A dark day: Pakistan’s daylight savings
Hosts saved by bad light as England fall agonisingly short of a remarkable win
Hosts saved by bad light as England fall agonisingly short of a remarkable win. PHOTO: REUTERS
ABU DHABI:
Leg-spinner Adil Rashid claimed a five-wicket haul to trigger a Pakistan collapse, but England fell 25 runs short of a dramatic win in the first Test in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
Rashid, who had the worst ever bowling figures on his debut in the first innings of 0-163, had an unbelievable change in fortunes as he grabbed 5-64 to dismiss Pakistan for 173 on a worn out fifth-day Sheik Zayed Stadium pitch.
England tried hard to chase down the 99-run target in a maximum possible 19 overs, but umpires called off play eight overs early due to bad light with the visitors on 74-4.
Joe Root finished with 33 in the fading light as Pakistan attacked with spinners Zulfiqar Babar (2-27) and Shoaib Malik (2-25) to keep the slate clean in the three-match series.
Read: First Pakistan-England Test ends in a draw
A result had looked highly unlikely on the fifth morning as England, replying to Pakistan’s 523-8 (dec), declared their first innings at 598-9.
But Pakistan’s notoriously fickle batting changed the complexion as the England spinners exploited the rough with seven wickets falling for 71 runs, the last five for only 14 in the post tea session.
Only skipper Misbahul Haq put up some resistance with 51 on a day when 15 wickets fell, compared to 16 over the first four days.
England went after the target with Jos Butler joining Moeen Ali as opener but Pakistan kept them in check with some accurate bowling, offering no pace early on by giving Zulfiqar and Malik the new ball.
England lost Butler (four), Ali (11), Ben Stokes (two) and Jonny Bairstow (15) in the 11 overs.
It was a lucky escape for Pakistan as there have been 14 previous instances when teams had lost a Test after scoring 500 points or more.
Read: Anderson double strike leaves Pakistan in trouble
Captains provide contrasting reactions
“We would have liked another three or four overs,” said Cook, who was named the man of the match. “But that’s the way it is. I can’t fault the guys, on a really flat wicket, conceding 500, we had to hang in there. We’re proud.” Misbah, meanwhile, admitted his batsmen let Pakistan down. “I think poor shot selection, especially from Younus and me, put us in a tough situation, but in the end it’s a big advantage that the series is still 0-0.”
‘Pakistan took it easy’
Former Pakistan Test bastman and ex-selector Shoaib Mohammad felt Pakistan took things for granted on the fifth day and were caught napping.
He also blamed the needless run-out of Mohammad Hafeez for creating panic in the dressing room.
“Pakistan thought that it will be an easy draw and they started making mistakes. Then on top of that, Hafeez’s silly run-out created panic in the dressing room,” Shoaib told The Express Tribune. “Full credit to England though, they pounced on the chance and really upped the pressure on Pakistan.”
Read: Cook's double ton frustrates Pakistan in first Test
After more than four days of dreary cricket, the game suddenly burst into life and Shoaib felt such moments are good for the game as they increase interest in Test cricket.
Meanwhile, former off-spinner Tauseef Ahmed said that Pakistan gifted debutant Adil Rashid his five-wicket haul in the second-innings, despite the leg-spinner being low on confidence after a nightmare outing in the first innings.
“Adil was not exceptional today but he was made to look all the more so by how our batsmen dealt with him,” said Tauseef. “Pakistan batted poorly and made a match out of nothing.”
Published in The Express Tribune, October 18th, 2015.
Leg-spinner Adil Rashid claimed a five-wicket haul to trigger a Pakistan collapse, but England fell 25 runs short of a dramatic win in the first Test in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
Rashid, who had the worst ever bowling figures on his debut in the first innings of 0-163, had an unbelievable change in fortunes as he grabbed 5-64 to dismiss Pakistan for 173 on a worn out fifth-day Sheik Zayed Stadium pitch.
England tried hard to chase down the 99-run target in a maximum possible 19 overs, but umpires called off play eight overs early due to bad light with the visitors on 74-4.
Joe Root finished with 33 in the fading light as Pakistan attacked with spinners Zulfiqar Babar (2-27) and Shoaib Malik (2-25) to keep the slate clean in the three-match series.
Read: First Pakistan-England Test ends in a draw
A result had looked highly unlikely on the fifth morning as England, replying to Pakistan’s 523-8 (dec), declared their first innings at 598-9.
But Pakistan’s notoriously fickle batting changed the complexion as the England spinners exploited the rough with seven wickets falling for 71 runs, the last five for only 14 in the post tea session.
Only skipper Misbahul Haq put up some resistance with 51 on a day when 15 wickets fell, compared to 16 over the first four days.
England went after the target with Jos Butler joining Moeen Ali as opener but Pakistan kept them in check with some accurate bowling, offering no pace early on by giving Zulfiqar and Malik the new ball.
England lost Butler (four), Ali (11), Ben Stokes (two) and Jonny Bairstow (15) in the 11 overs.
It was a lucky escape for Pakistan as there have been 14 previous instances when teams had lost a Test after scoring 500 points or more.
Read: Anderson double strike leaves Pakistan in trouble
Captains provide contrasting reactions
“We would have liked another three or four overs,” said Cook, who was named the man of the match. “But that’s the way it is. I can’t fault the guys, on a really flat wicket, conceding 500, we had to hang in there. We’re proud.” Misbah, meanwhile, admitted his batsmen let Pakistan down. “I think poor shot selection, especially from Younus and me, put us in a tough situation, but in the end it’s a big advantage that the series is still 0-0.”
‘Pakistan took it easy’
Former Pakistan Test bastman and ex-selector Shoaib Mohammad felt Pakistan took things for granted on the fifth day and were caught napping.
He also blamed the needless run-out of Mohammad Hafeez for creating panic in the dressing room.
“Pakistan thought that it will be an easy draw and they started making mistakes. Then on top of that, Hafeez’s silly run-out created panic in the dressing room,” Shoaib told The Express Tribune. “Full credit to England though, they pounced on the chance and really upped the pressure on Pakistan.”
Read: Cook's double ton frustrates Pakistan in first Test
After more than four days of dreary cricket, the game suddenly burst into life and Shoaib felt such moments are good for the game as they increase interest in Test cricket.
Meanwhile, former off-spinner Tauseef Ahmed said that Pakistan gifted debutant Adil Rashid his five-wicket haul in the second-innings, despite the leg-spinner being low on confidence after a nightmare outing in the first innings.
“Adil was not exceptional today but he was made to look all the more so by how our batsmen dealt with him,” said Tauseef. “Pakistan batted poorly and made a match out of nothing.”
Published in The Express Tribune, October 18th, 2015.