Pakistan spinners force England collapse to level series

By Sports Desk October 18, 2024

Pakistan's spinners orchestrated England's second-innings collapse as the hosts rallied on day four to earn a 152-run win.

Having been subject to an innings and 47-run defeat in the first Test of the series, Pakistan forced a decider thanks to Sajid Khan (2-93) and Noman Ali (8-46).

England resumed on day four at 36-2 needing 297 runs to win, but Ollie Pope was only able to add one to his total (22) before being caught and bowled off Khan's second ball of the day.

Three more wickets fell over the next 40 minutes – Joe Root (18) and Harry Brook (16) were both trapped lbw by Noman, who also took Jamie Smith (6) shortly after.

Though Ben Stokes' 37 looked to provide some brief respite for England, alongside Brydon Carse's knock of 27 as they crept over the 100-mark, the tourists could not maintain any momentum.

Noman took the final seven wickets of the day and made sure things were wrapped up by lunch, dismissing Shoaib Bashir for a duck immediately after taking Jack Leach for a single run. 

Data Debrief: The wait is over for Pakistan

Pakistan have salvaged some pride following their heavy defeat in the first Test, but they have also ended their terrible run on home soil.

Shan Masood finally has his first win since taking over as captain and, along with it, put a halt to their six-match losing streak in Pakistan. 

It is all down to Noman and Khan, who combined for all 20 wickets, becoming the first pair to achieve such a feat in a Test since Dennis Lillee and Bob Massie in 1972.

Related items

  • Sri Lanka breeze to series win over West Indies Sri Lanka breeze to series win over West Indies

    Sri Lanka cruised to a nine-wicket victory over West Indies to seal a T20I series triumph.

    With the series delicately poised at 1-1 heading into the final match on Thursday, Sri Lanka started with intent in Dambulla.

    Maheesh Theekshana (2-19) and Wanindu Hasaranga (2-24) led the charge as Sri Lanka skittled through the Windies' top order.

    Rovman Powell's stubborn 37 and a contribution of 32 from Gudakesh Motie steered West Indies to a reasonable total of 162-8, but it was one well within reach of Sri Lanka.

    Pathum Nissanka clipped seven fours and one six in a 22-ball 37 to get Sri Lanka's chase rolling at pace, before he was bowled by Gudakesh Mottie (1-31).

    Yet the damage was mostly done, with Kusal Mendis powering his way to an unbeaten 68 and Kusal Perera plundering 55 from 36 balls to get the job done with the minimum of fuss.

    Data Debrief: Perera closing in on Sri Lanka record

    Perera is now just nine runs away from surpassing Tillakaratne Dilshan (1,889) as the leading scorer in Sri Lanka's T20I history.

    His efforts, combined with those of Nissanka and Mendis, saw Sri Lanka win for a fourth time in their last six T20Is at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, although this is the first time they have won at the venue in that run when batting second.

    The Windies' miserable record in Asia has continued, meanwhile. They have won only one of their last 11 T20Is in Asia (L10), with that victory coming in the first match of this series. They have now lost 33 T20Is on the continent in total, with only Ireland (35) having lost more.

  • England have 'belief' in second Test chances, says Collingwood England have 'belief' in second Test chances, says Collingwood

    England assistant coach Paul Collingwood said his side have belief in overhauling Pakistan's 297-run lead to claim the second Test in Multan. 

    England ended the third day of the second Test at 36-2 after losing the early wickets of Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley in their second innings. 

    Should the tourists pull off the chase, it would be their joint third-highest in an overseas Test and the best by any visiting team in Pakistan.

    Having broken a number of records in the first Test, Collingwood insists that anything is possible with this current group of players. 

    "We’ll still have that belief," said Collingwood. "We know it’s going to be tough and we’ve got to be realistic, but we’ll find ways to put them under pressure."

    Asked if a win in this match would be better than the first-Test victory, Collingwood said: "It would, under the circumstances and conditions we’ve been given this time.

    "There’s still hope, and there’s only hope because of the amazing things these guys have done in the past."

    Salman Agha, meanwhile, pledged that Pakistan will put every effort into securing a first home Test win in "God knows how many years". 

    Agha top-scored for Pakistan in their second innings with 63, though he was fortunate to reach that total, having been dropped twice during the 52nd over. 

    He also showered praise on Sajid Khan, who ended with figures of 7-111 in the first innings before claiming the early wicket of Duckett on Thursday.

    "To be honest, I was thinking, 'It is going to be hard,'" Salman told Sky Sports.

    "There was a lot of changes - and big changes. But the way the team has gelled, and the way the new guys have come in and we've welcomed them [has been great]. They come in and they are chipping in.

    "Look at Sajid. He took seven wickets and scored important runs, and then you will see Noman Ali.

    "He came and took wickets, and scored important runs. I think it's very good for Pakistan cricket, the way they came and gelled in and contributed. That's amazing."

    Pakistan have not won a home Test match since they beat South Africa in February 2021, with four draws and seven defeats since then, losing all six Test matches this year.

    Salman said that ending those streaks would be "very important" and that Pakistan are aiming to right their wrongs from recent years. 

    "It's going to be massive, because we haven't won a Test match at home for… I don't know, God knows how many years now," he said.

    "It's going to be a very, very big thing for us. We will make sure we will put all the effort there and make sure we win this game, because that's very important for us."

  • Rohit 'hurting' after historic India collapse versus New Zealand Rohit 'hurting' after historic India collapse versus New Zealand

    Rohit Sharma took responsibility after India posted their lowest-ever home score in the first Test versus New Zealand, saying he was "hurting" after they were skittled for 46 runs.

    After Wednesday's play was called off due to heavy rain in Bengaluru, India produced a historically bad effort with the bat as Matt Henry (5-15) and Will O'Rourke (4-22) starred for the Black Caps.

    Five India batters – Virat Kohli, Sarfaraz Khan, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin – walked for ducks as New Zealand needed just 32 overs to bowl their hosts out.

    India's score was their worst-ever on home soil, having previously been all out for 75 against West Indies in 1987, and the third-lowest in their Test history overall.

    Rohit opted to bat after winning the toss in what many viewed as a puzzling decision, and he admitted he had misjudged the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium surface after stumps.

    "You see and you try and make the judgement. Sometimes you make the right call, sometimes you don't, and I was on the other side of it this time around," Rohit said.

    "I'm hurting a little bit because I made that call. But see, for us as a team, I think these are the challenges.

    "So what if we put ourselves under pressure a little bit? We want to play well. We want to challenge ourselves. 

    "This time around, it didn't come off, the challenges that were thrown at us. We didn't respond well, and we found ourselves in a situation where we got bowled out for 46 runs. 

    "As a captain, it definitely hurts to see that number, but in 365 days you'll make two or three bad calls. That's okay."

    Only twice has Black Caps bowler Henry bettered Thursday's figures in a Test innings, with seven-wicket hauls against South Africa in 2022 and Australia in 2024, both on home soil.

    Speaking to reporters after the close of play, he said: "It was a great way to start the day but it was also about the way we could build pressure with the bat. 

    "There was a lot of grass taken off and we just wanted to keep it simple and there was a lot of assistance in the morning. 

    "The key is to control what you can control, to work on your game and improve. With the game affected by rain, it's important to have a dominant day like this. It's obviously tough to play in India."

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.