England v Pakistan, 4th Test, Oval, Day 2 - Yasir Shah set the tone as Pakistan finish the day in a commanding fashion

In my opinion, Yasir Shah was the hero of the day. The first hour of play was crucial on day 2 and the fall of an early wicket could have dented Pakistan’s momentum. But Yasir Shah fought hard like a typical nightwatchman to weather the storm and instilled stability, which helped Pakistan to gain the momentum. After staying an hour at the crease, Yasir was dismissed, but his job was done as Pakistan stamped their authority in each session.

Surely, Pakistan, like England were beneficiaries of sloppy fielding and I must say, England failed to discover their line of attack – middle and leg and pitching it further up – which helped them to dish out a memorable win at Edgbaston. Of course, Pakistan’s poor temperament aided as well. But today, temperamentally, Pakistan were superb and utilized those lucky escapes well.

Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq and Younis Khan showed enough determination and character to finish the day in style.

The Pakistan think tank and Mishbah-ul-Haq did a wonderful job by shuffling the batting order. Sending Yasir Shah was not a gamble, but a well thought one. One must not forget, Yasir has a good first class record with the bat and thus, he was a very good option as a nightwatchman. Then, promoting Asad Shafiq high up the order was another good move. This man is a very good batsman and should feature in the team on a regular basis.

What a knock it was from Younis Khan! There was no Cha-cha Dance. There was no shakiness at the crease. If you notice, his footwork was tidier than the previous matches while back lift looked correct enough. He played the ball late and went behind the ball more rather than getting on the side of it.

Pakistan were able to travel through the critical phases of being patient enough to end the day's play in a commanding fashion.  

Thank You

Faisal Caesar