Yasir, Rahat put Pakistan in control

Yasir Shah's twin strikes helped Pakistan reduce England to 155 for 6 and strengthen their grip on the first Test match at Lord's on Sunday (July 17). James Vince (42) and Gary Ballance (43) missed out on half-centuries but kept England afloat with useful partnerships before Yasir struck twice in the post-lunch session to give the visitors an edge.


Resuming their innings from 89 for 3, England lost the wicket of Vince in the second over in the second session as the 25-year-old nicked the ball to Younis Khan at second slip off Wahab Riaz.
Ballance and wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow combined for a 39-run stand before Yasir cleaned up both Ballance and Moeen Ali (2) in successive overs to reduce England to 139 for 6 with another 144 required for victory. Ballance was outdone by the turn while Moeen went for an ugly slog allowing enough space between the bat and pad for the ball to sneak past and disturb the bails.
Bairstow (28 not out) and Chris Woakes (5 not out) added 16 runs together before England headed into the second break of the day still needing 128 for an improbable win.
After restricting the visitors to 215 earlier in the day, England had a shaky start to their chase as Rahat Ali cleaned up the top-order cheaply. Set a target of 283 for victory, the hosts lost their top-three for under 50. Vince started cautiously, and was dropped on 9, but switched gears soon after, to help the home team reach 89 for 3 when the teams halted for lunch on Day 4.
Alastair Cook kicked off the chase with an elegant boundary off Mohammad Amir but Rahat got rid of the skipper with the first ball of his second over. A visibly disappointed Cook marched off after feathering an edge to wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed on 8.
Exactly four overs later, Rahat sent back the other opener to reduce the home team to 32 for 2. Alex Hales, on 16, attempted to cut a delivery only to give away an edge to Mohammad Hafeez in first slip.
Joe Root, too, kicked off with a beautifully-timed drive through the covers but his stay in the middle lasted only 11 deliveries as Rahat picked up his third scalp in the opening spell. The bowler trapped Root into attempting a pull and had Yasir Shah stationed at deep square leg who completed a neat catch running to his right.
With England down to 47 for 3, James Vince switched gears to pick up some quick runs and keep Pakistan bowlers at bay. Vince got a life when batting on nine as Younis Khan at second slip failed to pouch a low chance despite a double attempt. The 25-year-old batsman picked up pace and hit Wahab Riaz for three consecutive boundaries and followed it up with two more off Yasir in the next over to go past his previous best individual score of 35.
Brief scores: Pakistan 339 and 215 lead England 272 and 155 for 6 (James Vince 42, Gary Ballance 43; Rahat Ali 3-41, Yasir Shah 2-47) by 128 runs.