The fifth and the final day of the third Test between England and Pakistan was hampered by rain as the match eventually concluded in a draw, thus England winning the three-match test series 1-0.
This is the first time in the last 10 years that England has managed to win a Test series against Pakistan.
In a match which was largely affected by rain and bad light, Zak Crawley’s sublime 267, Jos Buttler’s stunning 152, Azhar Ali’s fighting unbeaten 141 and eventually James Anderson’s 600th wicket in Test cricket, were some of the moments that really stood out in the match.
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The final day of the match witnessed a delayed start due to rain and the first session did not see any play, as overnight rain and standing water had pushed back the start until 4.15 pm.
Resuming the day at 100/2, Pakistan was given a big blow as Anderson had Pakistan’s captain and first-innings centurion Azhar Ali caught by Joe Root at slip in his third over of the final day. With that wicket, Anderson became the first pacer in the history of Test cricket to scalp 600 wickets, and the second-fastest man to the landmark, six balls behind Muttiah Muralitharan.
Despite Anderson’s early breakthrough, England never looked likely to bowl Pakistan out as they followed on a flat pitch that offered little for bowlers throughout the Test match as Asad Shafiq and Babar Azam informed a 63-run stand.
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Babar raced towards fifty with a flurry of boundaries off Bess, but Shafiq was dismissed by Joe Root the very next ball after Babar reached his second half-century of the series, reducing Pakistan to 172/4.
Anderson took the new ball and found sharp movement in his first over, but not long after Root decided that he had seen enough and the captains bumped fists for the draw at 6.05 pm.
Babar Azam and Fawad Alam remained unbeaten on 63 and 0 respectively with Pakistan at 187/4.
That meant a 1-0 win for England in the rain-interrupted three-match Test series – their first series victory against Pakistan since 2010.
SCORECARD
England – 583/8 dec
Pakistan – 273 & 187/4(f/o)
Match Drawn
Player of the Match – Zak Crawley
England win series 1-0
Player of the Series – Jos Buttler (England)
Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)
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