- Jack Leach took four wickets for 30 runs in Pakistan’s second innings in Multan
- Hosts are the first team to lose by an inning after scoring 500 or more in the first
- England can secure a third straight series win when the second Test begins on Tuesday
Ollie Pope hailed one of England’s greatest victories after they recorded a remarkable victory over Pakistan by innings and 47 runs on the final morning of the first Test.
Jack Leach took the final three wickets to fall as the Pakistanis were bowled out for 220 on a pitch that remained immaculate, convincing Pope to add the result to the wins over New Zealand at Trent Bridge in 2022, Pakistan at Rawalpindi two years ago, and India in Hyderabad in January.
“These are the ones we really look back on, and this is exactly the same as the rest,” he said.
‘Everyone knows what a special victory this was. Thanks to those two guys from Yorkshire, the way Rooty and Brooky went about it. In another situation you played a few more shots when you got over a hundred, but they knew how important it was to get us to that huge score.
“And then the way the bowlers bowled was phenomenal. It was a serious effort from those guys in the heat. A very enjoyable performance.’
Ollie Pope hailed one of England’s greatest victories after they recorded a remarkable innings and 47-run victory
Jack Leach (right) took the last three wickets and fell as the Pakistanis were bowled out for 220
Joe Root and Harry Brook combined to score 579 runs to give England a commanding lead in the first innings
Asked whether Ben Stokes might be ready to return for Tuesday’s second Test here, Pope said: ‘I’m not sure. Fingers crossed that everything goes well for him. He has had a good week of training, but otherwise I am ready to become captain.’
Chris Woakes – who started Pakistan’s slide by bowling Abdullah Shafique with the first ball of their second innings – said it was now up to the hosts to produce result bowls for each of the last two matches as they work their way back to the series of savages fighting. .
“There was talk about green surfaces, but I don’t know what that was,” he said. ‘The ball is firmly in their court. “If it’s a home series and it’s only three matches and you lose the first one, you’d like to think the next two will be result wickets – whether that’s green or turners, we’ll see.”
Meanwhile, Pakistan captain Shan Masood denied that his team was mentally weak after capitulating in the second innings.
“The harsh reality is that England has found a way and we haven’t,” he said. ‘And after two days of lying in the sun, trailing by 556 runs, they gave themselves the chance to bat big.
Ben Stokes has continued to work his way back from injury and is in contention to play in the second Test
‘And when they came back with the ball, they executed their plans very well. Whatever the pitch, quality sides will find a way, and England did.
‘I wouldn’t say my team is mentally weak. Like I said, that third inning can seem like a collapse in itself. But if we had kept England around our score, those 220 runs could have made a difference.”
