England spun to defeat in second Pakistan Test

Second Test, Multan (day four of five)

Pakistan 366: Ghulam 118 & 221: Salman 63, Bashir 4-66

England 291: Duckett 114; Sajid 7-111 & 144: Noman 8-46

Pakistan won by 152 runs; three-match series level at 1-1

Scorecard

England were spun out by Pakistan to lose the second Test by 152 runs, setting up a series decider in Rawalpindi next week.

Left with the monumental task of chasing 297 on a dusty Multan pitch re-used from their record-breaking first-Test victory, the tourists were dismissed for 144 before lunch on day four.

Aided by sharp turn and unpredictable bounce, left-arm spinner Noman Ali claimed seven of the eight wickets to fall on Friday for an overall 8-46 and match figures of 11-147.

Noman dovetailed with off-spinner Sajid, two of the four men Pakistan brought into their side for this Test. Sajid ended with nine victims in the match.

It is only the seventh time in Test history and first occasion since 1972 that two bowlers have shared all 20 wickets.

Despite the unique conditions and the disadvantage of losing the toss, England can also reflect on a collapse of 8-80 in their first innings and two crucial dropped catches in the same over in the Pakistan second innings.

Intrigue will now surround the surface for the third and final Test, which begins on Thursday, 24 October.

Pakistan were humiliated in the first Test, pulverised by England’s batters in conceding 823-7 declared. It was their sixth consecutive Test defeat, extending a winless home run to 11 matches.

The response was extreme. An expanded selection committee dropped superstar batter Babar Azam, and pace bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah. The decision to recycle the pitch from the first Test was unusual though not illegal. In doing that and packing the team with three specialist spinners, so much hinged on a toss Pakistan won.

That is not say this match was decided by the flick of a coin. Kamran Ghulam filled Babar’s shoes with a fine debut hundred, while the charismatic Sajid and accurate Noman were relentless in their examination of England’s batters.

Given the circumstances, this is a defeat England should be able to shrug off quite easily.

Still, they had their moments. They reached 211-2 in response to Pakistan’s 366 thanks to a fine century from Ben Duckett. First-innings parity would have given them a strong chance, so to then be bowled out for 291 is disappointing on any pitch.

Then, on the third afternoon, they had the opportunity to limit their eventual chase, only for wicketkeeper Jamie Smith and Joe Root to put down straightforward chances off Salman Agha in the same Brydon Carse over. Salman was in single figures at the time and his 63 put the result beyond doubt.

The used pitch was made possible by the first two Tests being played at the same venue, so the move to Rawalpindi at least provides an element of newness.

But given this result, England should probably prepare themselves for more spin and have a week to ponder their strategy.

From 36-2 overnight, England even getting close to their target would have been a credible effort.

A chase of 297 would have been their highest ever in Asia, joint-third-highest anywhere away from home and the best by a visiting team to Pakistan.

But the notion of something extraordinary faded from the eighth delivery of the day, when Ollie Pope patted a return catch back to Sajid.

On the snake pit of a pitch and against the unerring Pakistan bowlers, England’s best chance was to attack, an intent that played into the hands of Noman.

Root was lbw on the sweep, Harry Brook palpably leg before missing a hack to the leg side and Smith spooned a catch to mid-on.

Ben Stokes was sweeping and reverse-sweeping at every opportunity, Carse overturned being given lbw to Sajid to hit the same bowler for back-to-back straight sixes.

The Durham pair added 37 from 31 balls before Stokes charged at Noman, comically flung his bat into the leg side and was left on all fours as wicketkeeper Muhammad Rizwan removed the bails.

Carse edged Noman to slip, Jack Leach inside edged to short leg and, next ball, Shoaib Bashir was caught at silly point to end England’s four-Test winning run in Pakistan.

Sajid and Noman bowled unchanged throughout for 33.3 overs, the longest two bowlers have done so in a completed Test innings since 1956.

England captain Ben Stokes on BBC Test Match Special: “It was a very difficult run chase even before we started today. It looks quite far way off, but on that wicket, we have done a pretty decent job.

“Hopefully, we can get a win next week and go home with another series win.”

Pakistan captain Shan Masood: “The first one is always special and it’s come after some hard times, some rough times.

“A lot has happened over the last week so for everyone to work together and come up with a strategy to take 20 wickets and make it happen, that’s the most satisfying thing.”

England coach Brendon McCullum on TMS: “Credit to Pakistan, they won quite a big toss. But they also played well in these conditions and took a big gamble with the pitch.

“We were decent for a few amount of the match in difficult situation, and there’s a lot to be proud of.”

Former England bowler Steven Finn on TMS: “England won’t beat themselves up or have a hard review about this defeat.

“One thing that’s really impressive about this England side is that they could’ve kicked and screamed about the pitch being used for two Tests in a row. We haven’t heard any of them say this was a disgrace. On the opposite, England have relished this as a challenge.”