England wunderkind Harry Brook became England’s sixth triple centurion in Test cricket while Joe Root attained a sixth Test match double ton enroute a career-best 262 as the visitors posted the fourth-highest Test total of 823 for 7. It left Pakistan gasping for breath under a mountain of runs despite having scored 556 themselves in the first essay.
The scoreboard pressure combined with England’s ability to extract a bit more juice from a fourth-day pitch proved too much for Pakistan to tackle as they nosedived to 152 for 6, staring down the barrel of a sixth Test defeat in a row.
Shortly after Brook fell, Pope declared his team’s innings. It was time for his bowlers to run amok over a bushwhacked opposition that had six bowlers leaking over a 100 runs, including the lead spinner Abrar Ahmed, who couldn’t partake in the contest on Day 4 after being hospitalised with a fever. Things went from bad to worse as Pakistan lost a wicket on the first ball they faced in the second innings.
Brief scores: Pakistan 556 & 152/6 (Agha Salman 41; Gus Atkinson 2-28) trail England 823/7 decl. (Harry Brook 317, Joe Root 262; Naseem Shah 2-157) by 115 runs.