England vs Pakistan: Five Talking Points from the Test series

#4 – Yasir rides his crests and troughs

Yasir‘s performance had more twists and turns than a rollercoaster

As they often say, ‘Test cricket is a great leveller’. When he marked his run-up at Lord’s, not a lot were predicting Yasir Shah to rip apart England’s batting lineup in the first-innings on a pitch which did not offer a lot to him.

However, he managed to do exactly that in a whirlwind spell which set the game up for Pakistan. Not content with claiming a five-wicket haul in his maiden Test outside Asia, the leg-spinner continued to torment the hosts and converted it into a ten-for during the second innings.

With his tail-up, Manchester was waiting for another spin session. But, Joe Root and Cook intervened and took him to the cleaners as the visitors were routed by 330 runs. Buoyed after cracking the Yasir Code, England’s batsmen did not allow him to settle by taking the attacking route.

Following assumptions of his Lord’s display being a flash in the pan, he single-handedly took on the responsibility to maintain Pakistan's fabled legacy of unpredictability and ended the series with another five-for.