England succumbed to Pakistan's spinners in the second Test in Multan, giving Pakistan their first victory out of 11 attempts on home soil.
The result set up a series decider in Rawalpindi next week, with England chasing their first back-to-back series win in the country, and Pakistan their first series win at home since 2021. Here are the takeaways from the second Test ahead of the crunch clash.
Method behind the madness pays off
At the beginning of the week, Pakistan were in a state of chaos extreme for even the levels they've reached before. After a decimating loss in the first Test, they dropped – sorry, rested – three of their most senior players, recalled two spinners who hadn't played domestic red-ball cricket in a year, picked only one seamer, and decided to use the same pitch they'd got mauled on days before. Everything went wrong for them in the first Test, but, from Shan Masood's call at the toss in the second, that aura started to turn.
At 19-2 on the morning of day one, the debutant they'd handed prime batting position to repaid the selectors' faith in dividends: had Kamran Ghulam fallen early, Pakistan would have been in an even deeper hole. Instead, he took advantage of the best time in the match to bat, picking off England's spinners. That was before the pitch deteriorated as instructed by day three, allowing the spinners to run riot.
The only decision the selectors did get wrong was that it only took two spinners, not four, to rout England. So what of Rawalpindi, the road that produced a modern classic two years ago? If Pakistan are to follow the blueprint they set out in Multan, the selectors will need a hotline direct to the curator.
Search for ruthlessness continues
England had several opportunities to stamp their authority for the second week running in Multan. They had Pakistan 19-2 half an hour into day one, and had a chance to dismiss Mohammad Rizwan when he nicked behind on six. They didn't review, and Rizwan went on to form important lower-order partnerships, pushing Pakistan well above 300. England were then 224-3 in their innings before losing three wickets for one run, and conceded a 75-run first innings deficit. That's before we get to the passage of play on the evening of day three. Salman Ali Agha was dropped twice in three balls, one regulation from Jamie Smith and the second another sitter to Joe Root. Those lapses were accompanied by sloppy fielding, which prompted their captain to lose his temper, his frustration clearly visible.
If the first 18 months of the McCullum experiment was about finding a way to win, and inject life back into England's Test side, the post-Ashes chapter has been a search for consistency – to be the ruthless force the best sides are remembered for. So far that, steely edge is still lacking.
Carse stands out again
Carse showed why he's been on England's radar for so long in the first Test, the pick of England's seamers over their gun in Gus Atkinson and experienced head in Chris Woakes. But, in the second Test, he rose head and shoulders above England's other options in the race to make the pace attack which will take them through the next year to the Ashes down under. Bending his back in the heat, he created chance after chance, waiting for England to take one. Alongside Stokes on day one, he executed the unconventional plans set out to the letter, and extracted every ounce of pace on a surface that balls often failed to reach shin height on once they bounced. Over a two-week span in Multan, he's moved himself to the top of the pile, ahead of Matthew Potts and Olly Stone.
Spin over pace to define Pakistan's new home ethos?
Much of the narrative that's dominated Pakistan's discourse over the last year is finding a way to win at home. The flat decks have been criticised, and Pakistan's pacers have struggled to extract their best given conditions unsuited to them. Equally, their lack of an outstanding spinner has seen them struggle when anything other than excessive turn or deterioration is on offer.
However, on the re-used Multan surface, Noman Ali and Sajid Khan showed they had more than enough to take advantage of those conditions, and prey on England's profligacy. Having turned that corner without Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi, with only one seamer in their ranks, it's a move away from their heritage of fast-bowlers, producing hooping reverse-swing which would haunt touring batters' nightmares. While at least one of Shaheen or Naseem could expect a recall in Rawalpindi, Pakistan must now weigh up whether this is a blueprint they can stick with.
Familiar failings cost England
Frantic sweeping, ugly dismissals and a helter-skelter final morning sealed England's far too predictable fate. The epitome of their collapse was the image of Stokes, having finally abandoned the sweep shot which brought him 35 of his 36 runs, charging down the pitch, flinging his bat to fine leg as Rizwan calmly removed the bails behind him. That followed Ollie Pope's chip back to Sajid, and Smith top-edging a slog sweep to mid on.
Batting last on a nine-day old pitch was going to be a challenge from the outset and, as Stokes asserted post-game, there was little point hanging around on the surface they were dealt. But, in trying to find a way to score runs, England proved Pakistan's pitch-ploy correct. They knew that on a used surface, a mix of the spinners they selected and how England would try to play them would create 20 chances. For a team who pride themselves on playing on the front foot, doing what the opposition least want them to do, they played right into their hands.
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