Pakistan thrash England at Lord's; lead series 1-0

 

Pakistan's Mohammad Amir and teammates celebrate winning the first Test at Lord’s.

Leg-spinner Yasir Shah claimed four wickets to complete his match haul of ten, while left-arm pacer Rahat Ali opened the door-gates with the first three English wickets as Pakistan thrashed England by 75 runs to seal their first victory at Lord's in 20 long years on Sunday.

The morale-boosting victory, which came on the fourth day of the first Test, gave the visitors a 1-0 lead in the 4-match Tests series.

 

Pakistan's Yasir Shah celebrates taking the wicket of England's Gary Ballance.

Tainted left-arm pacer Mohammad Amir, who was making a comeback at the 'home of cricket' after his infamous spot-fixing scandal in 2010, also chipped in with two crucial wickets as Pakistan bursts into a series of push-ups to celebrate victory- similar to their skipper Misbah-ul-Haq's inspiring celebrations after he had scored a century in the first innings of the match.  

 

England's Jonny Bairstow in action against Pakistan.

Needing 282 runs for victory, three England batsmen reached the 40-run mark as England were bundled out for 207 runs. 

Jonny Bairstow's (48 runs), James Vince (42 runs) and Gary Ballance (43 runs) gave England some hope but none of the batsmen could score big runs to guide the hosts home in pursuit of the second highest run-chase ever at Lord's. 

All-rounder Chris Woakes -- who had already taken 11 wickets in this match -- also made a contribution with the bat scoring 23 runs. 

Bairstow kept up the fight after England had lost their first top six batsmen and his dismissal to Shah lead to a lower-order collapse to end the England innings. 

Earlier, England were making steady progress at 135 for four when leg-spinner Shah, who took six for 72 in the first innings. A ball after Gary Ballance had pulled him for four, Shah bowled the recalled left-hander behind his legs for 43 with a delivery that spun out of the rough.

 

Pakistan's Rahat Ali celebrates the wicket of England's Joe Root.

Moeen Ali (two) then charged down the pitch in an attempt to drive Shah, only to be bowled between bat and pad by a well-flighted delivery. Shah had taken two wickets for two runs in six balls and England were 139 for six. 

Earlier, Pakistan's Rahat Ali removed England's top three batsmen in a breathless pre-lunch session that saw the hosts score 90 runs in 22 overs.

England captain Alastair Cook launched the chase with a four off the very first ball of the innings when he cut a loose Mohammad Amir delivery to the boundary. 

All the pre-match focus had been on Amir, but it was fellow left-arm quick Rahat who sent the early shock-waves into England camp.

 

Pakistan's Rahat Ali celebrates the wicket of England's Alex Hales.

His back-off-a-length ball had left-hander Cook (eight) edging through to wicket-keeper Sarfraz Ahmed. Cook's opening partner Alex Hales made a brisk 16 before carelessly chasing a wide ball from Rahat outside off stump, with Mohammad Hafeez holding a good catch at first slip.

Joe Root, England's new number three, struck two superb cover-driven fours off Rahat -- one of the back foot and the other the front.

But the star batsman fell into a hooking trap on nine when he paddled a Rahat short ball to Shah, set back at deep square leg. James Vince too got off the mark with a cover-driven four off Rahat.

Vince was on nine when his edged drive off Rahat flew to Younis Khan only for the second slip to drop both the initial low catch and the rebound. Vince struck nine fours, mainly through the offside, on his way to a Test-best 41 not out at lunch without looking assured.

It seemed he might give a catch in the slips at any moment and he did so again early in the second session. Vince added just one run to his lunch score when, not moving his feet, he edged a booming drive of a Wahab Riaz delivery that moved away to second slip Younis, who this time clung on at the second attempt.

Earlier, Pakistan added just one run to their overnight 214 for eight. Pace bowler Woakes led England off the field after taking five for 32 for a match haul of 11 for 102.