Pakistan levelled the three-match Test series with a comprehensive 152-run victory over England in the second Test at Multan Cricket Stadium. The victory came courtesy a dominating display by Pakistan's spinners who made full use of a re-used pitch, bowling England out for 144 before lunch on Day 4.
The result sets up a thrilling series decider in Rawalpindi next week, as the series is now levelled at 1-1.
Chasing a testing 297, England's batsmen were put in a tangle by left-arm spinner Noman Ali, who accounted for seven of the eight wickets that went down on the fourth morning, wrapping up with figures of 8-46 in the second innings and 11-147 overall in the match.
Noman, and off-spinner Sajid Khan, who took nine wickets in the two innings, exposed the fragility of England on a spinning wicket. Together, they bagged all 20 wickets between them, something that has occurred only seven times in Test history.
Apart from the selection and pitch conditions, most attribute the recent victory to Pakistan. On a reused Multan pitch, Pakistan made radical changes following the humiliation in the first Test and moved to play with a spin-heavy attack by dropping former captain Babar Azam as well as pace bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah. The move paid off as Noman and Sajid spun England into submission making the most of a sharp turn and unpredictable bounce.
The situation changed early on the fourth day when England resumed on 36-2, still needing 261 more runs to chase what would have been their highest-ever total in Asia. The approach against the spin seemed to be that of attacking, which played right into the hands of Pakistan. Ollie Pope fell to the eighth ball of the day, offering a return catch to Sajid, and from there, the collapse was swift.
Veteran England batter Joe Root trapped lbw trying to sweep Noman, with Harry Brook missing a hack across the line and, also dismissed on lbw. The very reliable Jamie Smith handed a simple catch to mid-on, and suddenly England were 87-6, the chase in tatters.
Captain Ben Stokes provided some resistance for a few overs, sending the sweep and reverse-sweep down to every ball. Alongside Brydon Carse he achieved 37 from 31 balls. Carse over-turned an lbw decision before having Sajid for two successive sixes. Stokes's aggressive intent was what killed him, as charging at Noman caused him to lose his bat and wicketkeeper Muhammad Rizwan stumped him.
The tail folded quickly, with Carse edging to slip and Jack Leach's inside edge finding short leg. Shoaib Bashir was caught at the silly point on the very next ball to seal Pakistan's victory, ending England's four-match winning streak in Pakistan.
Pakistan's spinners, however were not the only reasons for the victory, as they had long set themselves up quite well due to Kamran Ghulam's fine hundred on debut, filling in for Babar Azam. Ghulam's brisk knock ensured that Pakistan crossed 360, and England did a sensational 80-run collapse from 211-2, and were bowled out for 291 giving them a lead of 75 runs over Pakistan.
They will also regret the missed opportunities in the field. In Pakistan's second innings, when the game was still in the balance, wicketkeeper Jamie Smith and Joe Root dropped Salman Agha twice in the same over of Brydon Carse. Salman scored 63 runs and assisted Pakistan to set a near-impossible target.
It wasn't all one-way traffic for England either, despite the difficult conditions and the handicap of losing the toss. The moment Ben Duckett took his century in the first innings, the English camp would have felt good about themselves. It is only the disappointing collapse of their middle-order in both innings that will be a cause for concern.
As the series heads to Rawalpindi for the last Test, starting on October 24, interest will surround what kind of surface is prepared. Pakistan will have been severely thrashed in the first Test and bounced back so strongly in Multan that they might look to grant a more spin-friendly scenario. England, though, will need to reassess their attitude to spin and potentially the entirety of their tactics if they are to avoid further collapses.
But the real stars of the day were the spinners, and relentless accuracy, supplemented by smart turn of ball, proved too much for England. The unbroken spell by Noman Ali and Sajid Khan bowled 33.3 overs, making them the two longest bowling spells by the same pair in a completed Test innings since 1956.
Brief scores: Pakistan 366 & 221 (Salman Agha 63, Saud Shakeel 31; Shoaib Bashir 4-66, Jack Leach 3-67) beat England 291 & 144 (Ben Stokes 37, Bydon Carse 27; Noman Ali 8-46, Sajid Khan 2-93) by 152 runs.
