Buttler, Woakes lead England to 3-wicket win over Pakistan

Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes led a remarkable comeback for England in a three-wicket victory over Pakistan in the first test on Saturday.

  The pair went on the counter-attack at the fall of the fifth wicket and shared a sixth-wicket stand of 139 on day 4 at Old Trafford, with no fans present due to the coronavirus pandemic restrictions.

   

Buttler was out for 75 while Woakes hit the winning runs and was undefeated on 84 as England finished on 277-7.

Leg-spinner Yasir Shah (4-99) had put Pakistan in pole position with two wickets as England, chasing a target of 277 for victory, slipped from 86-1 to 117-5 in its second innings.

Ollie Pope (7) was the fifth man out to a remarkable delivery from left-armer Shaheen Afridi which flew off the pitch. As Pope flinched in surprise, the ball clattered into his glove and lobbed high towards Shadab Khan coming in from gully.

That dismissal brought Buttler and Woakes together and the game increasingly swung in England’s favor.

Pakistan 1st Innings: 326 (Shan Masood 156, Babar Azam 69; S Broad 3-54, J Archer 3-59) England 1st Innings: 219 (O Pope 62; Yasir Shah 4-66) Pakistan 2nd Innings: 169 (S Broad 3-37) England 2nd Innings: 277-7 (C Woakes 84 no, J Buttler 75; Yasir Shah 4-99)

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