Skipper Ben Stokes hailed England's nail-biting victory in the first Test against Pakistan Monday as "one of the best" of his career -- particularly given the state of the lifeless Rawalpindi pitch.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
With just minutes to spare in dying light after five days of enthralling cricket, England finally halted a heroic last stand by Pakistan's tailenders to win the first Test by 74 runs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
It was only the third time England have won a Test in Pakistan, although they haven't visited since 2005 because of security issues.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"To be able to get a result on this type of wicket is mind-blowing," Stokes said ahead of the second Test starting in Multan on Friday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I think it's probably one of the best. The effort that everyone has managed to put in this whole week is just incredible."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
England have "Bazball" to thank for their victory -- the free-wheeling brand of cricket coined from the nickname of new head coach Brendon "Baz" McCullum, a New Zealander.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
McCullum was an aggressive batter in his playing days -- he holds the record for the fastest individual Test century -- and under him, and skipper Stokes, the English have brought one-day cricket to the five-day game.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Records tumbled in Rawalpindi with England becoming the only team in history to score 500 runs on the first day of a Test -- courtesy of four individual centuries, another record.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Overall, some 1,768 runs were scored in the match -- the third-highest aggregate since Test cricket began.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Still, Pakistan did well to peg back England's daunting 657-run first-innings total to trail by just 78 runs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
England again turned on the fireworks in their second innings before a bold Stokes declaration left Pakistan seeking 343 runs for victory.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
For a while, it looked as if the home team would do it -- but a devastating last session saw England shine as the light dimmed for a famous victory.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"We're pretty lost for words," said Stokes, who now has seven wins in the last eight Tests.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I feel very honoured and feel a very privileged position to be able to lead these guys.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Jimmy Anderson was saying he felt a bit emotional, so having a bloke with near enough 180 Test matches (176) feeling like that at the end of this is proof that we've achieved something very special."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Stokes suggested "Bazball" was here to stay.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Test cricket is generally exciting when England are playing," he said. "That's what we set out to do from day one."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
And he praised the fighting spirit of his players in dealing with a mystery virus that threatened the start of the first Test.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"The way in which the lads just dealt with it and just cracked on was a credit to them as individuals and as a team," he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Stokes also had praise for the home crowd -- delighted to see England visit at last, but disappointed not to win.<\/p>\r\n\r\n