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England beat Pakistan in Multan to clinch series


Published : 12 Dec 2022 09:18 PM

England beat Pakistan by 26 runs in the second test in Multan on Monday to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

Chasing 355 for victory, Pakistan were all out for 328 in the second session on day four of the contest.

Saud Shakeel topscored for Pakistan with a valiant 94, while Imam-ul-Haq made 60.

Mark Wood was pick of the England bowlers, claiming 4-65 as England registered their first series win in Pakistan since since 2000-01.

Raw pace in a raw match situation. It's the weapon for which England have been crying out throughout their generations of failure on unforgiving subcontinent wickets - that point of difference to unlock well-set batters and deliver the moments that make victory possible. On a nerve-shredding fourth and final day in Multan, Mark Wood was that man, as Pakistan's gutsy pursuit of 355 was thwarted with just 26 runs left to defend.

The honour of taking the final wicket went to Ollie Robinson - Player of the Match in Rawalpindi - as Pakistan's last man Mohammad Ali snicked a thin edge through to Ollie Pope to seal England's first series win in the country for 22 years, and their eighth Test victory in nine since the start of the Ben Stokes captaincy era. But Wood's final figures of 4 for 65 were the gamebreaker - specifically, his two priceless wickets in the final minutes before lunch, to crack a formidable sixth-wicket stand between Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Nawaz that, for much of the morning session, had seemed on course to deliver a stunning series-leveller.

Wood's irrepressible will to win meant there would be no denying his side a truly historic victory - only their fourth in more than 60 years of Tests in Pakistan, and their first series win since Nasser Hussain's triumph in the dark 22 years ago in Karachi, the venue for next week's finale.