LONDON, July 17:
Yasir Shah grabbed two wickets in quick succession as Pakistan moved closer to victory in the first Test against England at Lord’s on Sunday’s fourth day.
At tea England were 155 for six needing a further 128 runs to reach their victory target of 283.
Jonny Bairstow (28 not out) and all-rounder Chris Woakes (five not out) — who had already taken 11 wickets in this match — were still at the crease but with just the tail to come. The most England had ever made before to win in the fourth innings of a Lord’s Test was 282 for three against New Zealand in 2004.
If England achieve their target in this match, it would be the second-highest such chase in a Lord’s Test behind the West Indies’ 344 for one back in 1984.
England were making steady progress at 135 for four when leg-spinner Shah, who took six for 72 in the first innings, struck Sunday. A ball after Gary Ballance had pulled him for four, Shah bowled the recalled left-hander behind his legs for 43 with a delivery that spun out of the rough.
Moeen Ali (two) then charged down the pitch in an attempt to drive Shah, only to be bowled between bat and pad by a well-flighted delivery. Shah had taken two wickets for two runs in six balls and England were 139 for six.
Earlier, Pakistan’s Rahat Ali removed England’s top three batsmen in a breathless pre-lunch session that saw the hosts score 90 runs in 22 overs.
England captain Alastair Cook launched the chase with a four off the very first ball of the innings when he cut a loose Mohammad Amir delivery to the boundary.
All the pre-match focus had been on Amir, making his return to Test cricket at the scene of his 2010 spot-fixing crime. But it was fellow left-arm quick Rahat who stunned England.
His back-off-a-length ball had left-hander Cook (eight) edging through to wicket-keeper Sarfraz Ahmed. Cook’s opening partner Alex Hales made a brisk 16 before carelessly chasing a wide ball from Rahat outside off stump, with Mohammad Hafeez holding a good catch at first slip.(PTI)
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