Noman Ali took eight wickets as Pakistan’s top spin bowlers beat England by 152 runs in the second Test in Multan on Friday. After three games, the series now stands at 1-1.
In the morning session of the fourth day, England was dismissed for 144 runs. They needed 297 runs to win on a track that was changing at the Multan Cricket Stadium.
England’s captain Ben Stokes scored 37 runs, but their main batters had a hard time with the ball.
Noman, who took 8-46, was the best bowler for Pakistan.
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When England came back on at 36-2, they were already ahead and would need an amazing batting performance to get anywhere near the goal.
It was the second over of the day when vice captain Ollie Pope (22) was out. He gave off-spinner Sajid Khan a return catch, and then left-arm spinner Noman went crazy.
Noman dealt tourists when he trapped Joe Root lbw for 18. Root tried to review the decision but was not able to do so.
Similarly, Noman bowled out Harry Brook (16), and Jamie Smith’s dismissal reduced England’s score to 88-6.
Stokes has had some runs that changed the outcome of games in his long and successful career, and England really needed one like that.
The captain was consistently making runs with each ball, so he confidently walked down the track to strike Noman. He swung his bat, but it flew out of his hands and hit midwicket.
Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan had plenty of time to get the ball and whip off the bail since Stokes was not even close to the crease.
On Thursday, the third and last test starts in Rawalpindi.
