December 05
After losing to England in Rawalpindi late on day five, Pakistan’s hopes of reaching the ICC World Test Championship in 2021–23 have been diminished.
Pakistan was ranked in the ICC World Test Championship standings. With five home Test matches against England and New Zealand, Pakistan had a good chance to get into the final.
On Monday, England won the series opener against Pakistan by 74 runs. Pakistan’s 579-run response to England’s 657-run innings culminated in a 78-run deficit that Pakistan had to concede on a pitch devoid of grass, where seven batsmen from both teams scored hundreds.
With yet another rapid 264-7 in only 35.5 overs on Day 4, England boldly declared and set Pakistan a challenging 343 target in four sessions.
On Day 5, Pakistan was bowled out for 268 despite needing 263 runs and having eight wickets in hand, losing its final five wickets for just 11 runs after lunch. This was against James Anderson (4-36) and Ollie Robinson’s reverse swing (4-50).
Pakistan, which entered the fourth session with a score of 257-5, was defeated by the unrelenting field placements of England captain Ben Stokes before Robinson and the seasoned Anderson decimated the lower order.
Robinson ended Saud Shakeel’s nearly four-hour struggle in the second session, after the lefthander had recorded the highest score of 76. Shakeel was one of the four Pakistani debutants.
England made a dangerous decision on Sunday evening by declaring the second innings with only four sessions remaining in order to grab all 10 wickets and force a result. And they succeeded barely in time in Rawalpindi. It was painful for Pakistan because not only did they lose the game and the series, but they also suffered a big setback to their chances of appearing in the World T20 Championship final, hence enhancing India’s chances.
