The first Test match between England and Pakistan at Old Trafford in Manchester witnessed a remarkable turn of events, where the visitors gave away their advantage acquired in the first innings.
After bagging a handy lead of 107 runs, Pakistan batsmen capitulated under pressure from England fast bowlers, who shared nine wickets amongst themselves in the second innings.
Stuart Broad scalped a three-wicket haul while Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes picked two wickets each in the second innings.
With the bowl, Pakistan had another opportunity for a turnaround, after reducing the hosts to 117-5. Yet again, the Green Caps let the advantage slip with over 160 required to win.
England cricket team keep producing match-winners, this time in the form of Woakes and Jos Buttler whose counter-attacking partnership pulled the tide in favour of the host.
Now, former all-rounder, Shahid Afridi took to Twitter ruing Pakistan’s loss where they gave away the upper hand on many occasions despite being in the driver’s seat.
“Congratulations England on a memorable win! Brilliant batting by Buttler and Woakes. Pakistan had the game in the grip, unfortunate that the game slipped away. Such opportunities can not be wasted, the pitch was very suitable for our bowling attack,” Afridi tweeted.
Congratulations England on a memorable win! Brilliant batting by Buttler and Woakes. Pakistan had the game in the grip, unfortunate that the game slipped away. Such opportunities can not be wasted, pitch was very suitable for our bowling attack.
— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) August 8, 2020
Even ex-middle-order mainstay Mohammad Yousuf expressed his disappointment, watching the match slip away from grasps.
#ENGvsPAK 🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️
— Mohammad Yousaf (@yousaf1788) August 8, 2020
Former England captain Michael Vaughan chimed in with his overall review of the opening game of the three-match Test series.
“England & Pakistan are the best 2 teams to follow in World cricket … Never ever quite know what to expect … but it makes them both very exciting to watch … #TestCricket #OnOn,” Vaughan tweeted.
England & Pakistan are the best 2 teams to follow in World cricket … Never ever quite know what to expect … but it makes them both very exciting to watch … #TestCricket #OnOn
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) August 8, 2020
“It’s disappointing but not over yet, there are still two Tests to go. There a lot of positives from this game, we outplayed England on most parts of this Test match,” Pakistan captain Azhar Ali said during the post-match conference.
“I wouldn’t say we lost the match in (our) second innings, but we missed a chance to knock England out of the game there. We were sure we’d wrap it up if one more wicket fell. But they (Buttler and Woakes) attacked from the off and snatched the game away from us,” Ali concluded.
