England register nine-wicket win over http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755
England overcame the Pakistani challenge on the fourth day of the second Test match at Birmingham to go up 2-0 in the four-match series. And with only a couple of Tests still to be played, this win has ensured that the English side cannot lose the series from here. England won by nine wickets.
Chasing 118 for a win, England easily achieved that target for the loss of one wicket only. Andrew Strauss and Jonathon Trott was the pair that sealed the win for their side, as both scored an unbeaten 53, after the early wicket of Alastair Cook.
The fourth day track did not have much for the bowlers, and with no cloud cover, the Pakistani duo of Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif did not have much going for them. With Umar Gul out of the game due to a hamstring injury, it was evident that bulk of the work had to be done by Saeed Ajmal.
Unfortunately for Ajmal, apart from the low nature of the track, there was not a lot of turn in it. And with the rather low target, he did not have the attacking field he needed to showcase his talent. Both the batsmen reached their half-centuries, with Trott getting to his second one of the game, and that sealed the victory.
Earlier, Pakistan had looked done and dusted on the third day before the seventh and the eighth wicket stands that Zulqarnain Haider had with Amir and Saeed Ajmal saved them from the ignominy of an innings defeat. Not only was the defeat averted, but the Pakistani also took a 100-plus lead at the end of the third day.
Unfortunately for the Pakistani side, by the time the play had been called off on the third day, they had already lost nine wickets. This included the dismissal of Haider, who went on to score 88, and Ajmal, who made a 50.
However, on the fourth morning, it took the English attack only 11 deliveries to end the Pakistani resistance. Stuart Broad, who was involved in a ball-throwing controversy that cost him 50 per cent of his match fee, scalped the last wicket of Mohammad Asif for the addition of five runs.
This meant that the English side needed to score only 118 runs to win the game.
Swann, who had scalped six wickets in the second Pakistani innings was declared the man of the match. The third Test match will be played at the Oval from 18 August.
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