Cricket - Third Test - England v Pakistan - Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi, Pakistan - October 26, 2024 England's Jack Leach with Harry Brook, Shoaib Bashir and Rehan Ahmed during a DRS review REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro
RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (Reuters) - Spinners Noman Ali and Sajid Khan combined to destroy England and bowl Pakistan to a comprehensive nine-wicket victory in the deciding third test and secure a memorable 2-1 series victory on Saturday.
Pakistan had been on the ascendancy since claiming a handy first-innings lead of 77 on a track where spinners from both sides dominated.
Noman (6-42) and Sajid (4-69) bundled out England for a paltry 112 in their second innings to leave Pakistan needing only 36 to win the series.
Pakistan lost the wicket of Saim Ayub before wrapping up victory in the extended morning session on day three of the contest.
Home captain Shan Masood hit Jack Leach for four fours in a row before smacking a six in the first ball of the next over from Shoaib Bashir to seal their victory.
Noman and Sajid claimed 19 of the 20 England wickets while Pakistan did not use their lone seamer Aamer Jamal at all in the match in a stark indication of how spin-friendly the surface was.
The duo claimed 39 of the 40 English wickets in the last two tests since their mid-series selection.
Resuming on 24-3, England lost wickets at regular intervals with Noman and Sajid running through their batting line.
Only Joe Root (33) looked comfortable against Pakistan's rampaging spinners and once he fell to Noman, Pakistan's victory was just a matter of time.
England captain Ben Stokes' dismissal, offering no shot to an incoming Noman delivery that trapped him lbw, summed up their approach in the match.
(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; editing by Shri Navaratnam.)
