The England v Pakistan cricket Test series is underway and has had a brilliant start. Both teams played fantastically but at the end of the first match, Pakistan proved to be the better team. Gary Ballance, James Vince and Jonny Bairstow put up an excellent fight, putting up quite a challenge for the away team. Jonny Bairstow had the top score of the second innings with 48 runs, alongside Chris Woakes.
But the English team were blown away by the amazing bowling skills presented by Yasir Shah and Mohammad Amir. Shah finished with ten wickets under his belt and the highest ICC Test Ranking. He now has 86 wickets in 13 test matches, the most by anyone after that many games. This was Shah’s first Test match out of Asia and the UAE and he stunned the crowds.
Also in the spotlight, Mohammad Amir. Although prior to the match he was the subject of all the news as this was his first Test match back after serving a ban for spot-fixing. But we should all believe in second chances and the 24 year old got his chance on the very ground he made the mistake. But its safe to say he’s back and still as good. Amir’s wicket ended the match and got Pakistan the 75 run victory
The Pakistani captain, Misbah Ul Haq kept the team going throughout the match. He became the oldest skipper to achieve a century in Test cricket. He celebrated in style with a salute and push-ups but dedicated it to the late humanitarian, Abdul Sattar Edhi, who passed away earlier this month.
There have been a variety of different celebrations in cricket, from the West Indies Champion dance to the English sprinkler but Pakistan have displayed a new kind of celebration.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgcE2CngE1Y
The West Indies Champions
The English sprinkler.
The team received training from the military to really boost their fitness and it definitely has paid off! Hence they dedicated their victory in the first round to their trainers!
In true sportsmanship spirit the English team congratulated the Pakistani team in a Facebook post.
“Congratulations to Pakistan who won by 75 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the Investec Test Series.
We will be back in Manchester.”
An admirable gesture we must say!
So, from the entire CelebMix team, congratulations to Pakistan and good luck to both teams because the series is not over yet!