Mark Wood grabbed four Pakistan wickets to give England a hard-fought 26-run win on Monday in the second Test in Multan and take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. The fast bowler finished with 4-65 as Pakistan were dismissed for 328 about 50 minutes after lunch, having been set a challenging 355-run target. Wood, who missed England’s 74-run win in the first Test in Rawalpindi with a hip injury, turned the match in England’s favour with the wickets of Mohammad Nawaz (45) and Saud Shakeel (94) in the space of just 12 balls and one run.

Pakistan slumped to 291-7 at lunch, and after the break Agha Salman (20 not out) and Abrar Ahmed (17) tried to hit out for an unlikely win to keep the series alive. Shakeel, who hit eight boundaries in his 314-minute vigil, added 80 runs with Nawaz as England found wickets hard to come by on a Multan pitch that slowed considerably as the game progressed. In a last-ditch effort, skipper Ben Stokes brought in Wood before lunch and was instantly rewarded with Nawaz caught by wicketkeeper Ollie Pope. In his next over, Wood forced Shakeel to play a pull off a short ball that caught his glove, with Pope taking a diving catch to his left.

Resuming on 198-4, Pakistan had lost Faheem Ashraf in the sixth over of the day for 10, caught at slip for spinner Joe Root’s 50th wicket. Set a challenging 355 runs for victory, Pakistan ended the third day at 198-4, needing another 157 with two full days remaining. With reverse swing helping the fast bowlers, England derailed Pakistan’s start of 66 without loss with three wickets for just 17 runs. But Haq (60) and Shakeel (54 not out) led a remarkable 156-minute fightback during their stand of 108 for the fourth wicket before Jack Leach had the former caught at slip three overs before stumps.

Haq, who came in at number five instead of opening the innings following hamstring treatment, hit seven boundaries. Allrounder Faheem Ashraf, promoted to number six, was three not out as Pakistan chased a series-levelling win after losing the first of three Tests by 74 runs in Rawalpindi. Earlier, spinner Abrar Ahmed took 11 wickets for 234 across the two innings -- the second best by a bowler on debut for Pakistan, behind Mohammad Zahid’s 11-130 against New Zealand in Rawalpindi 26 years ago.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP