Dismal England suffer series defeat as Pakistan claim third Test victory | Pakistan vs England 2024

A series that began with England breaking records ended with England simply being broken. Where they had to fight they faltered, where the situation called for strength they surrendered as Pakistan claimed a nine-wicket win and a 2-1 series win in Rawalpindi.

A morning session that was meant to be an opportunity for them to hunker down and fight for the game, and their reputation turned into a pathetic procession, first because of the batsmen out as England limped to a dismal total of 112, and then because of of boundaries as Pakistan approached their ridiculous target of 36 in three overs and one ball.

England were 53 behind at the start of the game, three wickets had already fallen, but two batters on the sidelines also had a combined lead of 454 just two games ago, albeit on a very different surface and in a very different world. This time they barely managed to get 10% of the total and for the tourists it was the best thing ever. After Harry Brook was dismissed, the innings collapsed completely; England managed to add just 88 to their overnight score, with their last seven wickets totaling just 49.

They did manage to take a Pakistan wicket, but that only allowed Shan Masood to turn up for a cameo that was dismissive to the point of contempt. Needing 22 points, he hit his first four balls for four, his fifth for a single and his sixth for six. From six balls, he scored 70% of the boundaries England managed in the 224 balls that comprised the second innings.

For about half an hour at the start of the day the sun was shining, the birds were singing and Brook and Root looked like they were in control. It says a lot about England's innings that this period, in which they scored 42 mostly – if not entirely – trouble-free runs, was by far their best.

There was a half-chance when Sajid Khan found Brook's edge and the ball flew low to short leg, giving Abdullah Shafique just enough time to hit it with his fingertips. There were also some good shots and, just as importantly, the feeling that the batters approached the event with the kind of careful vigilance that the situation demanded. But when things started going wrong, they went very wrong indeed.

Noman Ali made the breakthrough, Brook, as in the first innings, finished him off with a bit more pace. The ball did not spin and the batsman had no room to make his attempted strike as it bounced high onto the stick on the way into the keeper's gloves, possibly only touching his thumb. England had scored 66 runs and were still 11 behind.

As long as Ben Stokes was in the middle the tourists still had a chance, which as it turned out wasn't for long. His delivery was bizarre, bordering on the inexplicable, as he failed to offer a shot to a ball that spun slightly into him and hit him on the thigh. The captain's decision was the decision of a player who had a lot on his mind, or the decision of a player who had just woken up. He reached out to Root and asked for encouragement for a review, but there was none. Stokes had scored three goals and England were seven points behind.

Jamie Smith had scored 89 in the first innings, runs that felt crucial at the time, and showed what he was capable of even under pressure, on a turning surface and against top-class spinners with the wind in his sails. He lasted 16 balls here before running down the track to Sajid and playing an agricultural hoik over the line to a ball that turned quite sharply and beat him inside on the way to the stumps. Smith had scored three goals and England were two points behind.

By this point, England's ambitions had shifted from using Pakistan as a Test target to simply getting them to bat again. Root stayed long enough to at least guarantee that before he was beaten by an excellent throw from Noman, who took the lead and was well intercepted by Mohammad Rizwan behind the stumps. He had scored a measured 33 points: not exactly overwhelming, but it says everything about England's innings that his contribution could well be described as outstanding – Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Stokes and Smith had contributed just 21 points between them.

It's hard to say the inning fizzled out from there, considering it was barely over. Sajid turned the ball into Gus Atkinson's bat and threw it, then did the same as Rehan Ahmed, who tried to hit it into the leg side but missed and saw the bails light up. Noman flew slow, short and wide, daring Jack Leach to come out of his crease to reach him. He actually came out of his crease, he didn't reach it, and Rizwan did the rest.