Pakistan played some brilliant cricket against England to take 1-0 lead in the best of four-match Test series, with a dominant performance from the bowlers on Sunday. Pakistan emerged victorious by 75 runs on the fourth day of the Test match, which was primarily made possible by the brilliance of Yasir Shah. He picked up 10 wickets in the first Test.
Besides Shah, one also needs to applaud the rest of Pakistan players like skipper Mibah-ul-Haq, who set the ball rolling with a wonderful century in the first day of the Test match. From there on, Pakistan did not look back, and bowlers backed the batsmen, dismissing England for 272 runs, which put the hosts in the backfoot.
Besides Cook, none of the batsmen could get their game going, but their bowlers looked good in the second innings, and dismissed Pakistan for 215 runs. Hence an interesting game was on the cards with England requiring 283 runs to win in the fourth innings.
Both teams had a chance of winning the first Test, but they had to get their game going, and shine to emerge victorious. Pakistan were soon in the driver's seat, with England losing their first three wickets for 47 runs.
After which it was the magic of Shah, who bowled brilliantly to take four wickets in the second innings as well. The leggie was praised by his skipper, Misbah, who considers this victory as a huge achievement.
"It is one of the top wins as a captain and as a Pakistan team. I'm really proud of the team, everybody fought and came out with really good skills. Especially today, mentally everyone was strong. Yasir Shah in first and second innings and the fast bowlers bowled really well. Overall it was a good win for us," ESPN Cricinfo quoted Misbah as saying.
Even before the series started, talk regarding 2010 spot-fixing scandal which had brought the game to disrepute with Pakistan cricketers involved, started doing the rounds. Misbah considers this victory a remarkable turnaround, and has been impressed with the team's discipline after that controversial England tour.
"It's been a remarkable turnaround after the 2010 incident," Misbah said
"The team took real responsibility and these players showed a lot of respect for the game, fought throughout the six years and brought plenty of wins. Their on- and off-the-field disciplines are really good and winning against a top side, who are really good in their home conditions, speaks volumes for this team and for all the players."