KARACHI: England need 167 runs to win the third and final Test after bowling Pakistan out for 216 runs in their second innings on Monday in Karachi.
Teenage leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed took 5-48 and Jack Leach 3-72 as spin helped Pakistan lose their last seven wickets for 52 on the National Stadium pitch.
On behalf of Pakistan, captain Babar Azam scored 54 runs and Saud Shakeel scored 53 runs.
If England win the match, it will be the first time Pakistan have been whitewashed 3-0 on their home grounds.
England won the first Test in Rawalpindi by 74 runs and the second in Multan by 26 runs.
Ahmad’s triple strike
England’s teenage leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed destroyed Pakistan’s defense in the final Test in Karachi on Monday, handing the hosts their worst series defeat on home soil.
Ahmed took three wickets in four overs at the end of the second session on the third day – starting with the crucial wicket of captain Babar Azam who hit an errant pull shot into the hands of Ollie Pope at short midwicket.
His spell destroyed Pakistan’s resistance as fellow spinner Jack Leach dismissed the top order within six balls before lunch.
At tea, Pakistan were struggling at 177-6 with Agha Salman unbeaten on one run and Faheem Ashraf yet to score.
Pakistan have a lead of 127 and will be hoping to at least double that lead to avoid a 3-0 whitewash for the first time at home.
England won the first Test in Rawalpindi by 74 runs and the second in Multan by 26 runs.
Ahmed, who became England’s youngest Test player on Saturday at the age of 18 years and 126 days, surprisingly did not bowl in the first session, which saw Pakistan reach 99-3.
He came after the valiant reconstruction efforts of Babur and Saud Shakeel.
The pair took Pakistan to 164 before the captain made a rare misjudgment, shortly after reaching 1000 Test runs for the year.
Leach shocked Pakistan after dismissing openers Shaun Masood and Abdullah Shafiq and veteran Azhar Ali in their last match, adding just one run.
Ahmed oversaw an equally brutal passage of play, dismissing Babar (54), Mohammad Rizwan (7) and Saud Shakeel (53) for just 13 runs in the space of six overs.
Pakistan started the fourth day almost on par, with openers Abdullah Shafiq and Shaan Masood cutting England’s 50-run lead without the loss of a wicket.
But England’s methodical spinners snuffed out any hope.
Leach bowled Shaun – attempting an ill-advised reverse sweep – for 24 which brought down the first cluster of wickets.
In reply to Pakistan’s first innings of 304, the visitors overcame a slow start to post 354.
England recovered to 145-5 thanks to Harry Brook’s third century in as many games to finish with a narrow lead.
Azhar’s last stand
Earlier in the day, top-order stalwart Azhar Ali was denied a fairytale ending to his illustrious career that saw 97 Tests and 7,142 runs.
Azhar was beaten by spin as he played a forward push off the last ball of Leach’s momentum-changing double-wicket maiden. His stumps shattered, Azhar walked off the field for the last time, ending up as a regular in the team of 12 years ago.
The England players clapped as Azhar returned to the dressing room, while the Pakistani players raised their bats at the boundary for a ceremonial guard of honour.
Among the handful of spectators were Azhar’s wife and two sons.
