England won the second Test by a thin margin of 26 runs on Monday in Multan thanks to four Pakistan wickets taken by Mark Wood, giving them a commanding 2-0 series lead after two games.
After lunch, Pakistan was bowled for 328 after being assigned a difficult 355-run total. The quick bowler finished with 4-65.
Mohammad Nawaz (45) and Saud Shakeel (94) were both dismissed by Wood in the space of just 12 balls and one run, turning the contest in England’s favor after Wood missed England’s 74-run victory in the first Test in Rawalpindi due to a hip injury.
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.
However, James Anderson successfully caught Ahmed, Wood eliminated Zahid Mahmood without a point, and Ollie Robinson concluded the game by taking out Mohammad Ali at position eleven for zero, leading to celebrations in the England camp.
Each of Anderson and Robinson claimed two wickets.
The most important wickets for England were those of Shakeel and Nawaz.
In his 314-minute vigil, Shakeel, who had eight fours, scored 80 runs with Nawaz as England struggled to get wickets on a Multan field that slowed down significantly as the game went on.
Before lunch, captain Ben Stokes made a last-ditch effort to get Wood in, and he was immediately rewarded with Nawaz being 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.
