KARACHI – England on Tuesday sealed the three-match Test series by beating host team Pakistan in the final Test match that was played in Karachi.
Two English batsmen were sent back to the pavilion by Pakistan’s mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed in the last session of the third day but Captain Ben Stokes and Ben Ducket led the visiting side to a historic 3-0 win. Ducket was unbeaten at 82 while Stokes ended with 35 on 43 deliveries.
Earlier on Monday, Pakistan batting lineup miserably failed in the second innings as the national team managed to score 216 runs. On the fourth day, England resumed their second innings at overnight score of 112 for two and needed a paltry 55 for the washout.
Pakistan posted 304 runs in the first innings of the last Test and England posted 354 and English leg spinner Rehan Ahmed picked five wickets on his Test debut to put the team on course for a comfortable victory in the final Test. England becomes the first Test team to complete a 3-0 whitewash in Pakistan, having won the first two tests in Rawalpindi and Multan.
Duckett cracked his 12th boundary off fast bowler Mohammad Wasim to seal the victory on the fourth day, with England finishing on 170-2.
Agha Salman dropped Stokes off spinner Abrar Ahmed with the English captain on 22 and just 19 needed for victory.
With nine wins in their last 10 matches, England have vindicated their newly adopted freewheeling approach to Test cricket dubbed “Bazball”, after the nickname of coach Brendon McCullum.
McCullum and Stokes took charge of a misfiring side in May that had won just one of their previous 17 Tests, including a 4-0 humiliation in the Ashes in Australia.
England played power-packed cricket right from the start of the Pakistan tour, smashing 506-4 to set a record for the most team runs on the opening day of a Test.
Four batters — Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Harry Brook and Duckett — scored hundreds that day, another record.
Stokes was also bold in his captaincy, setting a tantalising 343-run target for Pakistan in Rawalpindi and then setting unusual fields to get wickets.
Pakistan’s problems were compounded by injuries to their fast bowlers, with Shaheen Shah Afridi ruled out before the series with a knee injury.
Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah missed the last two Tests with fitness problems.
But Pakistan suffered major batting collapses, losing their last six wickets for 108 in the first innings in Karachi and seven for 52 in the second.
Tuesday’s defeat means it is also the first time Pakistan have lost four home Tests on the trot, having been beaten by Australia in Lahore in March.
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.