BIRMINGHAM, Aug 7: Chris Woakes struck twice in quick succession on his Warwickshire home ground as Pakistan’s dramatic middle-order collapse left England on the brink of victory in the third Test at Edgbaston today.
At tea on the final day, Pakistan were 148 for seven after losing four wickets for just one run in 23 balls.
With all their specialist batsmen now dismissed, the question of scoring the further 195 runs they needed to reach a victory target of 343 was no longer a live issue.
Pakistan’s priority now was to try to bat out the day’s remaining 28 overs and prevent England going 2-1 up in the series ahead of next week’s fourth and final Test at The Oval.
Yasir Shah was seven not out and Mohammad Amir 15 not out.
Pakistan were 124 for three when their collapse started, with captain Misbah-ul-Haq (10) caught behind off Steven Finn to give the persevering fast bowler his first wicket of the series.
Asad Shafiq then completed a pair when he was plumb lbw to all-rounder Woakes for a four-ball duck.
The paceman then made it two for none in six balls when Sarfraz Ahmed was also out for nought as he edged straight to Joe Root at second slip.
Sami Aslam, playing his first Test of the series, had again batted superbly for 70 following the opener’s first-innings 82.
But a rare misjudgement by the 20-year-old left-hander saw him bowled by Finn as he deliberately left the ball.
It was the end of a more than three-and-a-half-hour innings, with Aslam facing 167 balls including 11 fours.
Finn had now taken two for none in 11 balls and tea was put back by 15 minutes to see if England could wrap up the game.
But instead they had to content themselves with a session where they took six wickets for 79 runs.
Pakistan’s chase got off to a stuttering start as Mohammad Hafeez (two) fell cheaply for the second time in the match before first-innings stars Aslam and Azhar Ali repaired the damage with a stand of 73. (Agencies)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
