England beat Pakistan in the final day of the Test series in Rawalpindi. It was only their third match win in Pakistan.
England held Pakistan at bay for 268 in the last innings. There were less than 15 minutes to go in the day’s play. James Anderson and Ollie Robertson were the best bowlers. The ball finally performed tricks on a wicket that was under scrutiny earlier.
At the start of the third session, Pakistan was at 257/5 with Agha Salaman and Azhar Ali in between. There were then four, as Agha (30 from 64) was defeated by Ollie with the Decision Review System. (DRS), giving England a lbw. Drama ensued.
Naseem was bowled first, but the bails did not fall. Ollie Robinson looked shell shocked as Nasser Hussain spoke on air.
Robinson would be the first to have his moment, as Azhar Ali fell quickly to the right hand and flicked a reverse-swinger straight towards Joe Root at leg slip.
England didn’t take the new ball as the old was reversing. This was another wise decision.
Jimmy Anderson would then strike twice quickly, picking Haris Rahman and Zahid Mahmood in three deliveries. Anderson hit a short one on the rib cage, Mahmood tried to look but Ollie Pope was able to edge it down to Ollie Pope for a diving grab. Rauf won the first ball by the 40-year-old. Jack Leach finally rapped Naseem in the pads using an in-drifter. This beat the forward prod and trapped him plumb. England held a 1-0 advantage in the series, and Pakistan wouldn’t be helped by DRS.
Ben Stokes won the toss and chose to bat first. With the help of four centuries from Harry Brooks (Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope), he scored 657 runs in his first innings. Pakistan responded by scoring 579 runs thanks to hundreds from Abdullah Shafique (Imam-ul-Haq) and Babar Azam.
After scoring quickfire 264 runs in 35.5 overs, the visitors were able to extend their lead to 343 in their first innings. This would give them a total of 343.
The second Test will be held in Multan, starting Friday, December 9.