England crushes Pakistan to level series

The tourist was made to toil in the field early on before England's bowling attack ripped through Pakistan's batting line-up to secure the win with a day to spare.

Published : Jul 25, 2016 15:59 IST , Manchester

James Anderson sizzled for England, claiming a three-wicket haul in the second innings.
James Anderson sizzled for England, claiming a three-wicket haul in the second innings.
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James Anderson sizzled for England, claiming a three-wicket haul in the second innings.

England put Pakistan to the sword on day four of the second Test as it levelled the series with a dominant 330-run victory at Old Trafford.

The tourist was made to toil in the field early on before England's bowling attack ripped through Pakistan's batting line-up to secure the win with a day to spare.

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England's bowling attack - shorn of injured all-rounder Ben Stokes - bowled with no pressure thanks to the mammoth lead put together by its batsmen, Alastair Cook (76 not out) and Joe Root (71 not out) adding 75 to their overnight total before declaring on 173-1.

Immediately Pakistan was in trouble as James Anderson (3-41) made an early breakthrough, with Moeen Ali (3-88) also getting in on the act as wickets fell at regular intervals.

Even the loss of Stokes to a suspected calf injury could not slow England down, and after tea it raced to a comprehensive victory - Chris Woakes (3-41), who has once again proven his worth at Test level after starring in the first encounter, wrapping things up with the wicket of Mohammad Amir (29).

Despite calls for a declaration overnight , the host went about adding quick runs on the resumption of play with Root and Cook both bringing up half centuries - the latter's representing his 50th in Tests.

With the lead at 564, Cook chose to declare and England's bowlers were quickly in the groove and Pakistan never threatened as another poor batting display saw it humbled in Manchester.

Anderson's early scalp of Shan Masood (1) was the sixth time he has dismissed the Pakistan opener in three Tests, and he followed that up by trapping Azhar Ali for eight.

A simple catch should have been taken by Cook to remove Younis Khan before lunch, but he was unable to hold on.

Luckily for the England skipper it mattered little as Younis (28) was gone after lunch, but not before Mohammad Hafeez (42) had been caught at short leg as he holed out in the deep, and captain Misbah-ul-Haq (35) was not far behind as he dragged a Woakes full toss onto his own stumps.

Despite the fading light England could smell victory as they continued to probe away at the fragile Pakistan line-up. Woakes, Moeen and Root (1-0) - his first international scalp since the World T20 final - were all rewarded to leave the hosts on the brink.

There was still time for Stuart Broad (0-37) to pass the unwanted milestone of conceding his 10,000th Test run before Woakes sealed the win with Broad clinging on to an Amir drive at mid-off.

England's victory levels the series at 1-1 with two games to play, the third Test beginning at Edgbaston on August 3.

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