• By Namrata Vijay
  • Fri, 18 Oct 2024 01:50 PM (IST)
  • Source:JND
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PAK vs ENG, 2nd Test: Pakistan hammered England by 152 runs in the 2nd Test on Friday. The Men in Green ended their 11-match losing streak at home in the longest format. Noman Ali was the standout performer as he took eight wickets during the fourth innings. England skipper Ben Stokes' dismissal was one of the highlights of his performances as he achieved a new milestone. Besides the milestone, it was how Stokes got out, that left both him and everyone around him surprised.

It happened in the 28th over, when Stokes tried to play his usual, sweep or reverse sweep. But he also went down to play the slog sweep as the ball went over mid-wicket. Noman bowled a normal delivery which spun brilliantly as the ball was stuck between the bat and the pad while it was low. Stokes mistimed the shot and thus lost control of both his bat and his balance. Pakistan wicket-keeper batter Mohammed Rizwan quickly took the ball, hit the stumps, and left Stokes stunned.

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Noman registered figures of 8/46 during the fourth innings and it was also the best figures by a Pakistan left-arm spinner.

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Pakistan team management's strategy of using spinners worked in their favor as the two-finger spinners Noman Ali and Sajid Khan put up match-winning performances. It should be noted here that all the 20 wickets were taken by these two bowlers, where Noman took 11 and Sajid took nine. While chasing a target of 261 runs with eight wickets remaining, the visitors were in a precarious situation since the beginning. Sajid gave the team the much-needed breakthrough by taking the wicket of Ollie Pope during the second over and after that Noman took charge.

The Ben Stokes-led side continued with their approach of playing aggressively and were quite dependent on sweeps and reverse sweeps. But on a surface like that it was risky and this didn't work in their favour. Ben Stokes, who was the highest run-getter, played lots of sweeps but got stumped after he left the crease. Brydon Carse helped the team bounce back for a while by hitting three consecutive sixes but failed to pressure the hosts.

Pakistan skipper Shan Masood backed his two spinners in the last innings and they skittled England out in just 34 overs and thus won the match comprehensively.