Harsha Bhogle lauds Jos Buttler & Chris Woakes for anchoring the English run chase

Harsha Bhogle lauded wicket-keeper batsman Jos Buttler and tail-ended Chris Woakes for anchoring the English run chase after the hosts had lost half their side and looked in a spot of bother in the first Test against Pakistan at the Old Trafford, Manchester. Meanwhile, Buttler did not have a good match so far. He had dropped a couple of catches behind the stumps and had only managed to score 38 in the first innings.

'This is outstanding': Harsha Bhogle

Taking to the micro-blogging site, the 'Voice of Indian Cricket' wrote that irrespective of how this match ends, this is outstanding from Buttler and Woakes. Analyzing their batting strategy, the versatile cricket pundit mentioned that both the batsmen could have defended and found one ball with their name on it but instead they backed themselves and counter-attacked brilliantly.

England on the verge of a famous win

Pakistan had resumed Day 4 at 137/9. However, it did not take the English pacers too long to run past their tail-enders and bundle them out for 169 as the hosts were set a stiff target of 277 runs to draw first blood in the three-match series. It was always going to be a challenge for England as they had to see of the new ball which provides a lot of assistance to the seamers upfront in those overcast conditions which they did to some extent.

Nonetheless, the English side kept on losing wickets at regular intervals even though a few of the batsmen were keeping the scoreboard ticking. At 117/5, it seemed that it was all over for the English side but Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes had other ideas as they made a stellar contribution lower down the order. The duo added 139 runs for the sixth-wicket stand and brought England on the verge of a famous win.

Unfortunately, Buttler was trapped plumb in front of the wicket for an outstanding 75 that included seven boundaries and a maximum.