PAK vs ENG: Pakistan Beat England 2-1 To Win A Test Series At Home After 3 Years

 

Shan Masood and his men have accomplished something that was looking impossible for a while now, which is winning a test series at home. After losing 0-2 to Bangladesh at home and losing the first test of this series to England, PCB made some major changes. The selection committee and the squad were changed mid-series, which turned out to be beneficial, as they went on to win the remaining two test matches and win the series at home after 3 long years.

First Test Match

The first match was played in Multan, where Pakistan batted first and scored a huge total of 556 runs on a wicket that didn't do much for the bowlers. Shan Masood, Abdullah Shafique and Salman Ali Agha all scored hundreds, while Saud Shakeel scored a solid fifty. Pakistan were in the driving seat after posting a mammoth total, but English batters had other plans. In reply, after the early departure of England's stand in captain for the game Ollie Pope, English batters one after the other took the Pakistani bowling apart and almost doubled what Pakistan scored. England posted 823 runs and declared with 3 wickets in hand, they had a huge lead of 267 runs. Harry Brook scored a triple hundred while England's best test batter of all time, Joe Root also scored 262 runs, Zack Crawley and Ben Duckett also got fifty's to their name. Pakistan had two days to bat and the only possible results were either an England win or a draw, which was also looking unlikely. Pakistani batters who spent 150 overs on the field couldn't do much and were bowled out for 220 runs. England won the match by an innings and 47 runs, with England's left arm spinner, Jack Leach, finding some turn and picking up 4 wickets. This was Shan Masood's sixth loss since taking over as the captain of the test side.

Aftermath of the First Test Match

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) made some significant changes after the embarrassing defeat in the first match. Former test cricketer and world cup champion, Aqib Javed, along with umpire Aleem Dar and former test cricketer and champions trophy winner, Azhar Ali were added to the selection committee. Asad Shafiq retained his spot from the previous selection committee. From the looks of it, Aqib Javed in particular was also given the role of making the pitch better in favour of Pakistan. The new selection committee also had major say in the squad and the playing 11 even more than the captain and coach. After all these discussions it was decided that Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed and Sarfaraz Ahmed are being released from the squad. The got replaced by, Kamran Ghulam, Mehran Mumtaz, Sajid Khan, Haeebullah and Muhammad Ali in the squad. This was a fair call as the three big names, Babar, Shaheen and Naseem have been out of form for quite some time now.

Second Test Match

It was decided that the second test was going to be played on the same pitch as the first one in Multan. One thing was for sure that the wicket was going to have more turn as it was played on a day 6 pitch. Pakistan batted first on a pitch that was turning and had uneven bounce, posted a good total of 366 runs with the debutant Ghulam scoring a hundred, Saim also contributed with a fifty. In response, England could only manage 291 which gave Pakistan a lead of 75 runs leading into the third innings. The spin duo of Noman who picked 3 wickets and Sajid who picked 7 wickets did the job with the ball for the men in green. As the wicket kept getting tougher to bat on, the Pakistani batters also struggled in the third innings, but most of the batters still contributed with 20s and 30s but the key partnership of Agha and Sajid put Pakistan ahead in the game by some margin. Pakistan set a target of 297 runs for England to chase in the fourth innings, which was going to be really difficult. As expected, England couldn't handle the spin of Noman who picked 8 wickets and Sajid who bagged 2 this time. In total, Noman (11 wickets) and Sajid (9 wickets) picked up all 20 wickets of England and helped Pakistan tie the series 1-1.

Third Test Match

After the success in the second test, the home side was all in to turn Rawalpindi into a turning track as well. Initially, it seemed difficult to impossible because Pindi was known to be either a flat surface or a green top at best, but Aqib and the rest of the selection panel used big heaters and fans to dry the pitch as much as they can. This time, England's skipper Ben Stokes called it right at the toss and decided to bat first, and this wicket was turning from ball one. England could only manage 267 runs, with fifty's coming from Duckett and Smith. Once again the men in green trapped English batters in a spin web as Sajid picked up 6, Noman with 3 and Zahid with 1 wicket each. In response, Pakistan were off to a disastrous start but thanks to Saud Shakeel and his solid temperament who managed to score a sensational 100 with the tail of Noman and Sajid scoring mid 40s and helping Pakistan take an important lead of 77 runs. And once again the spin duo took all 10 wickets in the third innings and England were wrapped up on 112, setting a target of 36 runs only. Pakistan chased down the total in no time and won the series 2-1 under the captaincy of Shan Masood after 3 long years at home.

Relief For The Team and Fans

Pakistan cricket team and fans would be really relieved after watching their team win a home test series after 3 long years. Credit goes to the captain, Shan Masood and coach Jason Gillespie but also Aqib Javed and company who provided two back to back spin tracks that previous management were unable to do. The fans and management now have belief that they can make spin tracks and dominate sides at home, they will definitely try to repeat it against in their next home test series against West Indies at home.