PAK vs ENG: Pakistan beat England by 9 wickets in Rawalpindi to win Test series 2-1

PAK vs ENG: Pakistan beat England by nine wickets in Rawalpindi and won the Test series 2-1 after initially going 1-0 down with an innings defeat in the opening game. Saud Shakeel won the Player of the Match award while Sajid Khan and Noman Ali picked up 19 wickets.

In Short

• Pakistan beat England by 9 wickets in Rawalpindi
• Pakistan chased down 35 runs in 19 balls
• Saud Shakeel won the Player of the Match award

Pakistan ended their long wait of winning a Test series on home soil after beating Ben Stokes’ England 2-1 in the two-match series. Shan Masood could finally heave a sigh of relief as he now has a series win under his belt as captain after initially losing six Test matches in a row since taking over from Babar Azam last year. The last time Pakistan won a home Test series was back in February 2021 against South Africa.

PAK vs ENG, 3rd Test, Day 3 Highlights

On Saturday, Pakistan beat the Three Lions by nine wickets in Rawalpindi and made a comeback after going 1-0 down with an innings defeat in the series opener. Saud Shakeel, Sajid Khan and Noman Ali were the architects of the series ever since they joined the playing XI after Pakistan rung in a host of changes to their team, dropping the likes of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Babar Azam, and others.

As far as England are concerned, they lost the plot completely after being asked to play on spin-friendly tracks. After losing three early wickets in their second innings of the Rawalpindi Test, they could not recover and were bowled out for 112 in 37.2 overs. Noman and Sajid picked up 19 wickets in the match and 39 wickets in the series to rout the visitors.

After taking four wickets in the second innings, Sajid also became the first spinner to take a 10-wicket haul in a Test match at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. Noman was incredible as well, taking six wickets in the second innings. Joe Root and Harry Brook built a 46-run stand for the fourth wicket, but apart from that there was nothing to write home about England’s batting.

Earlier, Shakeel laid the platform for Pakistan with his fourth Test century. Chasing a modest target of 35, Pakistan took only 19 balls to go past the finish line. Saim Ayub would be disappointed after Jack Leach dismissed him, but skipper Masood came out firing, scoring 23 runs off six balls with four wickets and a six.

Masood began his knock with four fours on the trot off Leach. He finished the game off in an emphatic manner, hitting Shoaib Bashir straight down the ground for a six. It was also the second time Pakistan won a 3-match Test series after losing the first Test after their win against Zimbabwe in 1995.