Pakistan captain Shan Masood blasted four straight boundaries off Jack Leach, took a single off the final ball to keep the strike with himself, and then smacked a six off the first ball of the following over from Shoaib Bashir. It was an undefeated 23 off 6 balls. Pakistan won the three-match series 2-1 after defeating England by 9 wickets in the third and final Test match in Rawalpindi. For the first time in over three years, Pakistan won a series at home. It was their first home series victory over England since 2006. Pakistan only won a three-match Test series for the second time after losing the opening Test following their victory over Zimbabwe in 1995.
Shan Masood on first Test series win under his captaincy
"London buses, they come together. First Test win came after a long time, now the series win. This means a lot for me, the players, the coaches and the management - they came through a lot. The character says a lot, this is a special moment and you can't take this off the team. Saud Shakeel, I can say that's one of the best hundred I've seen, 70 singles, what an effort, Sajid and Noman, what can I say about them. Zahid fielded well, Jamal, he might have created a world record of a pacer to have not bowled a single ball in the Test, the biggest point of satisfaction was that we had a change in conditions, we ourselves hadn't played on such challenging pitches before. We played in the UAE, but the challenge wasn't there on the first two days, like it was here. We have quality in our batting and bowling, the depth is there. I've always said that we need to take 20 wickets to win a Test and that's what we achieved here," said Shan Masood in the post-match presentation
"The job comes up with responsibility (on captaincy). It's heartening to have young talents like Saim and Hurraira coming up, and seniors like Noman coming back into the set-up after a long time. We've had a lot of positives with the bat, Saud and Salman are growing as leaders. This series win is for the people of Pakistan who have suffered a lot with us, thankful for the English team, the contests between the two teams are always memorable and I wish we play more, possibly a 5-match series," he added.
Pakistan beat England by 9 wickets
Pakistan's supremacy was encapsulated in many ways by captain Shan Masood's commanding conclusion to the Test. They made some difficult decisions and started to spin after losing the first Test on a ground that resembled a road. Pakistan launched a three-pronged spin onslaught that England was unable to counter. Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, and Zahid Mahmood were so successful that, for the first time in Pakistani cricket history, no fast bowler bowled an over during a Test match.
On day three of the third Test, Pakistan swept to victory in Rawalpindi before midday as Noman and Sajid bowled out all ten England wickets to dismiss the visitors for 112. After England resumed the third day on a shaky 24-3, their innings capitulating in 37.2 overs, Noman concluded with 6-42 and Sajid 4-69 in an unstoppable spin bowling effort. In Multan, Pakistan won the second Test by 152 runs, while England won the first by an innings and 47 runs. Masood's six-ball 23 not out put an end to the contest, while Pakistan lost opener Saim Ayub for eight. Since taking over last year, the Pakistan captain has lost both of his prior series, 3-0 to Australia and 2-0 against Bangladesh.
