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Sohail Khan takes 5-wicket haul vs England: How it happened

Sohail Khan's comeback to Test cricket after five years turned things in Pakistan's favour on Day One of the third Test at Edgbaston against England.

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Sohail Khan took figures of 5-96 on Day 1 of the third Test at Edgbaston © Getty Images

If there is a way to mark your return to Test cricket, Sohail Khan can surely lend a few tips about it. Coming into the Pakistan team in place of Wahab Riaz for the third Test against England, he broke through the fulcrum of the England batting order and claimed his first five-wicket haul in the format. While England would have breathed a sigh of relief when they would have realised that Pakistan’s left-arm pace trio will not be coming hard at them in this Test, it did not take long into the game for the right-arm fast, Sohail to go on a wicket-taking spree. His 5 for 96, certainly deserves a narration. LIVE CRICKET SCORECARD: Pakistan vs England 2016, 3rd Test at Edgbaston

1. Alex Hales becomes first victim: Misbah-ul-Haq’s decision to bowl first at Edgbaston was a clear message that Pakistan were backing their bowlers to do the job for them. While there seemed to be a bit of movement in the pitch, England captain Alastair Cook and Alex Hales got off to a decent start, both were in double figures at the start of the 8th over. Sohail came onto bowl the 8th over. He was steaming in. READ: Pakistan vs England, 3rd Test, Day 1, as it happened: Sohail Khan’s 5-for wraps up hosts for 297 at stumps

The third ball of the over was when he started shaping the ball, and got past the edge off Hales’ bat. The third delivery was a ripper. It was bowled on a good line, good length and did show a little bit of movement. It nipped past the outside edge. The next one was an edge that went past third slip for four, but Sohail had started asking questions off Hales. The next two were dots too, one driven to covers and the other left alone.

But when Sohail came back in his next over, the first ball was a dot, pushed to mid-on. The second one was again a beauty, almost got Hales’ edge. But the third one managed to get that edge. It was a reward for the excellent line and length that Sohail had stuck to. Hales went for 17, caught by Sarfraz Ahmed.

2. Joe Root’s stay is a short one: The fact that, even if a batsman gets his highest score in a game, he has to begin his next innings from scratch is something worth acknowledging. Joe Root probably understood it the hard way. The Cook-Root partnership was something Pakistan’s coach Mickey Arthur had talked about prior to the third Test. It was now time to put the new plan into practice. As Sohail continued into the 12th over, he got the big fish. Root’s loose punch off his back foot got a thick outside edge off his bat, and Sarfraz took an easy catch behind the stumps. Yes, the ball was moving, but Sohail was ruling.

3. James Vince-Gary Ballance partnership-breaker: After Cook’s wicket, Gary Ballance and James Vince had carried on well till lunch on Day One. After Lunch, they continued until, when on 39 Vince edged Sohail’s short of length delivery to Younis Khan at second slip. Vince could have driven at it but he chose to defend. Younis was not sure about the catch being taken cleanly though. The soft signal was not out. The replays showed that the fingers were underneath the ball, and Vince was on his way. Sohail had his third.

4. Jonny Bairstow gives Sohail his fourth: Jonny Bairstow had been in superb form in the Test series against Sri Lanka at home. He has not been able to score more than a half-century in any of his innings so far against Pakistan, including the one he played on Day One at Edgbaston. A short and wide delivery that had a bit of vicious extra bounce with it, got a little top edge of his bat and Sarfraz held onto it. Yes Bairstow was unhappy with himself and why would he not be, it was an unnecessary shot to play given the situation of the game.

5. James Anderson becomes his fifth victim: After a hard day’s work, a clearly tired Sohail was dying to get a fifer. Steven Finn might have played two fine shots and got boundaries off them to impress everybody with his batting potentials, but when James Anderson got strike, in what turned out to be the last over of the day, Sohail fancied his chances. Anderson who was charging towards Mohammad Aamer in the last few overs, stayed back in the crease and was trapped in front. He went for the review, but the hawk-eye showed that it was hitting leg-stump. Sohail had five wickets to his name.

His celebrations saw him going down on his knees and saying his prayers, and as England were wrapped for 297, he had justified his inclusion in the squad. A comeback of such sorts for him was perhaps, exactly what Pakistan could have wished for going into the third Test. And while walking off the field with the ball in his hands, Sohail did the now-in-trend trademark Pakistani ritual — the press-ups. Not just normal press-ups, he went one level up, did nine clapping press-ups.

(Karan Dewana reporter with CricketCountry, loves following and playing sports. He is a Team India fan and loves winning. Follow him on his twitter handle @karan13dewan)

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