England secured a brilliant 74-run win over Pakistan in the historic three-match Test series in Rawalpindi on the last day on Monday, December 5. Courtesy of some exceptional captaincy by Ben Stokes, who manoeuvred a dull pitch without any bounce, the Englishmen fought off the Pakistani batters to take a 1-0 lead upon their return to the Asian nation after 17 years.
Pakistan went into the final innings of the match with a target of 343 runs but were only able to get to 268 with less than 15 minutes left in the day’s play. This came after skipper Stokes took the bold choice of declaring at 343 the day before, showing his confidence in his team's bowling unit.
This unit was led by Ollie Robinson (4 for 50) and James Anderson (4 for 36) who shook off their first-innings blues to reduce their opponents to just 268 runs. This was in complete contrast to the first innings, where both teams had seven centurions between them — Four for England and three for Pakistan.
The final day of the match set off to England's delight as Anderson sent a well-settled Imam-Ul-Haq back to the pavilion, with just two runs left to his half-century off 77 balls. The opener's innings included eight boundaries at a rate of 62.33. After this, wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel forged a crucial partnership of 87 runs to give Pakistan a steady chance to get back into their game.
Shakeel was the top scorer for Pakistan in the second innings, clocking 76 runs in 159 deliveries which included 12 boundaries. Agha Salman looked poised but failed to build on his encouraging start, falling to Robinson after scoring 30 runs off 64 balls.
Azhar Ali, who sustained an injury on Day 4, was the next player in Pakistan's batting collapse, losing his wicket for 40 runs off 81 balls. Robinson was the bowler who struck again, as he bagged his fourth wicket of the innings. Meanwhile, Anderson again found himself in the thick of things as he quickly dismissed Zahir Mahmood and Haris Rauf, putting Pakistan a wicket away from defeat.
Naseem Shah and Mohammad Ali displayed a show of unwavering defiance and resistance as they fought to see off the relentless English bowling arsenal being fired at them. But the brave show soon ended as Jack Leach delivered the final blow when he got the delayed second new ball to pin tailender Naseem Shah LBW. Leach put the final nail in the coffin as Pakistan were folded for 268 runs in 96.3 overs.
