Pakistan thrash England to clinch series after Noman, Sajid heroics

Agencies Published October 27, 2024

Pakistan players celebrate with the trophy after winning the series-deciding third Test against England at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Saturday.—Reuters

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan sealed a long-awaited and memorable series win as they knocked over England with embarrassing ease after Noman Ali and Sajid Khan delivered a spin masterclass for a nine-wicket win in the third and final Test on Saturday.

Noman and Sajid knocked over all 10 England wickets to dismiss the visitors for 112 as Pakistan raced to victory in Rawalpindi before lunch on day three.

The 38-year-old left-arm spinner Noman and off-spinner Sajid, 31, had grabbed all 20 wickets on a recycled second Test pitch to level the series last week and yet again clipped the batters on an engineered dry surface by sharing 19 wickets.

Captain Shan Masood hammered five boundaries in six balls, launching Shoaib Bashir over the ropes to complete a resounding victory, Pakistan’s first home Test series win since beating South Africa in February 2021.

Few expected Shan and his men to bounce back in such a fashion after Bangladesh blanked them 2-0 in their previous Test series at home.

When England inflicted an innings defeat on them in the series opener in Multan to grab a 1-0 lead in the series, it was quite on the expected lines.

Pakistan selectors then did the unthinkable and dropped three of the biggest names in Pakistan cricket, going by current reputation. Batting mainstay Babar Azam and frontline pacers Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi were axed and Pakistan recognised spin as their strong suit.

It was a measure of revenge for Pakistan, who were whitewashed 3-0 two years ago by a rampant England.

“This group, management, the board, what they have been through in the past few weeks -- that means a lot,” Shan, who had lost his previous two series since taking charge last year, said.

“The first win came after a long time and it was backed up by a series win. It’s special. For everyone to stand up and give their best, it means a lot. It’s about character. To be here and standing as the winning team, it’s the most special thing for us.

“We’d like to dedicate this to the people of Pakistan, who’ve been through a lot. Hopefully this will put a smile on people’s faces, and hopefully we can have full houses during matches.”

For England, it will be introspection time.

Their usual ultra-aggressive batting approach regardless of situation and conditions has appeared rather one-dimensional.

Barring Joe Root and Jamie Smith, none of their batters looked equipped to deal with the turning ball on a spinning track.

“The last couple of tests we’ve been thrown some challenges and I think it’s pretty easy to assess that were weren’t able to stand up to those challenges,” dejected skipper Ben Stokes said. “Credit to Pakistan on this win.”

“We’ve got a very quick turnaround to another challenge in New Zealand so we’ve got to put the disappointment of the last two games behind us and move on.”

England’s spin frailties were evident on Saturday again as they lost seven wickets in the morning session.

England’s batting folded meekly as Noman followed his three wickets in the first innings with 6-42 on a wicket which was dried out by industrial-sized giant fans and outdoor heaters.

Sajid grabbed 4-69 to add to his first innings six-wicket haul as England batters couldn’t negotiate the variable bounce and the turn the spin duo extracted of the pitch.

Resuming the day in trouble on 24-3, it only got worse for Stokes’ men and they were dismissed in 37.2 overs for their lowest total in Pakistan.

England’s previous low was 130 in Lahore in 1987.

Root and Harry Brook took the overnight deficit down from 53 to 11 before the middle-order carnage began in earnest.

Brook had one scare, clipping a tough low chance to short-leg after taking back-to-back fours off Sajid, but for a brief period the Yorkshire pair settled into a period of quiet accumulation.

That proved to be the calm before the storm as Brook, Stokes and Jamie Smith all fell before the scores were even level.

Brook (26) was done by a quicker, flatter delivery from Noman, caught behind by Mohammad Rizwan as he looked to score rather than defend.

PAKISTAN wicket-keeper Mohammad Rizwan completes the stumping of England tailender Jack Leach to wrap up England’s second innings.—AFP

Stokes came out with one final chance to leave his mark on a series that has largely passed him by but instead ended his trip with another disappointment.

With just three to his name and searching for a foothold in spinning conditions that have caused him no end of trouble, the captain shaped to block Noman from over the wicket before inexplicably withdrawing the bat.

The ball drifted on with the arm rather than turning down leg and pinned Stokes clean in front of the stumps. He was left crouched on the floor as the inevitable verdict was delivered, throwing his hands up in despair.

Stokes, who missed the first Test with a hamstring injury, managed just 53 runs in four innings.

Sajid made it 75-6, dismissing Smith, who tried to hit him out of the ground only to miss the ball and lose his stumps for three.

Noman completed his sixth five-wicket haul when Root (33) edged a sharp turning delivery to Rizwan, quashing all hopes of an England fightback.

Pakistan picked away at the tail, Gus Atkinson castled by a beauty from Sajid and Rehan Ahmed bowled round his legs looking to manufacture a sweep.

Noman wrapped up the innings when he spotted Jack Leach advancing out of his crease and deliberately threw down a huge wide, allowing Mohammad Rizwan to complete the stumping.

It was just a matter of time after that.

Pakistan suffered a minor hiccup when opener Saim Ayub fell for eight but Shan’s celebratory six-ball 23 not out sealed the series for the triumphant hosts.

Scoreboard

ENGLAND (1st Innings) 267 (J. Smith 89, B. Duckett 52; Sajid Khan 6-128, Noman Ali 3-88)

PAKISTAN (1st Innings) 344 (Saud Shakeel 134; R. Ahmed 4-66, Shoaib Bashir 3-129)

ENGLAND (2nd Innings, overnight 24-3):

Z. Crawley lbw Noman 2

B. Duckett lbw Sajid 12

O. Pope c Salman b Noman 1

J. Root c Rizwan b Noman 33

H. Brook c Rizwan b Noman 26

B. Stokes lbw Noman 3

J. Smith b Sajid 3

G. Atkinson b Sajid 10