PAK vs ENG: Mohammad Ali denies shaking hands with Ben Stokes before third umpire's decision

England claimed an amazing 26-run victory in the second Test against Pakistan to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the three-match series. Mark Wood claimed four wickets in the game as England managed to kick Pakistan out of the WTC Finals race. Pakistan, who needed 355 to win, put up a valiant effort but were bowled out for 328.

Pakistan registered their third straight home Test defeat after losing to Australia earlier this year. With a spirited 80-run partnership between Saud Shakeel and Imam-Ul-Haq and Pakistan starting the day at 198/4, things appeared to be going well. However, after both batters were knocked in one after the other, it started looking very difficult for the hosts.

Shakeel and Imam kept Pakistan’s hopes alive but Wood's ferocious spell to eliminate them both on Day 4 shortly before lunch brought England to the verge of victory. Pakistan fell from 210/5 to 319/9, and when Ollie Robinson had Mohammad Ali nicking to Ollie Pope, the match was over. Ali signaled the "T" unwillingly and chose to review the umpire's decision. After all, who wouldn't at this stage? But it did nothing more than add a few seconds to England’s celebrations.

But England were confident that they had the final wicket and Stokes hastily approached Ali to shake hands while the DRS was being taken and the third umpire was checking the decision through the procedure. Ali, Pakistan's tailender, though, resisted doing so. The England captain backed up after he spoke a few words to Stokes, possibly informing him that the final decision hadn't yet appeared on the big screen. When the 'Out' signal was finally given, the two players shook hands.

Here's the video:

pic.twitter.com/YM3VhzZAsG

— Guess Karo (@KuchNahiUkhada) December 12, 2022

The victory represents the first time England has won back-to-back Test matches in Pakistan. And England won both games in an interesting fashion. At the start of the day’s play, Pakistan stood at 198/4 and needed 157 runs to win while the visitors needed six wickets. But it was England who prevailed over the hosts and claimed an exciting win.