Rawalpindi serves as the venue for a thrilling series decider
Not many expected Pakistan to put up a strong fight after getting hammered in the first Test and then dropping Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah for the rest of the series. The hosts bounced back in some style, taking a stunning win in the second Test in Multan and the action now moves to Rawalpindi for the series finale as England will be looking to end their tour on a high.
Before the action kicks off in Rawalpindi, here’s our match preview and predictions.
After an innings defeat in the opening Test, Pakistan made the bold choice to drop the out-of-form Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah, to bring in Kamran Ghulam, Sajid Khan and Noman Ali and all three of the repaid the faith to the team management.
Ghulam constructed a beautiful century while late order contributions from Aamer Jamal and Noman Ali helped Pakistan get to 366. Sajid Khan and Noman Ali were all that Pakistan needed with the ball as Khan’s brilliant seven-wicket haul helped Pakistan restrict England to 291. Pakistan set England a target of 297 and it was the spin-twins again, this time Noman Ali doing the damage as an eight-wicket haul from Ali bundled out England for 144 to give Pakistan and their fans a much needed win.
For England, it was a hard job for the bowlers in the first innings, Jack Leach managed to get a four-for but they were unable to keep a check on the score even after getting Pakistan to 264/6, with the last four wickets making more than a hundred runs. With the bat, barring Ben Duckett’s century in the first innings, none of the English batters had an idea about what was happening on a turning Multan pitch. Shoaib Bhashir and Jack Leach were good with the ball in the second innings and on a turning Pindi pitch, England will be hoping for more from their spinners. The likes of Joe Root, Duckett, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope and Ben Stokes will also have added pressure on them, given the batting failure in the previous game.
The Rawalpindi pitch has generally been one that suits pacers over spinners but the current conditions state that it might be a rank-turner for the decider with England going with a three-pronged spin attack, leaving Stokes and Gus Atkinson as the only two fast-bowling options. Expect a lot of runs and a host of wickets for the spinners in Rawalpindi with the hosts, Pakistan, holding a slight advantage given the current form of their spinners and the confidence they have going into the decider.
Fantasy XI: Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Shan Masood, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Salman Agha, Mohammad Rizwan, Shoaib Bashir, Sajid Khan, Noman Ali, Jack Leach
Venue: Rawalpindi
Winners Prediction: Pakistan
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