Saturday 26 / October / 2024
Rawalpindi : It was another classic show from Noman Ali and Sajid Khan, which sealed Pakistan's historic series win over England following their 9-wicket triumph over England in the third Test on Saturday.
Records were rewritten in Rawalpindi when Pakistan successfully defied the odds to turn around the series and stamp a 2-1 victory.
After more than three years of wait, Pakistan finally tasted the sweetness of a Test series win on home soil. The 9-wicket triumph also marked Pakistan's first home Test series win since the past four-Test series.
Joe Root and Harry Brook, who were the prime architects of their historic victory by an innings and 47 runs in the series opener in Multan, stepped up on Day 3 to pull England back into the mix.
The signs looked positive as they steered the visitors innings with an extra bit of caution. But it was only a matter of time before Noman Ali and Sajid Khan rattled England's frail batting unit.
The two veteran spinners ran into the wilderness and ran through England's batting setup, leaving them hoping for a miracle to save the third Test and the series.
The duo, who was a part of the bold call made by the men's selection committee after the thumping defeat in the opening Test in Multan, made inroads with their beautiful trajectory and spin craft to leave England bamboozled.
Wickets kept falling one after another, and England hoped for a marvel to occur as defeat continued to stare them right at their face. The miracle never came, and England could only muster up a mere total of 112.
Noman ended the match with figures of 6/42, while Sajid picked a four-fer for himself while giving away 69 runs.
In reply, Pakistan had to just chase down a paltry score of 36 to seal the series in their favour. Saim Ayub fell to Jack Leach, but Abdullah Shafique and skipper Shan Masood stayed till the end to see off the game for Pakistan.
Masood went firing all cylinders from the very first ball looking to quickly wrap up the game. He went big by smoking the ball into the stands to finish off in style and emphatically celebrate Pakistan's victory.
Earlier in the Test, Jamie Smith (89) and Gus Atkinson (39) propelled England to a competitive total of 267. In reply, vice-captain Saud Shakeel dug deep and hammered 134 off 223 deliveries to give Pakistan a platform.
Valuable contributions from the tail end, which came from Noman (48) and Sajid (48*) turned out to be the valuable jewel that Pakistan cherished at the end after posting 344 on the board.
Brief Score: England 267 &112 (Joe Root 33, Harry Brook 26; Noman Ali 6-42) vs Pakistan 44 & 37/1 (Shan Masood 23*; Jack Leach 1-27).
