England went into the day with wickets still in hand after a marvellous second innings performance, with Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali adding 36 runs in the first four overs, before Bairstow’s departure for 85 saw the declaration issued by Alastair Cook.
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The Middlesex quick struck for the first time in the series when taking two for 38 in 13 overs on Sunday as England completed a 141-run victory at Edgbaston that saw them go 2-1 up in the four-match contest.
“We batted really well in the third innings of the game”.
Pakistani leg spinner Yasir Shah dropped to fifth place in the ICC test bowlers rankings after the team’s defeat in Edgbaston against England, ARY News reported.
According to media reports, Vince was also taken to hospital for a scan on Sunday, which revealed that he had not suffered a dislocation.
James Anderson may now be ranked as the world’s top bowler but the England great was happy to acknowledge how watching India’s Zaheer Khan had helped him reach the summit ahead of the fourth Test against Pakistan at The Oval.
RESULT: England won by 141 runs to lead four-match series 2-1.
“If that happens it’s an irrelevance to me because the side has still got so much further to go”.
England 2nd Innings: A Cook c Yasir Shah b Sohail Khan 66, A Hales c Younis Khan b Mohammad Amir 54, J Root c Mohammad Hafeez b Yasir Shah 62, J Vince c Younis Khan b Mohammad Amir 42, G Ballance c Asad Shafiq b Yasir Shah 28, J Bairstow lbw b Sohail Khan 83, M Ali not out 86, C Woakes not out 3.
As in the first innings, he fell cheaply to a poor shot – this time contriving to find the only man in the leg-side deep with a pick-up shot to fine-leg off Stuart Broad.
“If we do win at The Oval, I wouldn’t say we are anywhere near our potential”, he said. “We have one game left – we can win it and square the series – that’s what we have to think”.
“Until lunch it was easy”, Misbah was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
Pakistan, set a huge target of 343 for victory after England declared on 445 for six early on Sunday’s final day, were dismissed for 201.
“We were never leading it – but then, when we got our chance Saturday afternoon, Mo and “Bluey” (Bairstow) put the pressure on them”, said Cook.
“Then we bowled brilliantly too”. “Sometimes when the ball starts reversing you just need to see off that 10-15 overs so the ball gets soft, but we lost all our main batsmen then”.
The good thing is this match is gone.
This is Pakistan’s first Test tour of England since 2010, but their Under-19 team have toured here, and Aslam was their prolific captain.
Cook was especially pleased by the nature of the win bearing in mind that nobody in his side scored a century or claimed a five-wicket haul. So for us to bounce back the way we did when we had our backs to the wall said a lot about our character and it could also deflate them.
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“We have one game left – we can win it and square the series – that’s what we have to think”.
