Twitter Reactions: Dominant Pakistan crush England by 9 wickets

Team Pakistan thumped the English side by 9 wickets in the first Test of the two-match series. The visitors were thoroughly dominant throughout the course of the game. They did not give any sniff to the opposition at any stage of the game. The only thing that perhaps went the English was the toss. England won the toss and opted to bat first. The decision proved to be horribly wrong as Pakistani pacers wreaked havoc with the ball.

Mohammad Abbas and Hasan Ali scalped four wickets each on the first day of the match to bundle out the hosts for a mere 184. For the hosts, Alastair Cook top-scored with a gutsy 70 to his name. In response, almost every Pakistani batsman made merry on the track. Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam and Shadab Khan hit fifties in the innings. Pakistan finished with 363 in their first innings and had a very handy lead of 179 runs in the first innings.

England hoped for a change in fortune in the second innings. But they were found wanting against the Pakistan bowlers yet again. The top order collapse saw the English side struggle big time. From one end, Joe Root tried to hold the fort for his side as the wickets kept tumbling at the other end. Root’s 68 gave some spine to the innings. However, after his dismissal, the innings slumped to 110/6.

The innings needed a rebuild and some fight. Jos Buttler and Dominic Bess came to the rescue for the hosts and added a crucial 126 run stand. Both batsmen scored their individual fifties to ensure no more wickets fell on the third day. But both batsmen were sent packing early on the penultimate day of the game. England bundled out for 242 as Abbas and Mohammad Amir took four wickets each.

Pakistan were set a modest target of 63 to win. The visitors lost Azhar Ali early in the run chase but that was the only joy for the English side. Imam-ul-Haq and Haris Sohail remained unbeaten to ensure the visitors were over the line with 9 wickets in hand.

Here is how the cricket world reacted to the match:

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