England seal the series in 26-run thriller against Pakistan
Sixth-wicket stand of 80 gives hosts hope until double-strike on stroke of lunch sets up win
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Raw pace in a raw match situation. It’s the weapon for which England have been crying out throughout their generations of failure on unforgiving subcontinent wickets. That point of difference to unlock well-set batters and deliver the moments that make victory possible. On a nerve-shredding fourth and final day in Multan, Mark Wood was that man. As Pakistan’s gutsy pursuit of 355 was thwarted with just 26 runs left to defend.
The honour of taking the final wicket went to Ollie Robinson – Player of the Match in Rawalpindi – as Pakistan’s last man Mohammad Ali snicked a thin edge through to Ollie Pope to seal England’s first series win in the country for 22 years, and their eighth Test victory in nine since the start of the Ben Stokes captaincy era. But Wood’s final figures of 4 for 65 were the gamebreaker. To crack a formidable sixth-wicket stand between Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Nawaz that. For much of the morning session, had seemed on course to deliver a stunning series-leveller.
Mark Wood makes the difference for England against Pakistan
In a fire-and-ice partnership of 80 in 21.5 overs, Shakeel had been the sheet-anchor to England’s bowlers. to whittle down the requirement deep into double figures. But in the space of six Wood deliveries, both men were blasted out via short balls down the leg-side – “strangles”. As you might deem them in ordinary situations. But on this surface, and in this scenario, Wood was bowling to a clear plan, attempting to get his bouncers as straight into body as possible. Bring his leg-side catchers into the game. Perhaps there was no real need to oblige him, but the dynamics of true pace can unsettle even the most well-set.
Pope – forever in the action in his supposedly stand-in role as wicketkeeper – was the man to scoop up both offerings. Although debate will rage about the second, and most crucial, of Wood’s incisions. With a brilliantly gutsy century looming. Shakeel swung into his pull and under-edged his stroke, for Pope to make good ground and scoop the ball millimetres from the turf. Subsequent replays suggested, however, the ball may have made contact with the ground as his gloves closed around the chance. But guided by Aleem Dar’s on-field soft signal of out. Third umpire Joel Wilson deemed there was not enough evidence to overturn.
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