England pulled off another sensational victory in Pakistan, winning the second Test by 26 runs to seal a historic series victory.
Mark Wood took three crucial wickets on day four in Multan as Pakistan chased down a mammoth target of 355.
At 290-5, Wood had Mohammad Nawaz caught on the leg-side for 45, then, one run later, did the same to dismiss Salman Agha for 94, but the third umpire’s lengthy deliberations. Only later.
Abrar Ahmed was caught off James Anderson and Wood splashed Zahid Mahmood’s stumps at over 90 mph for the fourth wicket of the innings.
Although Agha Salman kept the tension high with a regular boundary, Oli Robinson took Pakistan to 328 all out, leaving No 11 Muhammad Ali behind.
It gives England their first Test series win in Pakistan since 2005 and their first win against the opposition outside the UK in 22 years.
This is the first time England have won two Tests in an away series against Pakistan.
They will look for a clean sweep in the third and final Test in Karachi starting on Saturday.
Another great victory for England
Prior to this series, England had won only two Tests against Pakistan in 30 attempts in 61 years. Now, they’ve won two in a week.
Furthermore, they followed up with a thrilling victory in the first Test in Rawalpindi with another heart-stopping win in Multan.
However, where England rarely looked likely to lose the first Test, this time they risked making themselves one.
A sloppy finish of 5-19 on the third morning opened the door for the Pakistani team to make an impressive chase – in July they scored 342 to beat Sri Lanka.
With England’s spinners unable to control and the fast bowlers seemingly out of magic balls, Pakistan edged ever closer. The growing crowd at the ground, hosting its first Test since 2006, cheered every run.
But Wood intervened, bowling in his first Test since March and with England’s traveling fans standing behind him.
It was not without controversy. TV umpire Joel Wilson spent an age watching Shaquille’s replay of Ollie Pope’s diving catch, trying to determine whether the ball scraped the ground after taking it into the wicketkeeper’s glove.
The crucial decision went England’s way and Pakistan’s best hope was gone.
England won their eighth victory in nine Tests since Ben Stokes took charge, ending a three-match losing streak away from home with the series win.
England have the chance of another piece of history in Karachi – Pakistan have never lost three Tests in a series in their own country before.
Explosion of the wood ended Pakistan’s resistance.
The loss of Imamul Haq late on Sunday left Pakistan 157 away from victory at 198-4 overnight.
When Joe Root caught Faheem Ashraf at slip in the sixth over of the fourth day, England were strong favourites.
But Nawaz, whose previous highest Test score was 25, arrived intent on scoring. Salman, 54 not out at the start of the day, was dragged along.
England cycled through their options. The second new ball was taken but Pakistan’s confidence and fluidity only increased. Stokes distanced himself from the attack.
With the game slipping away, Wood threw down a barrage of short deliveries. When Nawaz reached Pope, he scored 80 runs for the sixth wicket.
One run later, Salman did the same and the controversial decision went England’s way.
Debutant Abrar Ahmed took 11 wickets with his legspin, hitting four fours before slapping Anderson to cover.
Salman remained, keeping thin Pakistan’s hopes alive with back-to-back boundaries off Anderson. In the next over, Wood calmed the nerves through Mahmood’s defence.
Salman hit two more fours off Wood, but Robinson needed just one ball of the new spell to account for Ali and celebrate in England.
