England lose series to Pakistan after succumbing to spin in final Test, Ben Stokes laments failure to meet 'challenges'
Updated 26/10/2024 at 10:14 GMT+1
Pakistan hammered England in the third and final Test in Rawalpindi to take a 2-1 series victory. A collapse from the English batters on the morning of day three saw them skittled for 112, leaving the hosts needing just 36 to secure the win. The result means it's the third Test loss in four matches for England after defeat against the West Indies in the final Test of their summer series.
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Video credit: TNT Sports
England suffered a humiliating defeat in the third Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi, capitulating before lunch on day three as the hosts were able to secure a comeback 2-1 series win.
England could only muster 112 runs in their second innings, struggling against the Pakistan spin attack of Noman Ali and Sajid Khan.
Beginning the morning on 24-3, Harry Brook and Joe Root got off to a steady but unspectacular start. The beginning of the end arrived after Brook was dismissed, edging Noman’s delivery and triggering a slump of seven wickets for only 46 runs.
Ben Stokes was gone for just three after being trapped lbw, whilst Jamie Smith was dismissed for the same total moments later.
Joe Root was caught by Mohammad Rizwan to dash any faint hopes of an English comeback, with none of the remaining batting line-up able to post more than ten runs.
That collapse from the visitors meant Pakistan only needed 36 runs from their second innings to secure victory. Jack Leach managed to snare Saim Ayub lbw, England’s sole wicket of the innings, but captain Shan Masood fired a rapid 23 not out to secure a memorable win for the hosts.
The result ends a strange series for England after their record-breaking performance in the opening test. After declaring on 823-7, England scored more runs in one innings of the first Test than they managed in the four innings for the remainder of the series, struggling to cope with Pakistan’s spin attack.
As poor a result as it is for England, it is equally spectacular for Pakistan. The hosts entered the second Test on a run of six consecutive Test defeats and an eleven-game winless run at home. Both those unwanted records are now gone as Pakistan secured their first Test series win on home soil in almost four years.
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England skipper Ben Stokes, speaking to the BBC, said: "The last couple of Tests we've been thrown some challenges and I think it's pretty easy to assess that we weren't able to stand up to those challenges.
"The great thing about sport is that those challenges will always come along but in the last two games we weren't able to match what Pakistan threw at us.
"We've got a very quick turnaround to another challenge in New Zealand so we've got to put the disappointment of the last two games behind us and move on."
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