Pakistan pose with the trophy after winning the series 2-0
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
Chasing 284 to win, England absolutely imploded on the final day and, as a result, lost the series 2-0, which saw them drop to sixth on the Test rankings and Pakistan rise to second.
Starting out the day on 46/2, none of England’s batsmen, with the exception of captain Alastair Cook had a major impact.
With England losing wickets at an alarming rate, Cook tried his best to keep Pakistan at bay, but it was to no avail and he was finally dismissed for 63 off 164 balls, which included four boundaries.
Cook made a gutsy 63
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
With Adil Rashid and Stuart Broad being the only other batsmen to surpass the 20-run mark, it was no surprise when England were skittled out for a dismal 156.
Shah inflicted the most damage with four wickets, while Shoaib Malik snapped up three, Zulfiqar Babar took two and Rahat Ali claimed one.
Shah finished with figures of 4-44 off 17.3 overs
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
Cook was disappointed to have lost the match, and said: “We competed really well in all three of the games but at critical moments we couldn’t dominate Pakistan, they are very resilient. We are lucky to have Jimmy and Broady, they are outstanding, but we have a very good seam attack. Losing Ben [Stokes] really hurt us, our seamers have done well to contain Pakistan. International cricket isn’t just about learning, it is about getting results, and we weren’t good enough at key moments.”
Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq was delighted to have won the series 2-0, and said: “Credit should be given to the England team for really putting up a good effort and fight. But Yasir Shah won us two games and the batsmen contributed. There were contributions from everyone and that is really pleasing. Wahab and Imran bowled well in the first two games, then Rahat here. Zulfiqar…Shoaib…it’s a pleasing sign for a captain and a team.”
Shah was named Man of the Match, while England pace bowler James Anderson received the Man of the Series award.