“The most runs EVER in a five-day Test. And this lot still took 20 wickets. We don’t do draws.” wrote England via their official Twitter page as they hailed their squad as they created history at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. After 22 long years, England defeated Pakistan in their own backyard as they put up a stellar performance. Pakistan cricket team suffered a heart-breaking defeat against England in the opening Test match at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. Picking up 10 wickets on a dead pitch was never going to be an easy job but England bowlers did it smoothly and managed to bowl Pakistan out for 268 in the fourth innings.
The most runs EVER in a five day Test.
And this lot still took 20 wickets.
We don’t do draws.
🇵🇰 #PAKvENG 🏴 pic.twitter.com/DZ4LABcJuJ
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) December 5, 2022
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England’s batters started off the game with a brilliant note on the dead pitch of Rawalpindi by posting a total of 657/10 in the innings, which was also the highest-ever score of England in the longest format of the game. Chasing a total of 657 runs, Pakistan also had a great outing with the bat as they amassed 579/10 in their first innings. Later, England took a huge risk as chasing 342 runs was not a tough task given the batting quality Pakistan has.
Fortunately, England pacers found a hint of swing on the final day of the match as they rattled the Pakistani batter. James Anderson, a seasoned pacer and England’s all-time leading wicket-taker, led the England bowling unit. He made a solid effort by picking up a four-wicket haul in the final session of the Test Match, including two wickets, in the span of just three balls in an over. Ollie Robinson, who won the Player of the Match award also picked 4 wickets.
Meanwhile, later after the match, during an interaction with Sky Sports, James Anderson was asked about the match. Responding to this, he said that it was one of the best wins he was involved in. He said:
“I don’t think I have actually. It’s probably one of the best wins I’ve been involved in, if not the best. On a pitch like that, to play the way we did, to score runs at the rate we did, we gave ourselves a chance to get the result.”
He added: “It was an unbelievable effort from everyone. We knew it was going to be difficult, it just feels like with Ben and Brendon (McCullum, head coach), their mantra is ‘we’ve got to take wickets’. We look to take wickets all the time.”
