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Sunday, 7 August 2016
England demolish Pakistan at Edgbaston to power into 2-1 series lead
England torpedoed Pakistan with a six-wicket afternoon salvo to pave the way for a 141-run win on the final day of the third Test at Edgbaston that gives Alastair Cook's side an unassailable 2-1 series lead.
The tourists, set an unlikely 343 to win after England declared four overs into the day on 445-6, lost four wickets for just one run as they folded from 124-3 to 125-7 as Chris Woakes (2-53) and Steven Finn (2-38) ran amok before tea - opener Sami Aslam (70) the seventh to go after a knock of class and composure.
Pakistan's fate was sealed with 13.1 overs remaining, but not before Sohail Khan (36) and Rahat Ali (15no) had shared an entertaining last-wicket stand of 50 off 11.1 overs.
The result marked a remarkable turnaround after England conceded a 103-run first-innings deficit in a game Pakistan controlled for much of the first four days before Jonny Bairstow (83) and Moeen Ali (86no) took a tiring attack to task on Saturday.
England's quest for rapid runs on day five after resuming on 414-4, 311 ahead, was fulfilled by Ali who smashed Yasir Shah's third and fourth balls for leg-side sixes - the first over of the day costing 20.
Not to be outdone, and perhaps with a fourth Test ton on his mind, Bairstow also aimed leg-side but stepped too far across and fell lbw to Sohail Khan on DRS, bringing to an end a match-changing sixth-wicket partnership of 152.
Cook called his players in with 31 added to the total, leaving the tourists with the sole aim of batting out the rest of the day. But Mohammad Hafeez, dismissed for a duck in the first innings, made just two before he pulled Stuart Broad (2-24) straight to Woakes at long leg.
Sami and Azhar Ali (38), who shared a fine first-innings stand of 181, made matters look easy on a still-true surface to see the tourists to 69-1 at lunch with little hint of the drama to come.
Ali (2-49) made the crucial breakthrough 25 minutes after lunch when he drew Azhar into a drive with one that drifted - Cook grabbing a very smart catch at second slip.
With the ball starting to reverse swing, James Anderson (2-31) had Younus Khan fencing uncertainly outside off and Bairstow took the catch in front of first slip to make it 92-3.
Sami, showing great composure in only his third Test at the age of 20, swung Ali away for four over midwicket to reach his second fifty of the match off 124 balls.
Finn, unfortunate not to pick up a wicket in the first innings, renewed England belief by snapping up the key wicket of Misbah-ul-Haq (10) - the Pakistan skipper snicking one that went away after fending off a series of in-duckers.
A total of 124-4 became 125-5 in the very next over as Woakes pinned Asad Shafiq lbw on the crease with one that kept a little low, the 30-year-old bagging a pair after his attempt to overturn the decision failed.
Sarfraz Ahmed also failed to trouble the scorers as Joe Root did superbly well to grab a low edge induced by Woakes, who then won an lbw decision against Yasir Shah first ball only for the batsman to successfully overturn the decision thanks to an inside edge.
With the wicket, Woakes equalled Anderson's record tally for most wickets in a series between England and Pakistan - in fact his haul of 23 coming in three Tests as opposed to his team-mate's four in 2010.
England's golden spell continued with the end of Sami's superb vigil - the opener shouldering arms to a Finn delivery that came back enough to trim the top of off-stump.
The umpires duly granted Cook's request for the afternoon session to be extended but England could not make further in-roads before tea, the tourists limping in at 148-7.
That left Pakistan needing to bat for 28 overs left after tea but they didn't make it through the first over back without further loss, Yasir gloving an Anderson delivery that climbed steeply on him.
With the injured Ben Stokes looking on from the changing room, Broad picked off Amir (16) on the drive before a stubborn last-wicket stand between Sohail and Rahat ended with Ali catching the former off his own bowling.
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