Pakistan sink England to level series

MULTAN, October 18

Bold selection calls and a spin-friendly surface helped Pakistan end their winless home run with a series-levelling victory in the second Test against England.

Pakistan’s victory by 152 runs in a little over three days is their first at home since they beat South Africa in Rawalpindi in February 2021. Their first win under Shan Masood’s captaincy also lifted some of the gloom that had descended on a team smarting from a 2-0 whitewash at home against Bangladesh.

It would not have been possible but for the bold calls Pakistan selectors took after England inflicted an innings defeat on them in the series opener. Following the shellacking, Pakistan took the drastic step of dropping batter Babar Azam and pacers Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi, who have been off-colour in recent times. Much to their relief, the move paid off. Replacing Babar, Kamran Ghulam impressed immediately smashing a terrific hundred in the first innings of his debut Test.

Pakistan’s ploy to go with a spin-heavy attack, with Aamer Jamal the lone seam option, also paid dividends on a turning track.

Brief scores: Pakistan: 366 (Ghulam 118, Ayub 77; Leach 4/114) & 221 (Salman 63; Bashir 4/66); England: 291 (Duckett 114; Sajid 7/111) & 144 (Noman 8/46).