England’s “BazzBall” approach continues to impress. Ben Stokes’s risky declaration paid off as England registered a thrilling win over Pakistan in the first test match.
Ever since the Stokes-Mccullum duo took charge of England’s test team, the tables have turned. The team, which was struggling under Joe Root’s captaincy, suddenly found a new rhythm. Mccullum said that he will bring a change in approach to the team and live up to his word. The team has adopted an aggressive approach, which has worked wonders for the team. Along with their aggressive approach, England showed tremendous bravery in the first test against Pakistan.
The match began after the England team survived a health scare. The pitch looked like dead rubber in Rawalpindi. Hence, Pakistani bowlers paid a prize. England scored 657 runs in the first innings with a run rate of 6. Four English men scored centuries on the first day itself. However, Pakistan fought back and scored 579 runs in their first innings.
The match was headed toward a conventional draw. But, England did not let that happen. After doing an abundance of hard work, they were not ready to let the game slip. Hence, Ben Stokes made the surprising decision to declare the innings at the tea break on the fourth day. The visitors had a lead of 342. The target looked achievable on the dead pitch.
Ben Stokes’ bold move paid off for England
People thought, Ben Stokes goofed up and made a mistake. It seemed Stokes handed the win to Pakistan on a silver platter. But the “BazzBall” team had plans in mind. They quickly got rid of Abdullah Shafique and Babar Azam by setting them up in a short ball trap. Still, the game was open for both sides on day 5 but the odds were stacked against England as the pitch did not change even on the 5th day.
Yet, England kept their heads down and displayed various strategies to get hold of Pakistan’s patience. Shakeel and Rizwan put up a partnership, but England’s brilliant day at the field ended Pakistan’s middle order stay at the crease. However, Mohammad Ali and Naseem Shah frustrated England to the very core. The duo built up the last wicket partnership of 6 runs but stayed in the middle for over an hour. The game was coming to an end as bad light crept in.
England still did not give up. As the light dimmed, they handed the ball to Jack Leach, who provided the final breakthrough. England pulled through a win of a dead game. This win reinstated the belief of a new age revolution where teams have given up on the idea of a stalemate in a test match.
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