PAKISTAN vs ENGLAND (TEST), February 3-7, 2012, 3rd Test
Match Status : Pakistan won by 71 runs
Scorecard
Eng: 141, 252-all out (97.3)
Batsmen R B 4s 6s SR
Matt Prior 49 58 5 0 84.5
           
 
Pak: 99, 365
Bowlers O M R W ER
Abdur Rehman 41.3 10 97 2 2.3
Saeed Ajmal 27 9 67 4 2.5
RR : 2.58  
Last Wkt: Monty Panesar lbw b Abdur Rehman 8(15) - 252/10 in 97.3 ov.
Prev Ovs: . 1 . . 1 .   |  . 1 2 . . .   |  . 2 1 2 . 2   |  . 1 W
 
Commentary -
It has been a memorable series and we have enjoyed bringing you every bit of it. On behalf of Srivathsa, Ganesh, Kiran and the entire commentary team, this is Pradeep signing off. Bye and cheers..
Ajmal's tally of 24 wickets is his best ever in a series.
More trivia - This is England's first series loss since 2009. They lost then against West Indies. The last whitewash they suffered was the 2006-07 Ashes in Australia.
Misbah: Wonderful performance from the team. I just can't explain this in words. This victory means a lot to us. After getting out for 99, no one thought we had a chance but this team has been doing that for the last year and a half. Abdur Rehman bowled splendidly to restrict England. Younis Khan and Azhar Ali batted superbly and that was the difference. The key for Test cricket is discipline. That is what we have been discussing and trying to do. We have to learn more things. We play a lot of cricket in Asia. We have to learn to play well outside Asia too. I think this team can do it. I think Mohsin Khan did a wonderful job. We love the way we performed with him. The final decision will have to be taken by the board. This crowd proved that they love Test cricket and I thank them for being here.
Andrew Strauss: I'm a little surprised that we did not get a lot of big scores in the series. We have to give credit to Pakistan. You don't become a good side overnight and you don't become a bad one overnight either. The obvious thing we have to do is get bigger scores and play spin better. We'll have to work on it before the ODI series and the tour of Sri Lanka. The tone is set in the way we played in the first game. I have faith in all the cricketers. Things will get harder and we'll have to work hard before the ODI series. We had a really good opportunity to take the game by the scruff of the neck but we were not able to nail home the advantage. Adapting to the conditions is something that we should work on individually. It's kind of hard to leave the side now but I'll have to do my work before the Sri Lanka series. We've not been in the business of chopping and changing. I thank the supporters for coming out and supporting us throughout.
Ajmal: I'm very happy to win the Man of the Series award against the No 1 side in the world. Abdur Rehman supported me a lot and he bowled very well. I'm enjoying my cricket a lot.
Saeed Ajmal is the Man of the Series for picking 24 wickets in the series.
Azhar Ali: I'm ecstatic. When you score runs and your team wins, it gives a lot of satisfaction. The last two innings have helped my confidence a lot and I would like to improve myself. It's a great unit. I would like to thank the captain, the coach and everyone back home. It's a great team effort.
Azhar Ali is the Man of the Match for his marathon knock of 157.
Misbah ul Haq gets a special award that has been decided by the coaches of the two teams.
This is the first time Pakistan have inflicted a whitewash over England. This is also the first time since 1907, that a team has won a Test after being bowled out for less than 100 in the first innings of the match.
England will have to sit down and think about ways to tackle spin. They are up against Sri Lanka next and then square off against India in November. Their batting was a huge disappointment with none of the batsmen showing any sort of consistency. The bowlers were continously let down by the batters. Panesar emerged with credit, but Swann was a pale shadow of himself. They would like to forget this tour as a bad dream..
Pakistan continue their winning momentum under Misbah and Mohsin Khan. They have had several positives emerging from the series, the openers were solid. The young brigade of Azhar and Shafiq stood up to be counted. Adnan was safe behind the stumps while Rehman emerged from the shadows of Ajmal who remained unconquered.
Massive celebrations from the Pakistan camp. Who would have thought that they would clean sweep the world No. 1 team at the start of the series. We might as well say that Eng were spin-washed. A world record equalling 43 LBW decisions were made in the series. England would stay as the No.1 team for the moment, but that would be seriously questioned by the critics. They were rolled over by the spinners with Umar Gul making some useful contributions.
97.3 Abdur Rehman to Panesar, out Lbw!! This was as plumb as it gets, it was a well flighted delivery outside off and spinning back in, Panesar went for a mighty slog sweep and was struck on the back-pad in front of middle. The ball was going to hit middle, Panesar went for the review for the heck of it, he knew he was a goner as well. Panesar lbw b Abdur Rehman 8(15)
Abdur Rehman to Panesar, THATS OUT!! Lbw!!
Monty has been given out LBW, he has asked for a review. Monty is OUT and Pakistan have won the series 3-0
97.2 Abdur Rehman to Prior, 1 run, Prior backs away and mistimes a cut wide of cover for a single
97.1 Abdur Rehman to Prior, no run, pitched up on the leg-stump and straightening, Prior gets back in defence
96.6 Ajmal to Panesar, 2 runs, more fun for Monty, tonks a well tossed up delivery to the right of mid-on who does well to dive and prevent a boundary
96.5 Ajmal to Panesar, no run, slow turn for Ajmal, Panesar watches it all along and defends it towards the off-side
96.4 Ajmal to Panesar, 2 runs, Monty wants to have some fun, clubs a well tossed up delivery wide of mid-wicket for an easy couple
96.3 Ajmal to Prior, 1 run, Prior bunts a well tossed up delivery to long on for another easy single
96.2 Ajmal to Prior, 2 runs, nicely done by Prior, waits for one that pitches outside off and spins back in and chops it behind point for an easy couple
96.1 Ajmal to Prior, no run, pitched up on the middle, driven towards mid-wicket
More Commentary...
 
Match Information - Feb 03, 2012 +
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