1st Test, Rawalpindi, December 01, 2022, 10:30 AM
England
657/10(101.0ov) & 264/7(35.5ov)
Pakistan
579/10(155.3ov) & 268/10(96.3ov)
England beat Pakistan by 74 runs
Best Batsmen
R
B
4S
6S
SR
Best Bowler
O
R
W
Econ
Man of the Match
Ollie Robinson
Commentry
That is it from this game. Test cricket at its best again. These two meet again for the 2nd Test on 9th December. Do join us at 1030 IST (0500 GMT). Join us earlier for the build up. Till then, it is goodbye and cheers!
Ben Stokes, the captain of England says they planned how to approach this game. He credits his players for the way they performed. Applauds the performance of Ollie Pope and Will Jacks. Shares everytime they try to take a positive route in every match. Reckons it is an exciting team and the pitch was brilliant to bat so, they used it well. Appreciates James Anderson's performance. Mentions the players are ready to put their bodies on the line. Tells they came here to play the way they wanted. Says the players kept on fighting after the declaration and tells, reverse swing did help their bowlers after the second session.
Babar Azam, the skipper of Pakistan says they were not upto the mark with the ball. Adds they executed their plans in the first innings and in the second innings they had a golden chance to win but lost wickets in every session. Reckons their bowling department is a bit young. He credits his bowlers though for the way they performed. Reckons they had to think differently when England scored a bulk of runs in the first innings. Shares there are lot of positives, batting, bit of bowling and hopes to do well in the next match.
Ollie Robinson wins the Player of the Match award. He says the pitch was not favoring bowlers much but the player left everything on the pitch. Adds they had to stay patient and take their chances. On the declaration, he says it was hard but they had time and prepared for it. Shares this was one of his best matches recently.
...Presentation coming up...
The start for Pakistan was not the best as they lost two wickets towards the end of Day 4 but Imam, Saud, Azhar Ali and Agha Salman got them back into the game. However, the spells from Anderson and Ollie Robinson changed the tide completely into the visitors' favor. Both got 4 each. It came down to the last hour with Pakistan needing just the one wicket. The last pair for Pakistan fought hard but it was the second new ball which did the trick and it is the visitors who have taken 1-0 lead in this series.
England then came out in their second innings and continued to go after the bowlers! They yet again scored at over 6 per over, they actually went at around 7 per over in the second innings. Harry Brook yet again shown with the bat but even then it seemed like this game would be heading towards a draw but the declaration at Tea on Day 4 just sparked life in this game. England had around 4 sessions to take 10 wickets and Pakistan had the same amount of time to score 342 runs which would have been a record.
England though right from Day 1 showed they are not here to only win but to dominate! After electing to bat, their batters came out all guns blazing. They scored over 500 runs on Day 1 with four batters scoring tons. They were not able to add a lot on Day 2 but had a huge, huge score on the board. In reply, Pakistan had three of their batters crossing the 100-run mark, at one stage, they were in a decent position to take the lead but Will Jacks' spell ensured it was England who took a slender lead as he got a six-fer on debut.
Jubilation in the English camp! What a win, what a win for England! The Pakistan last wicket pair tried their best but this is a well-deserved win for England. They were outstanding right from Day 1. Their batting, the effort by the bowlers, the decisions they took and Stokes' captaincy was just fabulous. Everything he did was brilliant, every decision he took was spot on. It was that bold move of declaring, it could have gone either way, it was risky but Stokes trusted his bowlers and they delivered when it mattered.
In over# 97
0W
0
0
Jack Leach 56/1(18.3)
96.3
W
OUT! SHAH HAS BEEN GIVEN LBW! He reviews it! That looked very close. Will come down to the umpire's call we think so. NO BAT INVOLVED! IT IS THREE REDS! WOW! England have done it. The stubborn final wicket is scalped. This is full and on middle, an arm ball. Shah gets on the front foot as he looks to defend but gets beaten on the inside edge and hits on the pads. An appeal for LBW and up goes the finger. Naseem Shah reviews but to no avail as three reds it shows. ENGLAND WIN BY 74 RUNS.
96.2
.
Flatter and outside off, Shah leaves it alone.
96.1
.
Tossed up on off, Shah plays it back to the bowler.
Change of gloves for Naseem Shah. He wants to waste every second possible.
In over# 96
0
0
0
0
0
0
Ollie Robinson 50/4(22)
95.6
.
Another one on the shorter side. Ali lets it go over him.
95.5
.
Really good carry on this one! Short and on middle, Ali though does well to duck under it.
95.4
.
That one does not bounce a lot! Short and on middle, Ali hops but ths comes at waist height. He manages to keep it out.
95.3
.
Well played again! On a length and around off, kept out.