PAK vs ENG 2024/25, PAK vs ENG 3rd Test Match Report, October 24 – 28, 2024

Pakistan 344 needing 36 runs to beat In England 267 and 112 (Root 33, Noman 6-42, Sajid 4-69)

Pakistan are on the verge of their first home series win since 2021 after thrashing England by 112 runs, leaving them 36 runs adrift in the third and final Test in Rawalpindi.

As was the case in the first innings, and second Test victory in Multan, Noman Ali and Sajid Khan took the spoils, taking all 10 wickets between them. It was Noman’s turn to pocket the ball with 6 for 42, six for five, while Sajid’s 4 for 69 earned him the second 10-wicket haul of his 10-Test career after 6 of 128 wickets on the first day.

The two walked out at the end of the innings, basking in the glory of England’s third-day innings in which the last seven wickets fell for just 46, and the fact that their introduction turned the series on its head. Since being brought into the team after the visitors took a 1-0 lead, they have managed to claim 39 wickets between them – left-arm spin Noman taking 20 at 13.85, and off-spinner Sajid taking 19 from -21.01.

However, things began peacefully enough in England. Granted, they started Saturday 53 behind 24 at 3. But in Root and Brook, they had two batters who could make up for that deficit, and then some.

When Brook started the 13th over by hitting Sajid with back-to-back fours – first through cover, then through mid-off – the pessimistic Pakistan fans might have been wondering if Yorkshire were about to embark on another match-tilt affair. After all, they were the ones who made all 454 in the first Test in Multan.

However, that was before Sajid and Noman entered the series. And after the former adjusted his line to keep Brook honest, the latter followed up a slower delivery with a very quick single that was cut late off the gloves of Mohammad Rizwan. Pakistan’s lead was pegged at 11, but the first domino fell. Others duly followed.

Stokes’ problems against spin continued, leading Noman inexplicably, expecting a turn over the wicket that never came. Jamie Smith’s hit to Sajid was almost disastrous, he was bowled on the stumps by a wild winger against the logic he showed by carrying the load for 89 in the first innings.

It was only four balls after Smith’s dismissal that England went ahead, and their hopes of a meaningful stretch ended when Root was blocked by a pearl from Noman’s eight-wicket lead. A fine dip at length to drag the right-hander forward from near the wicket, just before the delivery was enough – it was the 38-year-old’s delivery that worked for him a couple of times but only Root was good enough to nick. A

Sajid tagged off the tail, fielding Gus Atkinson before hitting Rehan Ahmed’s leg stump for his second 10-wicket haul. And he looked to score his second five of the match when Shoaib Bashir was dismissed LBW with a sweep.

An indirect DRS review was also in No.11’s favour, resulting in a pad that went outside the off-stump. The reversal brought two more runs, as Noman caught Leach off guard, firing one wide of the advancing inleft, which was brilliantly caught by Rizwan.