The dramatic victory of England in the first Test against Pakistan will keep them in a good frame of mind in the second match at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton, feels Joe Root.

The England captain said that despite being the second-best team throughout the first three days of play in the opening Test of the three-match series, the way his team turned the game around in the fourth day showed that they have the character to win from any situation.

“The most pleasing thing for me was that for the majority of the game we were behind the eight-ball, we were below our own personal standards but we managed to hang in there and stay in the game and then on that last day we showed a huge amount of skill, quality and nous as well,” Root said on Sky Sports Cricket.

“At times we were quite smart – I think that Jos and Wiz (Woakes) marshalled that partnership very well. They saw the danger of the new ball and were quite proactive in making sure that wasn’t too big a factor. They took calculated risks and got us across the line.

“For us to be way off the mark for pretty much three days and still win, holds a lot of weight and gives the guys a huge amount of confidence because – when you’re not playing very well but still find ways to get across the line, that’s a great trait to have.

“It’s not a position we want to be in very much in the future but it’s obviously nice to know that the character is always there,” he added.

Meanwhile, England’s Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler scripted an incredible victory for their team in the first Test. The duo shared a ballistic 139-run partnership for the sixth wicket rescue England from 117/5 and take them 1-0 up in the three-match series.

Woakes remained unbeaten in his 120-ball knock of 84 runs after Buttler was sent back to the pavilion at the fag end of England’s chase. The wicketkeeper-batsman contributed 75 runs in 101 deliveries. However, Woakes made sure to see his team through and also hit the winning runs.

Chasing a target of 277 runs, England were put in a tricky situation by the enthusiastic Pakistan attack. Following Rory Burns’ (10 off 28 deliveries) departure, opener Dom Sibley had joined hands with his skipper Root to steady the ship.