England were 194 for six in their second innings at lunch on the fourth day, still 20 runs shy of making Pakistan bat again as the tourists sought a win that would see them end the four-match series all square at 2-2.
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Misbah ul Haq thanked the Prime Minister for appreciation and said that the test win on Independence Day is indeed an achievement for the entire team.
England’s middle order have performed well this summer and once again it was left to Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes to rescue them yesterday.
Stuart Broad did not last long, caught reverse sweeping Shah to hand the leg spinner his fifth wicket of the innings.
“It is frustrating. It’s a big area we’ve got to keep working on – and obviously, for us to take that next step, top-order first-innings runs are vital”.
“But apart from that incident. we have talked about the cricket for 99.9 per cent of the series”.
Both Farbrace and England coach Trevor Bayliss were, when both holding similar roles with Sri Lanka, on the team bus that came under fire from militants as they travelled to a Test against Pakistan at the Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore in 2009.
Stokes has been sidelined with knee and calf injuries this season while Wood has undergone two ankle operations since last playing for England in a Test against Pakistan in Dubai in October.
But prolific Yorkshireman Bairstow kept England’s hopes marginally alive in a morning session which contained just the two wickets at the other end.
During this Kia Oval Test match Alex Hales, James Vince and Gary Ballance played six innings and scored 44 runs between them.
Sri Lanka was bowled out for 355 just before tea with Dinesh Chandimal top scoring with 132 and de Silva scoring 129 for his maiden test hundred in only his third game.
Instead of Sergeant major Younus Khan leading the drill, push-ups and all, Pakistan’s players wrapped themselves joyously in the flag and paraded in a lap of honour at a ground in which England have celebrated some famous victories of their own.
“We’ve given everyone a pretty fair go. It’s mentally tough”, Misbah said as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.
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Read: Did England cheat to win the Edgbaston Test? Already 2-0 ahead in the four-Test series in the Caribbean, Virat Kohli’s team will be No. 1 if they can win the fourth Test at Trinidad starting August 18.
