Pakistan romped to a series win over England inside the opening session on day three of the third and final Test in Rawalpindi as they wrapped up a nine-wicket victory.
Noman Ali (6-42) and Sajid Khan (4-69) again combined to devastating effect in sharing all 10 wickets, the latter finishing with 10-for in the match, as England – 24-3 overnight – were bundled out for 112 in their second innings.
The tourists’ scrambled approach against high-quality spin bowling was no more evident than when Ben Stokes (3) fell lbw to Noman when inexplicably shouldering arms to a straight delivery.
Set a paltry 36 runs to win, Pakistan knocked them off in no time, with captain Shan Masood (23no) – under huge pressure to start the series – fittingly getting the job in a stunning six-ball cameo, clinching the most remarkable of turnarounds with a six.
The hosts lost the opening match in Multan by an innings and 47 runs, their sixth straight defeat under Shan Masood’s captaincy and extending a winless run at home dating back to February 2021 – which included a 3-0 whitewash on England’s last visit in late 2022.
Such an embarrassing loss on a desperately flat pitch prompted a switch in approach, with three changes made for the second Test, played on the same now used surface in Multan. Kamran Ghulam came in and cracked a hundred on debut, but it was Noman and Sajid’s introduction which truly turned the series.
With pitches prepared to aid spin, the duo combined to take 39 of the 40 England wickets to fall in the final two Tests to prompt Pakistan’s sudden and sensational change in fortune.
On the third and what ultimately proved to be the final morning of the series decider in Rawalpindi, England had made a reasonably positive start, with Joe Root and Harry Brook – the same pair that combined for an England-record partnership of 454 in the first Test – adding 42 to their overnight score without loss.
It took the tourists to within 12 runs of earning a lead but then another sudden collapse to spin saw Brook, Stokes and Jamie Smith all depart before parity was achieved, England six down.
Brook (26) nicked off to a faster and flatter delivery fired in by Noman, Stokes suffered his spectacular brain fade in the left-arm spinner’s subsequent over, while Smith (3) was bowled by Sajid when looking for the sort of big hit straight down the ground that served him so well during his first-innings 89.
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The wicket of Joe Root falls to Noman Ali, who bags himself a five-for!
Root (33) just about saw England into a lead but the game and the series was as good as over when he become Noman’s fifth victim by feathering a thin edge through to Mohammad Rizwan behind the stumps.
Sajid, kept quiet for the majority of the morning, then clinched his 10-for for the match when bowling both Gus Atkinson (10) and Rehan Ahmed (7), while Noman wrapped up the innings by having Jack Leach (10) stumped.
Chasing only 36 to wrap up the series, England and Leach earned the consolation scalp of Saim Ayub for 8 as Pakistan otherwise quickly knocked off the required runs, Masood blasting his side to victory in just 3.1 overs.
What’s next for England?
England’s white-ball side head to the West Indies for three one-day internationals and a five-match T20 series, with the ODIs set to start in Antigua on Thursday, October 31.
As for Stokes’ Test team, they’re next in action in New Zealand for a three-match tour that begins in Christchurch on Thursday, November 28.
Pakistan vs England Test series
First Test: Multan – England won by an innings and 47 runs
Second Test: Multan – Pakistan won by 152 runs
Third Test: Rawalpindi – Pakistan won by nine wickets