In the postmortem of England’s collapse on Saturday, one that confirmed fears over the batting strength beyond Alastair Cook and Joe Root with seven wickets tumbling for 36 runs in 17.5 overs, must come an appreciation of the two Pakistanis that have ultimately torched hopes of an England series win.
Left-armers quicks, such as Wahab Riaz, and seductive leg-spinners, such as the now justifiably hyped Yasir Shah, can be individually mesmerising; in tandem, they make for a lethal cocktail and one England’s hard-handed batsmen, on another scorcher in the desert, could not resist drinking.
Wahab’s strength is just that; this Punjabi southpaw sent down nine overs on the spin in the early heat – only Ben Stokes has managed a set of seven in this series – with his speeds still clocked at 89mph by the end. A smidgeon of swing, both conventional and reverse, allowed him to exploit an aggressive desire to get bat on ball.
Root, Stokes and the now flatlining Jos Buttler all poked without foot movement, allowing the 30-year-old to profit via the edge. Self-inflicted to an extent – Root’s reaction was one of utter disgust – but the bowler must earn kudos for going hard and searingly fast at his opponents.
After one innings Yasir, meanwhile, has demonstrated himself to be the spinner above all else in this series; little surprise given a leap to fifth in the rankings after 10 Tests. His driving run-up loses nothing in delivery, with the ball fizzing out of the back of the hand and hitting the pitch hard and with purpose. Worryingly, he has kept his variations to a minimum thus far.
The theatrics are there too, with the 29-year-old’s pouting, strutting demeanour in the middle oozing self-confidence and making the fall of a wicket feel closer that it perhaps sometimes is. Certainly Yasir, who claimed the prized scalp of Cook on day two, strived too hard first up, keen to get in on the action as Wahab breathed fire at the other end.
His patience was certainly tested, first by the wicketkeeper, Safraz Ahmed, and then the third umpire, Chris Gaffaney, as Jonny Bairstow was given two lives. Adil Rashid was in generous mood however, doing his bit for the wrist-spinning cause when, second ball, he slogged woefully into the covers. From there Yasir settled, with Bairstow bewitched by the old straight one before Mark Wood supposedly edged the leg-break to slip.
Imran Khan, a clone of Umar Gul with the name of a World Cup-winning captain, would finish off the innings with his second, thus denying both men their chance of five.
Yasir was still rolling by this stage, even if Wahab was spent. They had earned an afternoon watching from the air-conditioned bubble of the pavilion as the batsman poured more petrol on the flames.
