England wins Karachi Test, hands Pakistan first 3-0 whitewash at home

Pakistan scored 304 and 216, while England made 354 and 170-2.  It’s England’s second victory in Karachi in as many visits, across 22 years

Published : Dec 20, 2022 11:26 IST , Karachi

England’s Rehan Ahmed, center, is congratulated by teammates after taking his fifth wicket during the third day of the third Test match between England and Pakistan.
England’s Rehan Ahmed, center, is congratulated by teammates after taking his fifth wicket during the third day of the third Test match between England and Pakistan. | Photo Credit: AP
infoIcon

England’s Rehan Ahmed, center, is congratulated by teammates after taking his fifth wicket during the third day of the third Test match between England and Pakistan. | Photo Credit: AP

A relentless England lineup powered to an eight-wicket win in the third and final Test on Tuesday to complete a historic series sweep in Pakistan.

England started the day needing a further 55 runs for victory and reached 170-2 within 38 minutes to secure its second successive win with more than a day to spare in its first Test tour to Pakistan in 17 years.

It was Pakistan’s first-ever 3-0 loss in a three-Test series on home soil.

Pakistan fell for 216 against 18-year-old rookie Rehan Ahmed (5-48) in the second innings to set England a modest target of 167 for victory.

Ben Duckett resumed on 50 and remained unbeaten on 82 off 78 balls, and skipper Ben Stokes signed off his team’s dominant brand of aggressive cricket by finishing 35 not out.

Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed could have finished the series with 18 wickets in two Test matches, but Agha Salman couldn’t hold onto a difficult chance from Stokes at long-on with England just 19 runs away from a memorable win.

England won the first Test on a flat wicket in Rawalpindi by 74 runs in dimming light on the last day before recording a thrilling 26-run win at Multan on a slow-turning track inside four days.

Rehan Ahmed conquered Pakistan’s batters in the team’s fortress – National Stadium – on Day 3, and England had motored to 112-2 in the final session through the aggressive batting of Zak Crawley (41) and Duckett.

It was just the third loss for Pakistan at the National Stadium in 45 Test matches and the first in 15 years. England was the first team to beat Pakistan there in a Test match in 2000 before South Africa won a Test match here seven years later.

The 3-0 drubbing was Pakistan’s fourth successive Test loss at home after Australia beat it in the final Test earlier this year to win the two-Test series 1-0.

Pakistan was kept at bay throughout the last three weeks and unable to find the right combination to counter England’s aggressive gameplan, which began at home this summer and now has seen it winning nine of the last 10 Test matches. England’s only loss in that period was against South Africa at Lord’s before the Proteas got beaten 2-1 in the series.

England set the tone of a clean sweep in Pakistan when four of its batters smashed centuries on the opening day of the first Test, and the visitor racked up a world-record 506-4.

Young Harry Brook filled perfectly in the shoes of injured Jonny Bairstow with three successive centuries on tour and amassed 468 runs.

His 111 at Karachi in the first innings fetched England a vital first-innings lead of 50 runs before Pakistan capitulated against Ahmed’s legspin in the second innings.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment