New Delhi: In what was nothing short of a remarkable comeback, Pakistan roared back to form with a stunning victory over England in the second Test match on Multan on Friday. While they went down miserably in the series opener, also in Multan last week, the hosts scripted a miraculous turnaround in the second game to level the 3-match series 1-1, finally breathing a sigh of relief.
For the Pakistan side, which was always known for its astute match-winning pacers, spinners came into play producing magical efforts with the ball to run riot on the visiting side. Together, Noman Ali (11 wickets) and Sajid Khan (9 wickets), picked up all the 20 wickets of the English side, as the visitors chasing 261, folded for 144 runs in the first session of the last day.
Pakistan end 11-match winless streak
By virtue of this superlative victory, Pakistan thus ended the 11-match winless streak at home, winning a Test match after a very long gap of 1338 days at their den. Sajid, who picked 7 wickets in the first innings and 2 in the second, was named the Man of the Match for an excellent performance.
With the remarkable victory, Pakistan gained a spot in the updated World Test Championship (WTC) points table. The Men in Green, who were at the bottom of the table, rose to the 8th spot, leaving the West Indies as the bottom-placed side. For England, apart from a minor change in the points, their position on the updated table remained the same (4th). India are atop the list with 8 wins in 11 matches.
World Test Championship (2023-2025) – Points Table
|
Position |
Team |
Matches |
Won |
Lost |
Drawn |
NR |
Points |
PCT |
|
1 |
India |
11 |
8 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
98 |
74.24 |
|
2 |
Australia |
12 |
8 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
90 |
62.50 |
|
3 |
Sri Lanka |
9 |
5 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
60 |
55.56 |
|
4 |
England |
18 |
9 |
8 |
1 |
0 |
93 |
43.06 |
|
5 |
South Africa |
6 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
28 |
38.99 |
|
6 |
New Zealand |
8 |
3 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
36 |
37.50 |
|
7 |
Bangladesh |
8 |
3 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
33 |
34.38 |
|
8 |
Pakistan |
9 |
3 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
28 |
25.93 |
|
9 |
West Indies |
9 |
1 |
6 |
2 |
0 |
20 |
18.52 |
Star Pakistan batter, who was dropped for the game, hailed the team for a commendable performance soon after the victory. Both the side lock horns in the third and final match of the series at Rawalpindi beginning on October 24.
