England defeated Pakistan in the dying minutes of the fifth day of the Test match to grab one of the greatest-ever Test victories ever. Captain Ben Stokes’ courageous decision helped England bag a remarkable away win and take a 1-0 lead in the 3-match series.
Starting the day with 80/2, requiring 263 runs from the final Day, Pakistan fell 74 runs short after Anderson and Robinson’s jolt. The final duo nearly snatched a draw playing more than 50 balls; however, Leach struck with only 10-15 minutes of play remaining.
This is England’s only third win in 25 attempts in Pakistan. This becomes the highest-scoring Test ever to produce a result and the only game to do so, featuring two 550-plus first innings totals.
England were uncertain if they could field an XI on the first morning due to sickness in the camp. Later they added a record 506 runs on the first day and eventually posted a mammoth 657 runs with four batters scoring a century.
Pakistan, too, responded well, posting 579 runs. Three Pakistani batters also scored a ton. Meanwhile, debutant Will Jacks grabbed a six-wicket in his debut match.
England then smacked 235 runs from just 35.5 overs and declared setting a target of 343 runs for the home side. Stokes courageously declared whilst a single session was yet to be played and picked up a couple of wickets.
Pakistan seemed to be in the driving seat after 87 runs stand by Rizwan and the debutant Shakeel for the fourth wicket, but Anderson and Robinson were all over the hosts as England managed to get a phenomenal win. Ollie Robinson was adjudged as the player of the match.
