Pakistan defeated England on Friday, as their spinners ripped through the visitors’ batting lineup, clinching a decisive victory at Multan Cricket Stadium and leveling the series 1-1.
The Green Shirts secured a commanding win by 152 runs in the second Test.
Chasing 297 for victory, England were bowled out for 144 during the morning session on day four. Captain Ben Stokes top-scored for England with 37, while Pakistan’s left-arm spinner Noman Ali was the star bowler, taking an impressive 8-46.
Pakistan already had a significant advantage as play resumed with England at 36-2, requiring an exceptional batting display to reach the target. However, things quickly went downhill for England when vice-captain Ollie Pope (22) was dismissed in the second over of the day, giving off-spinner Sajid Khan a return catch.
Noman Ali then dominated, dealing a crucial blow to England by trapping Joe Root lbw for 18. Root’s review of the decision was unsuccessful. Noman continued his rampage, dismissing Harry Brook (16) in similar fashion, and England crumbled to 88-6 when Jamie Smith was sent back.
England’s captain, Ben Stokes, who has played many match-defining innings in his career, attempted to launch a counter-attack. Scoring at a run-a-ball, Stokes advanced down the pitch to Noman but lost control of his bat, which flew out of his hands. Pakistan wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan had plenty of time to collect the ball and remove the bails with Stokes stranded outside his crease.
The third and final Test will take place in Rawalpindi starting on Thursday.
Playing XI:
Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (captain), Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Zahid Mehmood.
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wk), Brydon Carse, Matt Potts, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir.
I am an experienced writer, analyst, and author. My exposure in English journalism spans more than 28 years. In the past, I have been working with daily The Muslim (Lahore Bureau), daily Business Recorder (Lahore/Islamabad Bureaus), Daily Times, Islamabad, daily The Nation (Lahore and Karachi). With daily The Nation, I have served as Resident Editor, Karachi. Since 2009, I have been working as a Freelance Writer/Editor for American organizations.