BREAKING NEWS England spun out by Pakistan in crushing 152-run defeat as hosts level series in Multan to set up thrilling decider next week - with Harry Brook and Ben Stokes found wanting Pakistan's decision to play for a ninth day on the same pitch paid off for them England will have to win the series in Rawalpindi after a crushing 152-run loss By Lawrence Booth Published: 08:05, 18 October 2024 | Updated: 08:20, 18 October 2024 e-mail 5 shares 1 View comments England slumped to a crushing 152-run defeat against Pakistan’s spinners on the fourth morning of the second Test, setting up a potentially thrilling decider next week in Rawalpindi. Resuming on 36 for two in pursuit of an unlikely 297 for victory, they lost Ollie Pope to the eighth ball of the day, and never threatened to pull off what would have been a remarkable chase on a pitch in its ninth day of use. Ben Stokes made liberal use of the reverse-sweep while wickets fell around him, but his 37 was the top score in a total of 144.
And his dismissal summed up England’s haplessness: advancing at left-arm spinner Noman Ali, he swung with such force that his bat flew high behind square leg even as Mohammad Rizwan completed a simple stumping. That left England 125 for seven going into the mid-morning drinks break, but the respite proved fleeting. If the pitch in Rawalpindi is anything other than an old-fashioned bunsen burner, it will come as a major surprise.
It all meant Sajid Khan and Ali, who took seven of the eigh.