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Shafiq and Younis centuries put Pakistan into the driving seat
- Updated: August 12, 2016
Pakistan 340 for 6 (Younis 101*, Sarfraz 17*) lead England 328 by 12 runsScorecard and ball-by-ball details
It was across the river Thames, at Lord’s last month, where Pakistan’s stunning victory in the first Test set the agenda for a series that has proven to be constantly enthralling, if not always as competitive as had initially been promised. But now, on their return to London, a city in which England have found success strangely elusive in recent months, Pakistan fronted up with their most comprehensive day’s batting of the tour so far, to give themselves real hope of snatching a 2-2 draw from the fourth and final Test at the Kia Oval.
Thanks to centuries from Asad Shafiq and Younis Khan, plus a gutsy 49 from Azhar Ali and even a bonus 26 in the first hour of the day from the nightwatchman, Yasir Shah, Pakistan confounded their doubters, having resumed on an ominous 3 for 1 overnight, to reach 340 for 6, a lead of 12, at the close of a perfect day for run-harvesting. Their position might have been even stronger but for the efforts of Chris Woakes. He had been let down by his catchers in a messy start to England’s day, but got his just deserts shortly before the close, striking twice in five balls after rightfully earning a share of the new ball.
The mainstay of Pakistan’s performance was Shafiq, promoted up the order following the indignity of a pair in last week’s third Test, who answered the call with a gutsy, patient and hugely accomplished ninth Test century. He picked his strokes with authority, particularly through the covers, and showed admirable resolve in waiting 17 nervy deliveries on 99 before easing a cathartic single past mid-on off the spin of Moeen Ali to reach three figures.
But it was the return of the King that really set Pakistan’s innings apart from its flimsy predecessors at Old Trafford and Edgbaston. Just as Misbah-ul-Haq had done at Lord’s, so Younis at The Oval provided that stamp of old-stager authority to ensure that Pakistan’s hint of a revival during the day’s first two sessions had been transformed into real substance by the close. He too endured an anxious time on 99, stuck at the non-striker’s end as Woakes’s startling bounce accounted for Misbah, caught at gully for 15, and then the debutant Iftikhar Ahmed for an ugly top-edged smear to Moeen at mid-on, one ball after thumping his first runs straight down the ground.
But Younis has seen it all before, and having waited six deliveries, spread across four overs, for the right moment, he nurdled Woakes into the leg side to bring up a masterful 32nd Test hundred, from 139 balls. Like Shafiq before him, Younis settled for a celebratory sajdah but none of the salutes and press-ups that had characterised Pakistan’s previous milestones. The time for team-galvanising gestures has long gone. Now it is all about the cricket and the series scoreline, and by the close, he was still in situ, unbeaten on 101 with Sarfraz Ahmed settling in confidently …
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