Tourists chase down target of 40 without loss after England made 253, squaring the series at 2-2.

By Abdullah Ansari (14th August, 2016)

Toss: England won the toss, Alastair Cook chose to bat first.

Teams

Pakistan: Sami Aslam, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Asad Shafiq, Iftikhar Ahmed, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Yasir Shah, Mohammad Amir, Sohail Khan, Wahab Riaz.

England: AN Cook (c), AD Hales, JE Root, JM Vince, GS Ballance, JM Bairstow (wk), MM Ali, CR Woakes, SCJ Broad, ST Finn, JM Anderson.

England started Day 4 well behind in the game, knowing that they had an uphill task ahead of them. Ballance and Bairstow however showcased poise and discipline as they frustrated Pakistan, particularly the latter, as he continued his good form in the series. Ballance couldn't survive for too long, however, falling before the first drinks break as Sohail Khan came on to bowl and had him caught behind with a good delivery outside the off-stump. Moeen Ali came in and once again looked very solid, batting with authority as he looked comfortable against both pace and spin. He lofted Yasir Shah into the stands as Pakistan became increasingly nervous with Lunch approaching. The tourists finally broke the 65-run partnership just before Lunch as Yasir Shah had his 4th wicket, Moeen Ali edging behind to Sarfraz Ahmed for 32.

Bairstow and Woakes resumed for England after Lunch and looked relatively comfortable until Wahab came on to bowl. Having been warned twice for running onto the danger area, he decided to go around the wicket. Bairstow defended the ball towards the leg-side and the batsmen set-off for the run, but then the wicket-keeper pulled out, leaving Woakes minimal time to get back - Wahab swooped on the ball and brilliantly hit the stumps to run out the highest wicket-taker of the series. On the next ball, the crucial blow was delivered as Bairstow drove a ball that wasn't really in the slot, with Azhar Ali taking an excellent catch off Wahab's bowling, with the Yorkshireman dismissed for a fighting 81. Stuart Broad was next; Yasir Shah completed his 5-wicket haul as the left-hander tried to reverse sweep and was caught at slip. Finn and Anderson put up a bit of a resistance, combining for a short partnership until Iftikhar Ahmed struck to remove the left-hander, leaving Pakistan with a target of 40.

Pakistan started the innings cautiously, though England seemed to have given up, as Anderson and Broad didn't bowl at all. Tea was taken and the deed was soon completed as Azhar Ali smashed Moeen Ali for six, winning the Test by 10 wickets and squaring the series 2-2.

Summary: A brilliant series-leveling victory for Pakistan. There was only one point during the day where there was any fear of another outcome, which was once Bairstow and Moeen once again looked unflappable. However, Yasir's strike gave Pakistan a much-needed boost before Lunch and they never looked back, as the bowlers struck at opportune moments to ensure England couldn't come back into the game. Credit must go to Younis Khan for a stunning hundred, or else the game could have gone in a similar manner to the previous one at Edgbaston. Pakistan will be well pleased to have finished the series 2-2; a large number of pundits didn't give the visitors a chance in the series but they proved that they could compete outside Asia.

Fall of wickets:

5-128 (Ballance, 41.4 ov)
6-193 (Ali, 56.5 ov)
7-209 (Woakes, 65.5 ov)
8-209 (Bairstow, 65.6 ov)
9-221 (Broad, 72.2 ov)
10-253 (Anderson, 79.2 ov)

Discuss!