Pakistan 344 (Shakeel 134, Sajid 48*, Noman 45, Rehan 4-66, Bashir 3-129) and 37 for 1 (Masood 23*) beat England 267 (Smith 89, Duckett 52, Sajid 6-128, Noman 3-88) and 112 (Root 33, Noman 6-42, Sajid 4-69) by nine wickets
The wait is finally over. For the first time since 2021, Pakistan won a test series at home, coming back from 1-0 down to confirm a 2-1 success over England.
A comprehensive nine-wicket victory on the third day of the third and decisive Test in Rawalpindi came before lunch, achieved with so little fuss that England’s victory by an innings in the opening match seems to belong in an entirely different series. It is only the second time Pakistan have come from behind in a series and the first time they have done so at home.
Before Masood departed with Abdullah Shafique, Noman and Sajid had gone toe-to-toe, basking in the glory of instigating England’s third-day collapse in which the last seven wickets fell for just 46, and the fact that His performances changed the series. head. Since being drafted into the team after the tourists took a 1-0 lead, they have taken 39 wickets between them: Noman’s left-arm spin took 20 at 13.85, Sajid’s smashes 19 at 21.01.
And yet things started calmly enough for England. They started Saturday 53 behind at 24 for 3, but in Root and Brook, they had two batsmen capable of reducing that deficit, and then some.
When Brook began the 13th over by hitting Sajid for consecutive fours, first through cover, then at mid-wicket, Pakistan’s most pessimistic fans might have wondered if the Yorkshire pair were about to embark on another match. tilting association. After all, it was these two who combined to score 454 in the first Test in Multan.
However, that was before Sajid and Noman entered the series. And after the former adjusted his line to keep Brook honest, the latter followed a slow delivery with a much faster one that was clipped late into the gloves of Mohammad Rizwan. Pakistan’s lead had been reduced to 11, but the first domino had been toppled. Others duly followed.
Stokes’ problems against spin continued, inexplicably leading a straight delivery from Noman, waiting for a turn from the wicket that never came. Jamie Smith’s charge against Sajid was almost as bad, delivered from off stump with a wild swing that belied the sensitivity he had shown with a charge of 89 in the first innings.
It was only four balls after Smith’s dismissal that England took the lead, and any hopes they had of extending that lead significantly ended when Root was caught by Noman with a lead of eight. Perfect dive on a length to drag the right-hander forward from around the wicket, before enough turn – it was a delivery the 38-year-old had served several times, but only Root was good enough to make a cut. TO
Sajid stepped in to cut the tail, hitting Gus Atkinson before knocking down Rehan Ahmed’s leg stump for his second 10-wicket haul. And he looked to have got a second five in the match when Shoaib Bashir took LBW in the sweep.
A cursory DRS check came back in favor of the No.11, with the impact on the deck coming off the stump. The respite only brought two additional runs, when Noman caught Leach missing in the charge, firing wide of the advancing left-hander, cleverly stumped by Rizwan.
A lead of 35 was always going to be light work on a pitch that was far from demonic, but it was Masood’s introduction that ensured the formalities were completed in 3.1 overs. Ayub began the chase with a pair of fours at the end of the first over before Leach pinned him in front, confirmed via DRS after another wrong call by umpire Sharfuddoula.
But even his dismissal put some icing on the cake as Masood led the team on a charge to his first series win as captain. After starting his tenure with six consecutive defeats heading into the second Test of this series, it was hard to begrudge him that honour.
Vithushan Ehantharajah is associate editor of Pak Gazette
