Pakistan vs England 3rd Test: Match Summary and Analysis
Pakistan Clinches Series with Thrilling Win Over England
The third Test between Pakistan and England, part of England’s 2024 tour of Pakistan, ended with a sensational victory for Pakistan in Rawalpindi, followed by a 9-wicket victory. Pakistan’s series against England started at the Multan Cricket Stadium, where England defeated Pakistan by an innings in the first Test match. England played an innings of more than 800 runs in this match.
The third test match of this series was played at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, where Pakistan defeated England in the third match to win the series two to one. And Sajid Khan played a vital role in the last two matches. These two spinners made the England players spin.
England gave Pakistan a target of 36 runs to win; Pakistan achieved this target by losing one player. On the first ball of the third over, Leach got Saim Ayub out lbw; the field umpire didn’t give him out, so Ben Stokes used DRS, and the third umpire gave him out.
Match Highlights
- Venue: Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi
- Date: October 24, 2024
- Result: Pakistan won by 9 wickets
- Series: Pakistan wins the series 2-1
- Player of the Match: Saud Shakeel
- Player of the Series: Sajid Khan
Day-wise Breakdown: Pakistan vs England 3rd Test 2024
Day 1 and 2: England started strongly with an opening score of 267 in the first innings, with the middle order batting in the region. Pakistan responded with a score of 344 thanks to a phenomenal performance by Saud Shakeel, who showed exceptional composure and technique with a score of 134 on a challenging, spin-friendly pitch.
Day 3: Pakistan’s top center-state spinners, Sajid Khan and Nauman Ali, who dismissed England for just 112 runs in their second innings, unusually became the highest wicket-taker. Khan’s consistent hard work earned him the Man of the Series award, while Saud Shakeel’s consistency earned him the Man of the Match award.
Full Highlights | Pakistan vs England | 3rd Test Day 3, 2024 | PCB
Spin Dominance & Turning Point
After losing the first match, the morale of the Pakistani team became very low. To manage this morale, Pakistan decided to give spinners a chance in the upcoming Test matches, so they included Sajid Khan and Nouman Ali in the team.
Sajid Khan and Nauman Ali took 39 wickets in the entire series, which is very impressive. The partnership between Nauman Ali and Sajid Khan in the last match played in Pakistan’s Rawalpindi brought back memories of the days of Saqlain Mushtaq and Mushtaq Ahmed. Pakistan played the third match on its strength, which is spin bowling, so Pakistan gave its spinners a chance, and the result was that Pakistan defeated England in the third test match as well. England team is a very strong team.
The mistake of feeding their fast bowlers in the first match was not repeated in the last two. Thus, Pakistan won the series. Under the captaincy of Ben Stokes, England proved to be a wall of sand in front of the Pakistani spinners.
England could only score 112 runs in the second innings, which showed that England’s batters were not quite ready to face Pakistan’s spinners. While they have faced failure in the last two Test matches, the main reason for this is the Pakistani spinners. Pakistan made a big mistake by not opening them in the first test match.
Captain’s Remarks
- Shan Masood (Pakistan Captain): At the end of the match, Pakistan captain Shan Masood expressed his satisfaction with winning the series. It may be remembered that Pakistan has won this series at its home ground for the first time since 2021. Sajid Khan, Nauman Ali and Saud Shakeel were also praised for leading Pakistan to victory in the last two Tests despite Masood losing the first Test match.
- Ben Stokes (England Captain): England captain Ben Stokes admitted that Pakistan played the best of the conditions in the last two Tests and beat us on their conditions due to their excellent bowling. Ben Stokes praised his team’s players, but he also admitted that we played badly against the Pakistani team, which is why we had to face defeat in the last two Test matches.
Record-Breaking Spin Performance in Rawalpindi Test
This Test series saw the most wickets taken by spinners in a series in Pakistan:
- 73 – PAK vs ENG, 2024/25
- 71 – PAK vs NZ, 1969/70
- 68 – PAK vs ENG, 2022/23
Historic Context of Pakistan’s Victory
This victory of Pakistan is very important in many respects. Pakistan won the series for the second time in history despite losing the first test match. The first time this happened was against Zimbabwe in 1995.
Pakistan won a series against England for the first time since 2015. This is the first home series win since 2021, a historic step for Pakistan’s future success, which will benefit Pakistan cricket.
Conclusion: A Series to Remember
The third Test match between Pakistan and England in Rawalpindi will be remembered for the extraordinary comeback of Pakistan’s spinners, especially Sajid Khan and Nauman Ali, who took 39 wickets out of 40 in the last two matches. Saud Shakeel also played the role of a fighter.
This victory broke Pakistan’s losing streak at home and reshaped their outlook in Test cricket. Earlier, Pakistan lost a series against Bangladesh for the first time at home. Pakistan’s lesson and focus is on spinning conditions and capitalizing on local talent. As Pakistan prepares for its next challenge in South Africa and England’s tour of New Zealand, the series will provide a template for future matches in the subcontinent.
