England became the first team in world cricket to complete a whitewash in Pakistan, after winning the third Test of three-match series in Karachi by eight wickets on Tuesday.
Left-handed batter Ben Duckett played the winning shot on Muhammad Wasim Jr delivery for a boundary. The tourists needed 167 runs to win the final Test after dismissing Pakistan for 216 in their second innings on the third day in Karachi on Monday.
Ahead of the start of the Karachi Test, England skipper Ben Stokes said that his side would be eyeing a series clean sweep in Karachi.
England had already sealed their three-match series after winning the first test by 74 runs before grabbing a 26-run victory in the second to register their first series win in Pakistan since 2000-01.
This was England’s first Test tour of Pakistan since 2005, having refused to tour the South Asian country in the years since because of security concerns.
Ben Stokes-led side outplayed the Babar Azam-led side in the whole series, with an all-round performance in all three departments of the game.
Duckett cracked his 12th boundary off fast bowler Mohammad Wasim to seal the victory on the fourth day, with England finishing on 170-2.
Agha Salman dropped Stokes off spinner Abrar Ahmed with the English captain on 22 and just 19 needed for victory.
With nine wins in their last 10 matches, England have vindicated their newly adopted freewheeling approach to Test cricket dubbed “Bazball”, after the nickname of coach Brendon McCullum.
McCullum and Stokes took charge of a misfiring side in May that had won just one of their previous 17 Tests, including a 4-0 humiliation in the Ashes in Australia.
England played power-packed cricket right from the start of the Pakistan tour, smashing 506-4 to set a record for the most team runs on the opening day of a Test.
Four batters – Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Harry Brook and Duckett – scored hundreds that day, another record.
Stokes was also bold in his captaincy, setting a tantalising 343-run target for Pakistan in Rawalpindi and then setting unusual fields to get wickets.
“It’s perfect,” said Stokes of the 3-0 result. “We’ve got a process we want to play but the challenge was the different pitches for every Test.”
Although the batters shone on Pakistan’s run-friendly wickets, he also had praise for his bowlers.
“We were particularly good with the ball. Whoever I threw it to, they seemed to deliver. The commitment and mindset has been top drawer,” he said.
Player-of-the-series Harry Brook, who accumulated 468 runs with three hundreds, was also singled out by Stokes.
“Every person has stood up at some point, but Brook has been unbelievable. He’s set Pakistan on fire… the calmness and belief is high class.”
Disconsolate Pakistan skipper Babar Azam said his side were only “good in patches”.
“Definitely, it’s a big disappointment. We are not good enough to fight back,” he said.
Pakistan’s problems were compounded by injuries to their fast bowlers, with Shaheen Shah Afridi ruled out before the series with a knee injury.
Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah missed the last two Tests with fitness problems.
But Pakistan suffered major batting collapses, losing their last six wickets for 108 in the first innings in Karachi and seven for 52 in the second.
Tuesday’s defeat means it is also the first time Pakistan have lost four home Tests on the trot, having been beaten by Australia in Lahore in March.
The complete scoreboard, reported by AFP, at the end of the third and final Test between Pakistan and England on day four at the National Stadium in Karachi:
Fall of wickets:
