MULTAN: England came from behind to seal a tense win by 26 runs in the second Test after their pacers stormed through Pakistan’s lower order on day 4 and steer their side to an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, here at Multan Cricket Stadium on Monday.
Mark Wood pulled out a sensational comeback when he removed, dangerous-looking Mohammad Nawaz and Saud Shakeel in the first session, and along with fellow pacers ran through the tailenders to bundle out Pakistan for 328 in the second innings.
Nawaz played a sensational knock of 46 off 62 balls to put Pakistan on top with Saud equally contributing with his sublime form but Wood turned the table before Lunch when Pakistan were just 65 runs away from victory with five wickets in hand.
The express pacer utilized his most lethal weapon, a short-length ball, to get rid of the Nawaz-Saud duo as both gloved the balls angling to the leg side and straight to wicket-keeper Ollie Pope.
At 291 for 7, Abrar Ahmed and Agha Salman added 19 runs in the afternoon session before James Anderson dismissed Abrar at covers who played a cameo of 12 off 19.
The last two batters Zahid Mahmood and Mohammad Ali remained hapless in front of England pacers as Wood and Ollie Robinson hunted them down without even opening their accounts.
Pakistan resumed the play on the penultimate day of the second Test at 198/4 and had an early scare in form of Faheem Ashraf who fell prey to part-timer Joe Root before Nawaz and Saud took the charge and stitched a crucial 80-run partnership on the sixth wicket.
Saud remained the top-scorer for his side with a defiant knock of 94 from 213 balls but was unfortunate to finish things on a high note for Pakistan.
