Summary England are 92 for 4 as Wahab Riaz strikes twice for just 1 run just before Lunch
LONDON: (AFP, Web Desk) - Pakistan have their tails up as England lost 4 important wickets in the first session on Day-1 of the 4th Test.
All three bowlers, Amir, Sohail and Wahab, introduced by Pakistan so far have bagged wickets with Amir striking first. He got Hales who was caught by Yasir Shah after scoring 6 runs. Captain Alistair Cook and Joe Root took over the responsibility to rebuild the innings from 23 for 1 and almost succeeded in doing so when Sohail Khan struck again, cleaning up the English captain, who had scored 35 runs off 50 balls and was looking good. Cook had been dropped earlier by Iftikhar, in the team for Hafeez, in slips.
With 69 for 2 on the scoreboard, the game looked quite balanced. However, Wahab Riaz had other plans who first got rid of Joe Root, who had scored 26 runs off 39 balls and then got the struggling James Vince caught behind for just 1 run. England, suddenly, found themselves 74 for 4, and struggling.
Jonny Bairstow and Gary Ballance took over the innings from there on and saw off the remaining overs play till the Lunch. England are now 92 for 1 and will resume batting shortly.
Earlier: Engalnd win the toss and choose to bat first
England captain Alastair Cook won the toss and elected to bat in the fourth and final Test against Pakistan at The Oval on Thursday.
The opener made his decision despite cloudy overhead conditions and a green-tinged pitch both offering the promise to assist pace bowlers.
England were unchanged from the side that won the third Test by 141 runs at Edgbaston last week, after deciding against giving a home debut to leg-spinner Adil Rashid.
James Vince was passed fit to play despite a finger injury he suffered at Edgbaston which prevented the Hampshire batsman from continuing to field in the slips.
Pakistan made two changes, with top-order batsman and occasional off-spinner Iftikhar Ahmed given a Test debut in place of struggling opener Mohammad Hafeez.
Meanwhile left-arm quick Wahab Riaz was recalled in place of fellow paceman Rahat Ali for his third match of the series after missing out at Edgbaston.
Pakistan, whose four-man attack has been struggling for fitness late in recent Tests, now had an extra bowling option in Iftikhar.
Victory for England in this match allied to India failing to win the final two matches of their Test series in the West Indies would see Cook’s men climb to the top of the world Test rankings.
If England avoid defeat at The Oval they will hold series titles against all the other nine Test-playing nations.
Teams
England: Alastair Cook (capt), Alex Hales, Joe Root, James Vince, Gary Ballance, Jonny Bairstow (wkt), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad, Steven Finn, James Anderson
Pakistan: Sami Aslam, Azhar Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz Ahmed (wkt), Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Amir, Sohail Khan
Umpires: Bruce Oxenford (AUS), Marais Erasmus (RSA)
TV umpire: Joel Wilson (WIS)
Match referee: Richie Richardson (WIS)
