Ben Stokes reacts to England's 74-run win over Pakistan: 'We aren't interested in a draw'

England captain Ben Stokes has heaped praise on his side after their 74-run victory over Pakistan in the first Test.

Stokes and Co bowled out Pakistan for 269 on Day 5 and went 1-0 up in the three-match Test series on Monday. Stokes credited the winning mentality of his side, saying he and his boys are not interested in playing for a draw. Pakistan were chasing 343 in the final innings when England's fast bowlers Oille Robinson and James Anderson bagged four wickets each to derail the hosts' chase in Rawalpindi.

On the eve of the first Test, more than half of England's squad was affected by a virus and were not in a position to take field the following day. However, the players recovered in 24 hours and the play went ahead as planned. In the first innings, four England batters scored a century as the touring side ended up putting 657 runs on the board. Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, and Harry Brook were the centurions for England. In reply, Pakistan scored 579 runs. Three hosts' batsmen also recorded a century each – Shafique, Imam-Ul-Haq, and Babar Azam.

"Some of the things we can't plan for is what happened to the squad before the Test. Seems a long time ago when we were running around to find players for the Test. Will Jacks getting the message three minutes before toss, and Pope getting the gloves. We've played 8-9 matches with myself and Brendon in charge. One thing we try to do is focus on ourselves and not the opposition. We know we're a very exciting team. It was a great batting surface, so it was an opportunity for our batting group.

"Having the lads truck in like they did today was amazing. Really special group of players. We wanted to come here to Pakistan and carry on with our mantra of exciting cricket. I've got no interest in trying to play for a draw, the dressing room has no interest in playing for a draw. Felt on this kind of wicket, almost had to entice the batsmen to play an attacking shot," added Stokes in the post-match interview.

Stokes also said that they were fortunate to get the ball reverse-swinging. "James Anderson and Ollie Robinson were fantastic today. We won probably about 8 minutes before we would've come off. This is probably up there as one of England's greatest away wins," said Stokes.

Meanwhile, Pakistan captain Babar admitted that his side was "not upto the mark."

"We were not upto the mark. Had a golden chance in the second innings, but session by session we lost wickets. Our bowling group is young. Unfortunately, Haris injured himself in the first innings. All credit to the bowlers who bowled well and tried without Haris. We try to stick to our plans. Difficult when an opponent goes at 7 an over. We had an opportunity in the second innings. But we didn't get partnerships in the end. Lot of positives. Our batting performed very well. Bowling also very well," added Babar.

The second Test between India and England is scheduled to take place on Dec. 9.