England lost the second Test match to Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates by 178 runs this afternoon.
Any slender hopes that the tourists may have had of pulling off an unlikely victory at the start of play were ended during the morning session when Joe Root (71), Jonny Bairstow (22) and Jos Buttler (7) all lost their wickets to leave England on 187-6.
Ben Stokes (13) and Stuart Broad (30) then fell after lunch, giving the impression that it was only a matter of time before the Pakistan bowling attack claimed the two remaining wickets necessary to wrap up the victory.
However, the combination of Adil Rashid and Mark Wood proved to be a tough one to crack, with both putting up some stubborn resistance to send England into the 20-minute tea interval on 285-8.
The pair continued where they had left off after the restart, only playing deliveries that threatened their stumps and leaving anything that went wide. Runs were still scored, though, with Rashid posting his maiden Test half-century.
However, with 11 overs remaining and Pakistan appearing to have run out of ideas, the partnership was broken. Wood lunged forward to meet Zulfiqar Babar's sharp turning delivery, but only succeeded in edging the ball for Mohammad Hafeez to take a catch in the slips. His 29 runs had come off 95 balls, but it was now left to tail-ender James Anderson to partner Rashid through to the end.
Rashid dominated the strike, while Anderson had an escape when he was dropped by Asad Shafiq at short leg.
Yet, England's luck finally run out with six and half overs left to bowl when Rashid uncharacteristically slapped Yasir Shah's bouncer straight to Babar at cover, sparking scenes of wild celebrations among the Pakistan team. The Yorkshireman had batted for almost four hours, although his score of 61 was not enough to get his side over the line.
Pakistan now lead the three-Test series 1-0, with the final meeting in Sharjah due to get underway on Sunday.
Liam Apicella
