ENG vs PAK: Pakistan, who recently ended their winless streak in Test matches against England in the second Test at Multan, are now in a priceless win situation in the final Rawalpindi test as well.
The second test marked the return of Pakistan spin duo Noman Ali and Sajid Khan, as they picked all 20 wickets in both England’s batting innings. On the back of the stunning effect from their spinners, Pakistan ended their losing streak in test matches.
The Rawalpindi track seemed very different from Multan, as England came into bat first on Day 1. Opener Ben Duckett seemed the only batter who gave England a start with his half-century.
England seemed to struggle again with the two spinners creating a major impact with the ball, as Jamie Smith and Gus Atkinson had a hundred-run partnership for the 7th wicket. Jamie Smith alone with an 89-run score led England to a respectable 267 in the first inning.
After the not-so-many runs scored, England too started off their innings with two lead pitchers, Jack Leach and Sohaib Bashir. However, unlike the English batters, Pakistan, who also seemed to struggle equally at the beginning of their innings, later took guard of their innings.
In the middle order, Saud Shakeel batted throughout the innings and scored a hundred to rescue Pakistan in tough times alongside the two spinners again, Noman Ali and Sajid Khan. Both of these batters, who took nine wickets in the first inning, also scored vital 40+ scores, the second and third-highest scores after the centurion Shakeel.
ALSO READ: IND vs NZ: A humorous tale of Savage Shastri adding the perfect comic relief to India’s perfect opening Day of Pune Test
After struggling for 187/7, Shakeel built a 50+ partnership with Noman Ali and later another partnership with Sajid Khan, as Pakistan could avoid the trail and take an early 77-run lead in their first inning.
After England came into bat in the last few overs on Day 2, they again failed to catch up with the stunningness of the Pakistan spin duo; Noman picked 2 while Sajid picked 1, which cleaned up the English top-order. England is reduced to 24/3 as Pakistan advances to another red-ball win and their first series win of the year.
