England were ruthlessly demolished by Pakistan spinner Noman Ali as they crashed to a 152-run defeat in Multan, with Ben Stokes’ slapstick dismissal summing up their struggles.
Chasing a vast target of 297 on a raging turner, England were bundled out for 144 with their skipper stumped after advancing down the re-used pitch and accidentally launching his bat 20 yards in the air.
It was a grimly humorous moment, Mohammad Rizwan whipping off the bails as Stokes turned to see his GM blade disappearing towards square leg, and capped a chastening conclusion as the hosts levelled the series 1-1.
In the process, Pakistan ended their six-game losing streak, recorded their first win on home soil since February 2021 and set up a decider in Rawalpindi next week.
Spinning Duo
England had harboured hopes of producing one of their trademark turnarounds but were unable to contain Noman, who claimed stunning figures of eight for 46 as he and Sajid Khan completed the rare feat of sharing all 20 wickets in a match.
Only six other duos have ever done that in Test cricket, with Australians Dennis Lillee and Bob Massie the last to do so at Lord’s in 1972. The last spinners to do so were England’s Jim Laker and Tony Lock in 1956.
England’s not out batters would have had hours to plot their next move at 36 for two overnight, but Joe Root had not even faced a ball by the time partner Ollie Pope started the rot in the second over.
He already seen one from Noman explode past his outside edge when he looked to drill Sajid down the ground and fed a catch straight back to the bowler.
England undone by the spin
Pope’s misery was compounded by the latest theatrical reaction by the off-spinner, slapping his thigh and pointing to the skies in celebration.
That put him on nine for the match, but he was unable to make it 10 for the match as 38-year-old Noman picked up each of the next seven.
The winning line already looked impossibly distant but when he bested Root, getting England’s most reliable performer in turning conditions lbw, it became almost irrelevant.
Root had played sweeps to five of his first seven balls, but misjudged his sixth attempt and was trapped in front of off stump.
That did not deter Stokes, who adopted a near-identical diet of regular and reverse sweeps, but the game was slipping fast through his side’s fingers.
Harry Brook was next to go, out cheaply for the second time in the match hanging on the back foot. He had 16 when he sought to smash Noman into the on side, losing his shape, failing to connect and falling lbw.
Continuing to Fall
Jamie Smith completed a disappointing match when he hacked his 10th ball high to mid-on, unable to make any amends for a bad drop behind the stumps on the third afternoon to open up the tail.
Brydon Carse averted a golden duck when he successfully overturned yet another lbw decision and landed a couple of unexpected blows on Sajid when he launched successive deliveries down the ground for six.
Stokes, who reached 37 almost exclusively with sweeps, decided to take adopt a similar approach and came undone in calamitous style. Throwing the kitchen sink as he charged Noman, he lost his grip and hurled his bat high into the sky as Rizwan completed the left-armer’s five-wicket haul.
Carse added a third six before nudging Noman to slip before Jack Leach and Shoaib Bashir propped catches to Abdullah Shafique under the helmet.
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