Twitter Reactions: Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes star in a thrilling win as England defeat Pakistan by three wickets

Pakistan started off at 137/8. They desperately needed some more runs, to put up a competitive total on board. Yasir Shah added some quick runs, finishing with a 24 ball 33. The leg-spinners cameo helped the Asian side put up a total of 169 runs. England required 277 to win the match.

Coming to the English bowlers, Stuart Broad got 3 wickets, Chris Woakes and Ben Stokes two, while Jofra Archer and Dom Bess ended with a wicket each. A good bowling display by the hosts ensured that their batsmen were in the game, now it was all about their batsman to come out and show their skill.

Pakistan bowlers were unable to penetrate the English lower order

England started off brilliantly. They only lost one wicket in Rory Burns and put up a total of 86 runs on the board. Mohammad Abbas was the only successful bowler for the visitors. However, what followed was a sort of collapse for the English team. They went from 86/1 to 117/5. Joe Root 42 and Dominic Sibley 36 had been key performers in the hosts’ top order.

Having lost their top 5 batsmen, England desperately needed a partnership. With Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes at the crease, many believed the English side would fall short of the required target. However, what followed was a great display of batting by the duo. As it’s often been, the moment you think the England batting line-up is done, they come up with something terrific.

A 139-run partnership between Buttler and Woakes ensured that the hosts were in touching distance of a victory. The wicketkeeper was dismissed for 75, with England only 21 runs away from a victory. Broad played a cameo of 7 runs before being dismissed by Yasir Shah. Woakes’ unbeaten 84 guided the hosts to a safe victory.

Coming to the Pakistan bowlers, after initial brilliance, they were unable to penetrate the English lower order. Yasir Shah ended with 4 wickets while Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Abbas and Naseem Shah got a wicket each. The hosts successfully won the first match and took a 1-0 lead in the 3 match Test series.

Here’s how Twitter reacted:

From 12/3 and trailing way behind @englandcricket came back from nowhere to win the test match. It's not about how long you dominated the test, it's about winning sessions. Pakistan lost it when it mattered the most. Great fightback from England #ENGvPAK

— Hemang Badani (@hemangkbadani) August 9, 2020

Full Scorecard of Pakistan vs England 1st Test 2005 – Score Report | https://t.co/QEhLTPF978 this is how we won against the Ashes winning team current team should learn https://t.co/149KWXxuiw

— Danish Kaneria (@DanishKaneria61) August 8, 2020

Great Test match #ENGvPAK Thought was @TheRealPCB ‘s to lose but the new found English attitude of being positive takes em home .. great game to watch

— Russel Arnold (@RusselArnold69) August 8, 2020

It's just the second time a team has chased down a fourth innings target against Pakistan despite conceding 100-run first innings lead.
The only other such instance had come in 1993-94 at Christchurch when NZ made 324-5 to win after a first innings deficit of 144.#ENGvPAK

— Rajneesh Gupta (@rgcricket) August 8, 2020

@chriswoakes great show buddy. Loved it. Enjoy and just chill man 😂

— Surya Kumar Yadav (@surya_14kumar) August 8, 2020

Yasir Shah stills misses the armoury of leg spin and does not have confidence bowling with closen fielders.#yasirshah #ENGvPAK

— Danish Kaneria (@DanishKaneria61) August 8, 2020

#ENGvsPAK 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

— Mohammad Yousaf (@yousaf1788) August 8, 2020

What a comeback 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 too good top batting performance by @chriswoakes and @josbuttler 😊👏👏🙌

— Rahul Sharma (@ImRahulSharma3) August 8, 2020

Absolute quality @josbuttler and @chriswoakes 💪🏻

— Eoin Morgan (@Eoin16) August 8, 2020

– We tried & we will try harder in the next one. Let's learn from our shortcomings & move on. Our focus should be on winning the next test match & the series. Remember the series is not over yet!#ComeBackStronger

— Shoaib Malik 🇵🇰 (@realshoaibmalik) August 8, 2020

Very good test victory for England, Pakistan will learn from this, had their chance early in the Buttler/Woakes p'ship but failed tighten the screws. Woakes must play every test from this point on, time to back him all the way! #ENGvsPAK

— Tom Moody (@TomMoodyCricket) August 8, 2020

Congratulations team @ECB_cricket Well played @chriswoakes & @josbuttler
Not the result we wanted for our team @TheRealPCB but they put in their best. Well played @shani_official and well bowled @Shah64Y #PAKvENG #TestCricket

— Junaid khan 83 (@JunaidkhanREAL) August 8, 2020

Well done #England 👏 Helluva test match #EngvPak Loved the drama… loved the theatre 👍 #testcricketgolden @ECB_cricket @TheRealPCB

— Danny Morrison (@SteelyDan66) August 8, 2020

Spectacular test match and a rare win in the 1st game of the series for England . Promises to be a nail-biting series #ENGvsPAK

— Deep Dasgupta (@DeepDasgupta7) August 8, 2020

What Pak missed today,England had in abundance. Self-belief, character, skill and match winners like Buttler & Woakes. Top effort to bounce back from conceding a 107-run lead in the 1st innings & being 117/5 battling last under pressure. You've got to love test cricket!#ENGvsPAK

— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) August 8, 2020

Congratulations England on a memorable win! Brilliant batting by Buttler and Woakes. Pakistan had the game in the grip, unfortunate that the game slipped away. Such opportunities can not be wasted, pitch was very suitable for our bowling attack.

— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) August 8, 2020

What a match..!!!! Test cricket at his very very best👍👍👍👍 brilliant knock by josh and woakes – MR15 pic.twitter.com/DAYoKVBV0y

— Mushfiqur Rahim (@mushfiqur15) August 8, 2020

Yes boys what a win!

— Jason Roy (@JasonRoy20) August 8, 2020

A rare rare 4 th innings chase. Well done England. 👏👏 #ENGvsPAK

— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) August 8, 2020

Test Cricket, even in the bubble is still great theater. You can't undervalue the character with which England achieved that win, from 117-5. Im sure back stronger nezt week. Stay "Woakes" everyone.

— Ian bishop (@irbishi) August 8, 2020

I know the match was almost gone by then but may be Pak could have stuck with spinners till the end or bowled only spinners with the second new ball too.
Anyway, another superb Test match! Thanks to both teams for a great game! #ENGvPAK

— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) August 8, 2020

Should have been. Pakistan went flat….like a soda can left open for two days. Inexplicable. They will be kicking themselves….Had the side to win it https://t.co/uqg76vc8jj

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) August 8, 2020

The pace bowlers weren't at their best today, but Pakistan lost this match due to their senior and most experienced batsmen not taking responsibility in either innings #ENGvPAK

— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) August 8, 2020

I am going to start a @chriswoakes appreciation society … !!

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) August 8, 2020

Shadab bowled only 11.3 overs in the match. Something Yasir or Azhar could have done too. Not really sure about this 2 leg-spinners strategy. It'd have been better to play with an extra batsman [Fawad], seamer [Faheem] or a left-arm spinner [Kashif]. #EngvPak

— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) August 8, 2020

Brilliant from Buttler and Woakes. Had the skill but it was the attitude that took them home. And with 70 left the opposing captain was looking like the game was lost!!

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) August 8, 2020

Woaksey 😍 pic.twitter.com/gCExcbB1wq

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 8, 2020

England left Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes out of the first Test of the summer. Since:

🏏 Broad: 22 wickets at 12.1, batting average 54.5
🏏 Woakes: 16 wickets at 15.8, batting average 35
🏏 One man of the match award each
🏏 Three wins from three

— Will Macpherson (@willis_macp) August 8, 2020

He deserves that beer… @chriswoakes 👏 pic.twitter.com/AoEAlc7iUy

— Stuart Broad (@StuartBroad8) August 8, 2020

As @ShaneWarne said, @josbuttler has ticker, bottle and character, let’s leave it at that!! What a win, test match cricket at its best!!! pic.twitter.com/vZ5ODQaFSe

— Neil Fairbrother (@Harv366) August 8, 2020

WinViz having Pakistan at 86% but then losing does not mean WinViz was ‘wrong’ – that’s not how win probability models work. At that stage they had an 86% chance of winning & the fact they didn’t underlines how well England did to fight back, not a flaw in the model. #ENGvPAK

— Freddie Wilde (@fwildecricket) August 8, 2020

You absolute beauties! Outstanding win and brilliant team effort!! Great start to the series. @englandcricket 🙌👌 #ENGvPAK

— James Taylor (@jamestaylor20) August 8, 2020

This is glorious to watch …. Test cricket at its finest …. #ENGvPAK …. England favourites now …. #OnOn

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) August 8, 2020

Got to say @iMRizwanPak keeping through out the test has been exceptional! #EngvPak

— zainab abbas (@ZAbbasOfficial) August 8, 2020

To win tests you need to perform well on all days. Pak were like chalk and cheese on the first two and last two days of the game!

— Ramiz Raja (@iramizraja) August 8, 2020

Test match cricket is alive and kicking. The greatest sport on the planet. @chriswoakes & @josbuttler personify character, mental toughness and pure unadulterated skill when the pressure is on. Proud to work alongside them both. Proper win! 🏏🦁🦁🦁 pic.twitter.com/dWLulcOBLS

— Danny Reuben (@dannyreuben) August 8, 2020

One of the more underrated facets of this great run chase is the rate at which Buttler and Woakes batted. In the end, the dangerous Pakistan attack had just 13 runs to play with by the time the second new ball was available, and the game was pretty much done. #ENGvPAK pic.twitter.com/AWVzb23cXU

— Ajesh Ramachandran (@Edged_and_taken) August 8, 2020