Moeen century props up England against Pakistan in the final Test

Moeen Ali scored a brilliant ton against Pakistan. Twitter
Moeen Ali scored a brilliant ton against Pakistan. Twitter

Internet Desk: Moeen Ali, batting at No.7, struck a fine century as England fought back from 110 for 5 to first put up a competitive 328, and then saw Stuart Broad nip out Sami Aslam lbw at the end of play, to ensure the home team had the edge on the first day of the fourth and final Test.

By the time stumps were drawn at The Oval on Thursday (August 11), Pakistan was 3 for 1 with both Azhar Ali and Yasir Shah, the nightwatchman, yet to open their accounts.

Moeen’s 108 formed the backbone of England’s total after Alastair Cook had won the toss and chosen to bat first. That decision seemed to backfire initially, with Pakistan’s seamers, led by Wahab Riaz, nipping out the first half of the batting line-up in just over a session’s play.

Moeen walked in with just 110 on board, and the bowlers having established control, but helped England recover with a 93-run stand for the sixth wicket with Jonny Bairstow (55), which stabilised the innings. He went on to add a quick 79 in just 86 balls for the seventh wicket with Chris Woakes, who contributed 45 off 57, to further drag England to safety.

A three-wicket burst by Sohail Khan in 13 balls that accounted for Woakes, Broad and Steven Finn meant England was 296 for 9, with Moeen still on 89. However, James Anderson, the last man in, stuck around for half an hour while Moeen farmed the strike to not only reach a hundred, but also swell England’s total by a handy last-wicket stand.

Moeen reached his third hundred in 30 Tests in style, by dancing down the pitch and lofting Yasir’s legspin for six, high over midwicket. He was eventually the last man out, caught in the deep by Yasir hooking at Sohail, who kissed the pitch in celebration of his fifth wicket.

Sohail ended with 5 for 68, his second five-wicket innings haul in as many Tests. Wahab meanwhile, had 3 for 93 after doing the damage at the top of the order, while Mohammad Amir took both remaining wickets and gave up 80 runs.

Earlier, Cook had opted to bat despite overcast conditions and a green-tinged pitch, but England progressed relatively smoothly to 69 for 1. That was when Cook (35) played on after under-edging a pull off Sohail, which was the start of a phase where England lost three wickets for five runs in 15 balls.

Riaz, who was back in place of the injured Rahat Ali, struck key blows with the wickets of Joe Root and James Vince, and came back after the lunch break to scalp Gary Ballance. Alongside Riaz, Pakistan had made one other change, handing Iftikhar Ahmed a debut in place of Mohammad Hafeez.

Riaz had Root edging a wide, lifting delivery to Sarfraz Ahmed behind the stumps, and then got Vince in similar fashion, with an even better delivery. Bairstow cut Riaz straight to backward point with England on 94, but was reprieved with the bowler having over-stepped. Pakistan also suffered with Moeen being dropped twice, on 9 and 15.

England is currently leading the series by a 2-1 margin, after having won the third Test in Edgbaston by 141 runs.