Pakistan crash to lowest Test total against England
Pakistan have collapsed to their lowest Test total against England, dismissed for a paltry 72 after winning the toss and deciding to bat first at Edgbaston.
Coming into this match fresh from a 354-run thumping by the home side, Pakistan sank to a new low after the first innings as once again their feeble batting line-up was exposed by some rampant England pace and swing.
Pakistan’s tail, as they had been in the first innings at Trent Bridge, were again tasked with giving scorecard some small measure of respectability but the damage had been done by the time Salman Butt’s team languished at 36-6 late in the morning session.
As it was, Umar Amin and Mohammad Amir at least ensured Pakistan avoided the embarrassment of setting a new team lowest Test total as they pushed past the 53 the side was dismissed for against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 in 2002 but the tail-enders were unable to avoid another unwelcome record as they were dismissed for eight runs less than the previous low – the 80 England removed them for in the second innings at Trent Bridge less than a week earlier.
However rusty or jetlagged anyone in the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 camp may have believed Mohammad Yousuf (the former captain was rushed into the squad after Pakistan capitulated in Nottingham but left out of the playing XI for this match) to be, he could hardly have produced a worse effort than any of the top-order batsmen who padded up today.
Opener Imran Farhat’s duck from 24 balls, skipper Salman Butt’s seven from 40 balls, and No. 3 batsman Azhar Ali’s duck from 32 balls summed up the Pakistan innings perfectly: it was both defensive and disastrous, and in just over one session in the second Test, Pakistan were left staring a 2-0 series deficit in the face.
For England, Stuart Broad and James Anderson, who wrapped up the tail, shared the honours with four wickets apiece, while youngster Steven Finn chipped in to take the other two wickets on offer.
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