England beat Pakistan by 26 runs in the fourth day of their second test match in Multan to ensure an unassailable 2-0 lead in their first tour of Pakistan in 17 years.
The hosts started the day in the driving seat after an impressive 80 run stand was shared between Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Nawaz making it look as though they would comfortably reach the required 355 to level the series.
But in a match that had otherwise been dominated by the spinners, it was the lightning pace of Mark Wood that proved to be the saviour for Ben Stokes’ side. Within just a few deliveries he was able to remove both Nawaz (45) and Shakeel (94) with Ollie Pope taking two excellent catches behind the stumps.
There was still room for contention as third umpire Joel Wilson deemed there to not be enough evidence to overturn the dismissal of Shakeel, as he neared a century the replays suggested the ball may have made contact with the Multan turf. The ever divisive Wilson deemed the contact to not be clear enough to overturn the soft signal of Aleem Dar.
It was still far from over as debutant Abrar Ahmed survived a late LBW appeal as he attempted to duck Wood’s last delivery of the session, he returned from the lunch break with a quick fire 17 before slapping James Anderson’s length-ball straight to Ben Duckett at cover.
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Wood ensured he would be the name in the headlines as he removed Zahid Mahmoud’s off-stump from the ground, the tail-ender anticipated the short ball to take his fourth wicket of the innings and leave England one scalp away from another famous away victory.
Enter Ollie Robinson, the seamer needed only one ball to secure the series. Swinging the delivery just away from Mohammad Ali’s bat to take the slightest of edges before a regulation catch from Pope sent the tourists into delirium.
The win confirmed Stokes’ side will win the three-match series while also meaning that they have won eight of the nine games they’ve played so far under Brendon McCullum’s leadership, an impressive turnaround having lost 11 of the previous 17 under Joe Root’s captaincy.
England will conclude their tour of Pakistan in Karachi on Saturday, with a potential whitewash on the cards few would bet against “Bazball” making even more history.
