Mark Wood fires England back into sight of an unlikely victory

Mark Wood fires England back into sight of an unlikely victory with two quick dismissals before lunch… as Pakistan need 64 runs with three wickets left to avoid series defeat

  • England took two quick wickets before lunch to take back control of the Test
  • Mark Wood dismissed Mohammad Nawaz and Saud Shakeel before the break
  • Pakistan need 64 runs while England need just three wickets for the series win 

Two wickets from Mark Wood shortly before lunch on the fourth morning of an unbearably tense second Test have given England a terrific chance of clinching a historic 2-0 win in Pakistan.

Set 355 for an unlikely victory – more than any team has ever successfully chased to win a Test in this country – Pakistan had reached 290 for five when Ben Stokes asked his fastest bowler to aim short.

The move paid instant dividends. Having added an apparently match-winning 80 for the sixth wicket with Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Nawaz gloved one down the leg side and was easily caught by Ollie Pope for 45.

England regained momentum ahead of the lunch break as Mark Wood took two key wickets 

The fast bowler dismissed Mohammad Nawaz before picking up the wicket of Saud Shakeel

The fast bowler dismissed Mohammad Nawaz before picking up the wicket of Saud Shakeel

The bearhug with which Stokes smothered Wood said it all: England’s chances of winning the series with a game to spare were still alive.

And they were better than that in Wood’s next over, as Shakeel – who had batted heroically for nearly five and a half hours for 94 – flicked at another leg-side delivery. This time, Pope threw himself low to his right and claimed the catch.

The on-field umpires Marais Erasmus and Aleem Dar conferred and gave a soft signal of out, but TV official Joel Wilson took an age to uphold their decision. The doubt surrounded whether Pope had dragged the ball along the ground after it entered his gloves.

Shakeel hit an impressive 94 to put the win within sight for Pakistan but was caught behind

Shakeel hit an impressive 94 to put the win within sight for Pakistan but was caught behind

The footage seemed inconclusive, but Wilson decided his fingers were under the ball, and England were delirious. Lunch was taken moments later on 291 for seven, still 64 short of the victory that would take this game to decider in Karachi later this week.

When Pakistan resumed at 9.45am, they were 198 for four, still 157 adrift of victory and with a long tail encouraging English thoughts of a swift conclusion.

The early wicket of Faheem Ashraf did not discourage them, caught at slip by Zak Crawley for 10 as he poked at an off-break from Joe Root. At that point, Pakistan – who had lost Imam-ul-Haq late the previous evening – were 210 for five, and WinViz in England’s favour.

But Shakeel looked immovable and, while Nawaz occasionally rode his luck, especially against Ollie Robinson with the second new ball, Pakistan’s sixth-wicket pair appeared to have done much of the hard work.

Then came Wood, keeping alive English hopes of what would be a memorable series win.

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