Pak clinch Test series against Eng

Secure nine-wicket victory in third Test at Rawalpindi

RAWALPINDI:

Spinners Noman Ali and Sajid Khan combined to destroy England and bowl Pakistan to a comprehensive nine-wicket victory in the deciding third test and secure a memorable 2-1 series victory on Saturday.

Pakistan had been on the ascendancy since claiming a handy first-innings lead of 77 on a track where spinners from both sides dominated.

Noman (6-42) and Sajid (4-69) bundled out England for a paltry 112 in their second innings to leave Pakistan needing only 36 to win the series.

Pakistan lost the wicket of Saim Ayub before wrapping up victory on day three of the contest.

Home captain Shan Masood hit Jack Leach for four fours in a row before smacking a six in the first ball of the next over from Shoaib Bashir to seal their victory.

Noman and Sajid claimed 19 of the 20 England wickets while Pakistan did not use their lone seamer Aamer Jamal at all in the match in a stark indication of how spin-friendly the surface was.

The duo claimed 39 of the 40 English wickets in the last two tests since their mid-series selection. Resuming on 24-3, England lost wickets at regular intervals with Noman and Sajid running through their batting line.

Only Joe Root (33) looked comfortable against Pakistan's rampaging spinners and once he fell to Noman, Pakistan's victory was just a matter of time.

England captain Ben Stokes' dismissal, offering no shot to an incoming Noman delivery that trapped him lbw, summed up their approach in the match.

The Green Team last won a Test series on home soil three years ago when Pakistan defeated South Africa 2-0.

Relived Shan Masood

Pakistan captain Shan Masood said his team showed tremendous character to register back-to-back victories against England and win their first test series on home soil since 2021.

Smarting from an innings defeat in the series opener, Pakistan levelled the series in Multan before arriving in Rawalpindi where they rolled out a raging turner.

Their spin twins Noman Ali and Sajid Khan claimed 19 of the 20 English wickets to bowl Pakistan to a nine-wicket win that also secured their 2-1 series victory on Saturday.

"Like London buses they come together," Shan said of their successive victories in the series.

"The first win came after a long time and it was backed up by a series win. It's special."

After losing the opener, Pakistan took a bold selection call by dropping three frontline players - batter Babar Azam and the pace duo of Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi.

Sajid and Noman were brought in and the duo claimed 39 of the 40 English wickets in the last two tests, apart from producing useful cameos with the bat, to vindicate the move.

Sajid cut his chin while batting on Friday and had to change his bloodied shirt but returned on Saturday to spin a web around the English batters.

"For everyone to stand up and give their best means a lot," said Shan, who sealed Pakistan's victory with a six off England spinner Shoaib Bashir.

"It is about characters, people you can trust, people you think can bleed for you - Sajid literally bled for us yesterday.

"To be here and standing as the winning team is the most special thing for us."

England folded for a meagre 112 in their second innings with only Joe Root (33) looking comfortable against Pakistan's rampaging spinners.

Their usual tactics of swashbuckling batting have looked somewhat one-dimensional and inadequate on turning tracks and against in-form spinners.

"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," said England captain Ben Stokes.

"The great thing about sport is that those challenges will always come along, but in the last two games we weren't able to match what Pakistan threw at us.

"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." REUTERS