Manchester:
England scored a thrilling three-wicket win over Pakistan in the first Test match here on Saturday, with Chris Woakes shepherding the home team in the chase of 277 with an unbeaten knock of 84.
Fittingly, it was Woakes who scored the winning runs when he edged Shaheen Afridi through the slips for four. Woakes had added 139 runs with Jos Buttler (75), who fell with England only 21 runs short of the target. The fall of Buttler late in the day caused jitters in the England camp, but Woakes remained calm as he helped England go 1-0 up in the series.
Earlier, needing 277 for an improbable victory, England had been reduced to 117 for five before Buttler and Woakes revived their hopes with a valiant stand.
England lost a flurry of wickets, slumping from 86/1 to 117/5 as some superb bowling gave Pakistan a stranglehold midway through the afternoon.
Pakistan began the day on 137/8 in their second innings but blazed another 32 runs to be all out for 169, setting England a tough target on a pitch offering pace, bounce and spin. England were in a hole, but Buttler and Woakes went into One-day mode and began to pepper the boundaries. — Agencies
