close
close

Ben Stokes' sacking seals Bazball's fate, video, highlights


Ben Stokes' sacking seals Bazball's fate, video, highlights

All eyes were on Ben Stokes and whether he could pull off another miracle comeback for England – but it all ended with a comical error on his side's way to a 152-run defeat against Pakistan in the second Test.

England were in trouble at 6-125 at the start of the fourth day and were trailing Pakistan by 172 when Stokes worked his way to 37 with a reverse sweep to the boundary.

But as Stokes tried to increase the momentum, he stormed down the wicket to Noman Ali, missed the ball and his bat shot into the air as Mo Rizwan made a simple stomp.

Things only went downhill from there as soon after Pakistan equalized 1-1.

Spinner Noman Ali took eight wickets as Pakistan beat England by 152 runs in Multan.

Noman grabbed 8-46 and Sajid Khan took 2-93 as the pair finished England's second innings on 144 after the visitors were set a daunting target of 297.

There's more to come

Watch every ball of the Pakistan vs England Test series LIVE on Kayo. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer.

It was Pakistan's first home win since February 2021 and came after they were beaten by an innings in the first Test, also in Multan.

The third and final Test begins on October 24 in Rawalpindi. Noman finished the game with a match return of 11-147 while Sajid had figures of 9-204, which was only the second time in Pakistan's history that two bowlers took all 20 wickets in a Test.

Pakistan's last Test win at home came against South Africa in Rawalpindi more than three years ago. This was followed by 11 home tests without a win.

This is also Shan Masood's first win as captain after being given the job last year, including 3-0 and 2-0 defeats against Australia and Bangladesh.

Pakistan's ploy of dropping top batsman Babar Azam in one of four changes after their first Test defeat and playing on a reused pitch with three spinners paid off handsomely.

England came back into the game at 36-2 and faced a difficult task on a pitch with strong spin. England managed to add just 108 runs before surrendering.

In the second over of the day, Sajid beat Ollie Pope with a sharp delivery and absorbed the miss with his own bowling. Pope made 22.

Noman then dismissed Joe Root for 18 and Harry Brook for 16, leaving England to face a 78-5 defeat.

Brook hit an epic 317 and Root a brilliant 262 – surpassing Alastair Cook's England Test run record – in the first Test, and their dismissals signaled that England's doom was near.

Noman's fourth wicket came in the form of Jamie Smith, whose slog sweep upfield was saved by Masood at mid-on. Smith scored six.

Skipper Ben Stokes and Brydon Carse were fighting hard to take the total to 125 when Stokes became comically stumped and jumped out of the crease to throw up Noman but missed the ball as the bat flew out of his hands.

Noman finished the game with the wickets of Carse (27), Jack Leach (one) and Shoaib Bashir (nil), improving his previous best of 7-70 against Sri Lanka in Colombo last year.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *