  • FFULL LENGTH
  • GGOOD LENGTH
  • SGSHORT OF GOOD LENGTH
  • SSHORT LENGTH
LHB
LEGOFF
1W
CR Woakes
CR Woakes
O30
M7
R79
W3
Eco2.63
RHB
OFFLEG
1W1W
  • FTFULL TOSS
  • YYORKER
  • FFULL LENGTH
  • GGOOD LENGTH
  • SGSHORT OF GOOD LENGTH
  • SSHORT LENGTH
LHB
LEGOFF
1W

Scorer: M Venkat Raghav | Commentator: Alagappan Muthu

5.25 pm After a nervous hour when Pakistan's tail frustrated them, after giving up a lead of over 100 runs in the first innings, England have come back to win by 141 runs in front of a wild crowd at Edgbaston. The players hug each other, they raise their hands to the crowd and then shake them with the opposition. Fine day of Test cricket, fine Test match all around.

Rahat Ali and Sohail Khan batted bravely for Pakistan when it would have been easy to give up the ghost. That only two of their specialist batsmen faced more balls than the Nos 10 and 11 tells you how the innings turned out. Reverse swing from the quicks and a fine spell from Moeen Ali in the second session robbed them. They had won more sessions in this Test, but England took the final session of the fourth day and the second session on this day with such authority that they have surged to a 2-1 lead with one more to play at the Oval

Ayush: "What's with teams gaining ground against England and then completely losing the plot? India did it, Australia did it, Pakistan are following suit. England seem to be really good at winning crucial battles in long Test series!"

Amaan: "Moeen Ali has been the star of the Show , the player who place in the side was in jeopardy"

Tom Williams: "So -- who does Stokes replace? Finn? Woakes? Vince??"

Presentations coming up. Misbah-ul-Haq "Overall it was going well until the third day when the game changed. We lost a couple of wickets, I was a bit unlucky, and Younis down the leg side, then the way the England openers played we didn't bowl very well and that hurt us. Full credit to England today, they really bowled well in that session. It changed the whole game. We have to send someone to England to learn how they reverse swing the ball [said with a smile]. Azhar's wicket was a confidence-boosted, if you are two down with a set batsman it could be mentally tough for them. They kept coming hard at us. We were really competitive, but a couple of bad sessions. Yesterday, the way Bairstow and Moeen played but us under pressure. Not having an allrounder has been a problem for a long time. It's way we've got. We've performed well with these bowlers. We will look at the next game to see how we can get the balance of the team right. Our bowlers need to score some runs - after Sohail and Rahat played like that maybe we can play another bowler. Sami and Azhar played really well, it was tough. Impressed with Sami's temperament, his discipline. It's good news for Pakistan."

Alastair Cook "It's right up there. We were behind, hanging in there, for most of the game. We fought really. At the end of day two it was look a bit ropey. We batted really well in the third innings. I thought we'd get a couple more chances [against Sohail and Rahat] but it was getting a bit tight. It just reversed enough. Once bowlers get that with the skills they have it's very hard. After lunch, the way Moeen bowled, he tested their technique and bowled fantastically well after being under pressure. We are lucky that a couple of our bowlers bat. The guys can run in for five-six overs spells. I thought the way we bowled on a flat wicket on day two we kept ourselves in the game. We kept hammering away, then to wipe out the deficit was massive for us. Pakistan bowled really well day four, but we earned the right. We've managed to combat Yasir, nice to see him get two or three wickets rather than 11."

Man of the match is Moeen Ali "This could have done to a number of guys. I just tried to play the situation, didn't think about it too much. I feel like I prepared well before the game. Pakistan bowled really well yesterday, then it just kind of happened that I played so freely. I was embarrassed after Lord's so happy with the way I'm playing. The breeze was very nice today, to get that wicket was nice. I'm lucky I have four brilliant seamers with me."

Well, what a Test match. England lead 2-1 going to the final game at The Oval. They can't lose the series, but Pakistan can level things up. We'll be back to bring you all the action from Thursday but, for now, from Andrew McGlashan, Andrew Miller and Alagappan Muthu it's goodbye and thanks for joining us.

70.5
W
Ali to Sohail Khan, OUT, done him! Moeen Ali takes the wicket that gives England at 2-1 lead! He tossed the ball up, Sohail races down the pitch to meet it. Hits it back to the bowler and he takes a good low catch.

Sohail Khan c & b Ali 36 (62m 37b 7x4 0x6) SR: 97.29

70.4
0
Ali to Sohail Khan, no run, nails the extra cover drive, but he also nails the silly point fielder!
70.3
2
Ali to Sohail Khan, 2 runs, a little better there, Sohail defends without pushing at the ball, gets an outside edge that runs away past the slips. That's the fifty partnership for Pakistan's final wicket
70.2
0
Ali to Sohail Khan, no run, reaches out to block a straight ball outside off, doesn't get to it. Beautiful bowling from Moeen, held it back and got it to drift away
70.1
0
Ali to Sohail Khan, no run, stays beside the ball and goes for an extra cover smear. Ends up with an inside edge onto pad

Moeen continues.

Ghulam Murtaza: "If only the middle order had shown some resistance...Sigh!"

END OF OVER:
70 | 9 Runs | PAK: 199/9

  • Rahat Ali15 (35b)
  • Sohail Khan34 (32b)
  • Steven Finn13-5-38-2
  • Moeen Ali17-4-47-1
69.6
0
Finn to Rahat Ali, no run, slashes outside off.... but there's no bat! Tension rises. The overs don't. England have 14 of them now

Three slips, gully, leg gully and short leg watching on. No long stop now

Splendid comeback

0

No. of Tests won by England against Pakistan after facing a higher deficit than the 103 runs in this Test.

Quick wickets

23

No. of balls in which Pakistan lost their 4 wickets (4th to 7th) - Misbah, Shafiq, Sarfraz, Sami. The four wickets added just one run combined.

Young Sami Aslam

0

No. of Pakistan openers who made 2 50+ scores in a Test at a younger age than Sami Aslam (20 y, 235d). He is overall the fifth youngest opener to do so.

fourth-innings specialist

59.17

Younis Khan's ave in the 4th inns of Tests, before this - highest among 27 batsmen with 1000+ runs in 4th inns. However, his ave in 4th inns outside Asia is 41.71.

Hafeez outside Asia

20.09

Hafeez's ave in Tests outside Asia - lowest for any opener with 25 or more Test innings, including non-subcontinent openers.

Can Pakistan survive?

3

No. of times the teams have batted more than 80 overs in the 4th inns at Edgbaston. Pakistan needs 343 runs in 84 overs.

Safe target?

2-8

Win-loss by the teams chasing targets of 200+ in Tests at Edgbaston, in 16 occasions. SA, though, chased 281 when last time target of 200+ was set, in 2008.

Bairstow at top

777

Previous most Test runs by an England wicketkeeper in a calendar year, by Matt Prior (2012). Bairstow has gone past that mark in the second inns of this Test.

No big score yet

9

No. of inns Vince has played in Tests, but hasn't yet scored a fifty. He has got out for 42 twice, in 30s twice and only two single-digit scores.

Top-three show

2002

Last time England's top-3 scored 50 or more in their 2nd inns of a home Test, before this - vs SL, Lord's. This is only their 6th such instance at home

First in a decade

2006

The last time both England openers passed 50 in a Test innings v Pakistan - Strauss and Trescothick, at Headingley in August 2006

Century stand at last

37

Attempts without a century stand in the second innings for England in Tests. The last one before today was in March 2013 - 231 between Compton-Cook

A healthy lead

9

Instances of Pakistan taking 100+ 1st-innings lead v England in England, before this Test. They have won 4 and drawn 4, with 1 forfeiture