Pakistan’s spin triumph on Saturday sealed a remarkable 2-1 victory for the team against England in the three-match Test series. This win marks a long-awaited home success for the Green Shirts.
Pakistan had a solid first innings, taking a lead of 77 runs on a pitch that heavily favored spinners. In England’s second innings, Noman Ali (6-42) and Sajid Khan (4-69) decimated the batting lineup. They bowled England out for a mere 112 runs, leaving Pakistan needing just 36 runs to clinch the series.
Pakistan lost Saim Ayub early but quickly closed in on victory on the third day of the contest. After starting their second innings at 24-3, England collapsed under the pressure from Pakistan’s formidable spin attack. Noman and Sajid took all 10 wickets, showcasing their dominance.
Joe Root managed to score the highest for England with just 33 runs. Pakistan completed the chase in only 3.1 overs, with skipper Shan Masood finishing on 23 not out.
The significance of this spin triumph is immense. It marks Pakistan’s first home Test series win in almost three and a half years. The last home victory was against South Africa in January 2021. This also represents Pakistan’s fourth home Test series victory over England. The last time they defeated England in a home series was back in 2005.
This win comes after an eight-year gap in series victories over England. In their previous encounter in the UAE, Pakistan won a three-match Test series against England 2-0 in 2015-16. The victory at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium is also noteworthy, as it is the first time Pakistan has triumphed over England at this venue.
England had previously defeated Pakistan at Rawalpindi in 2022. Notably, the national team faced defeats in home series against Australia (2022), England (2022), and Bangladesh (2024) prior to this match.
Playing XIs:
Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub, Shan Masood (c), Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, 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 (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir.
