Pak Vs England
Pakistan finally ended their disastrous home Test losing streak as they thrashed England in a thriller on the fifth day of the second Test of the three-match series in Multan. It is the first home Test win for Pakistan since February 2021 and the first of the career of their new captain Shan Masood. The side leveled the series 1-1. The spinners came to the rescue, literally claiming all 20 wickets for England across the two innings with Sajid Khan and Noman Ali at the helm.
Stars were produced in the match in the form of two prolific spinners, Noman Ali and Sajid Khan, who used the helping conditions at Multan Cricket Stadium very well against England’s batting. With a target of 297 set before them, England had no chance to cope with the turning ball, and within just 144 runs, it was bowled over. Aggressive yet skillful bowling from both spinners kept England on tenterhooks from the start to a complete collapse which dashed the visitor’s hopes of going back into the series.
Noman Ali was exceptional, and his five wickets in the second innings sealed the issue, while Sajid Khan also bailed them out at the appropriate juncture with the critical wickets that shattered the backbone of the opposition. Together, their performance not only stopped England’s chase but turned the table against the hosts in favor of Pakistan, making this a day to remember forever.
One of the most significant causes behind this triumph was rested key players – Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Naseem Shah – after that unwanted defeat in the first Test. It would have sounded quite risky, but young blood proved a gem in their absence. Shan Masood’s leadership was crucial in guiding the team toward this much-needed win, proving cricketing depth in Pakistan runs deeper than envisioned so far.
Pakistan’s decision to give their emerging talents a go made them believe in the future of their cricketing lineup, and their young squad responded with a level of maturity and focus that might just be the new direction for Pakistani cricket in future games.
Day 3 was in many ways turning point of the match, as Pakistan’s spinners really dominated proceedings. This time Sajid Khan came up as the main strike bowler for England’s first innings with 7 wickets for 111 runs. He further picked up key wickets for Pakistan in the second innings of England as well while removing key batsmen pretty quickly to set the tone.
While Pakistan’s spinners, after the double early jolt to England’s openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley, did not seem to hold any kind of mercy on sending the middle order to the gallows, the English batsmen hardly seemed to have defended the spin attack continuously thrown at them. It was just the pressure delivery from the spinning attack that made their top score Joe Root and later on Ben Stokes also got out with minimum score on the board. By the end of the day, seven wickets had gone with a total loss of 125 runs, and their chasing for the target was all but lost, nearly shattered.
This victory puts an end to the long wait for Pakistan to win at home. The form also looks promising for the team as they had found no solution on how to sustain their run in Test cricket before this match when they won only eight out of the last 24 matches. The victory against England comes as a comeback in Test cricket for them, due to strategic leadership and making the best use of spinning conditions.
Shan Masood’s first win as Test captain was a testament to his administrative skills in that he can lead from the front as well as take those tough decisions like not giving much chance to senior players and instead letting the new talent produce some result. It is methodical leadership; if we talk about this win, then surely it would help the team to grow positively in this series.
For England, it has been a disastrous tour so far to the subcontinent; they were supposed to dominate here, but on the contrary, they have struggled a lot, even when it came to looking for positives from performances.
England did not at all fit in with the subcontinental conditions in Multan. Even as they began so well on Day 1 of the first Test, their inability to handle Pakistan’s spin attack was exposed in that game. After all, playing in the subcontinent is about more than just skill different levels of adaptability and technique are required, particularly against high-class spinners.
The English cricket team now needs to get their acts straight and think of a new plan for the remaining match. They will need to design strategies on how they can maintain control over their opponents’ attack, which seems very evidently their stronghold in favor of the home side. The batting line-up of England must certainly see a change because even stalwarts like Joe Root and Ben Stokes did not have a great game in this particular match.
The Multan win against England is not just a victory on paper; it has a great emotional impact on the team and their fans who have been carrying the burden of a losing streak. Sajid Khan and Noman Ali have also proved that the Pakistan spin department is among the best in the world when hosting at home.
Now that the series is leveled, Pakistan would like to carry this momentum forward into the third and decisive Test match. With renewed confidence in youth, the future of Pakistani cricket seems brighter than ever in Test cricket. Pakistani cricket under Shan Masood’s leadership, this win has more to it than just a break in sequence.
Read About Pakistan 2nd Day Insights
To Read More: Sports