RAWALPINDI Rawalpindi: Spinners Noman Ali and Sajid Khan stifled England's batting attack in the space of three days to lead Pakistan to a nine-wicket win in the third and final Test on Saturday. 38-year-old left-arm spinner Ali and 31-year-old off-spinner Khan Had taken all 20 wickets on the second Test pitch to level the series last week and again troubled the batsmen by sharing 19 wickets on the engineered dry surface, leaving England all out for 112 on the third day.
This was England's lowest innings score in Pakistan, surpassing their previous score of 130 all out in Lahore in 1987. Pakistan, who took a significant first innings lead of 77 runs, were 37–1 at lunch. Reached and recorded its first home series win since 2021, when it defeated South Africa 2–0.
Captain Shan Masood (23 not out), who had lost six consecutive Test matches as captain before England suffered defeat in the second Test, scored four consecutive fours off the bowling of Jack Leach against Shoaib Bashir. Ensured victory by hitting a six over long-off.
“This is special,” Massoud said. “The first win after a long time and it was backed up by a series win… It's about character. To be here and stand as a winning team, that's the most special thing for us,” Leach said in the fall. The only wicket he took was when he successfully attempted an LBW television referral against Sam Ayub, who scored eight runs. The win was a sweet revenge for the home team, who were beaten 3-0 by England when they toured Pakistan under the captaincy of Ben Stokes two years ago.
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