On a night when it mattered the most, the all-rounder produced a scintillating performance to ace yet another pressure game

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<a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/59429/babar-azam/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Babar Azam</a> has no intention of giving up the Pakistan captaincy despite overseeing a first-ever 3-0 Test series whitewash at home, saying that leading the side is &quot;a matter of honour&quot;.Pakistan lost to England Tuesday in the third and final Test in Karachi by eight wickets, after going down in the first two matches by 74 runs in Rawalpindi and 26 in Multan.It was also the first time Pakistan have lost four Tests on the trot, having been beaten by Australia in Lahore in March.Asked if he would quit the captaincy to concentrate on batting, Azam told a news conference he still enjoyed the challenge.&quot;Captaincy is a matter of honour for me. I will do whatever best I can for my country and for myself,&quot; he said.&quot;I enjoy it more when under pressure and it doesn&#39;t affect my batting.&quot;But Azam acknowledged his disappointment at the result of the series.&quot;We could not apply ourselves in the series,&quot; said Azam, who suffered his sixth defeat in 16 Tests as skipper.&quot;I keep Pakistan first and the rest after that. So that motive and my aim is paramount,&quot; he said.He also backed the players and team management, saying he was confident they would bounce back.&quot;I will defend other players as captain. I will take that front on... I will be there for others.&quot;But he urged his teammates to rise to the challenge.&quot;Coaches give us plans and we have to execute that. It&#39;s for the players to step up,&quot; he said.Azam, however, rued the loss through injury of key bowlers -- specifically Shaheen Shah Afridi, who missed every game of the series, and Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah, who were out of the last two.&quot;We were unfortunate that our main fast bowlers were not fit and the new players we played could not execute the way we wanted,&quot; he said.Pakistan next face New Zealand in two Tests, with the first in Karachi beginning December 26.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

On Tuesday, Pakistan slipped to seventh in the WTC table, going below West Indies

Babar Azam

England tour of Pakistan, 2022

Pakistan

Babar Azam keen to continue leading in Tests despite WTC disaster

Exactly a year ago, England lost the day-night Test in Adelaide by 275 runs to go 0-2 down in the Ashes. Four months later, they would go on to suffer three more defeats in their next six Tests, winning none, to plunge to the very bottom of the World Test Championship table.Those days really seem like an eternity ago as on Tuesday, the Three Lions, led by <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/10130/ben-stokes/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ben Stokes</a>, completed a 3-0 whitewash of Pakistan to climb to fifth spot in the WTC table. In the process they became the first ever side to whitewash Pakistan in a series at home, and also made it a staggering 9 wins out of 10 under the leadership of Stokes.It is quite a remarkable turnaround for a side that, until May, had won 1 out of its previous 17 Tests and was, for a small period, rather hopeless.One of the two architects in chief for the turnaround, Stokes believes that learning to let go of the fear of failure is what&rsquo;s contributed to his side&rsquo;s unprecedented success.&quot;You just accept [that] getting out is part of batting. I think just releasing that fear of failure is why we&#39;ve produced the results,&rdquo; Stokes said on Tuesday, in the aftermath of the 3-0 series win.&quot;When you take that burden off individuals and the team, you see players excelling and showing more within themselves. The ambition to win and play an entertaining brand of cricket, that over-rides any fear of failure.&rdquo;One of the biggest factors behind England&rsquo;s resurgence, Stokes explained, is that all players are genuinely enjoying their cricket. The England skipper asserted that he&rsquo;s never had as much fun playing cricket as he is currently, donning the whites.&ldquo;[We are] just going out and enjoying every moment we can, whatever situation we find ourselves in.&quot;The first Test pitch [in Rawalpindi] was very, very flat and we just said, &#39;enjoy the flatness boys - let&#39;s just enjoy this challenge and see what we can do.&#39; We&#39;ve had Jimmy Anderson smiling, which is an impressive thing in and of itself down on the field.&rdquo;The Baz-Stokes era is yet to encounter a single low &mdash; everything they&rsquo;ve touched has turned into gold &mdash; but Stokes admitted that the &lsquo;real test&rsquo; for this group will be to get through the lower points, when they inevitably arrive.&quot;It is a great time to be in this dressing room and a great time to be playing for England. I&#39;m just encouraging everyone to turn up every day and enjoy what you&#39;re doing. Obviously, it is easier to do when we are winning the way we are at the moment.&quot;The real test will be when things don&#39;t go so well and that will be the time to make that even more of a thing for us to take out there. But I hope we don&#39;t come to that.&quot;Prior to the series, England were expected to push Pakistan to the limit, but no one quite saw a whitewash coming. It is one thing winning a series away, that too in the sub-continent, but the Stokes-led England side essentially dominated the three-Test series from the very first ball.&nbsp;Stokes claimed that it will &lsquo;take time&rsquo; for the victory to sink in, but labeled the whitewash a &lsquo;very special&rsquo; &nbsp;achievement.&quot;It won&#39;t really sink in until we get home or in the new year,&quot; Stokes said.&quot;I know it&rsquo;s a cliched thing, but being out in the subcontinent is one of the hardest places to do it,&quot; Stokes said.&quot;I understand, and we understand, what we&#39;ve done is pretty special... to win 3-0 out here, it will be something to be really proud of.&quot;Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

On Tuesday, England made it 9 wins out of 10 under the leadership of Stokes 

Stokes credits ‘releasing fear of failure’ for England’s unprecedented success

<a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/86794/rehan-ahmed/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rehan Ahmed</a> is three First-Class appearance old but that didn&rsquo;t stop the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to award him with a maiden selection in the squad to tour Pakistan. While none predicted his chance to come this soon, the leg-spinning all-rounder was named in the playing XI ahead of the third Test in Karachi.&nbsp;Across four innings, the leg-spinner had a grand total of nine wickets against his name but everything turned around its head in Karachi. In the second innings, in an inspired spell of play, the leg-spinner accounted for two of Pakistan&rsquo;s best players of spin, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan.&nbsp;&ldquo;It was probably the best day of my life again. To get a five-for on debut is a dream come true. It is great,&rdquo; Rehan told BBC at the end of day&rsquo;s play.&nbsp;Whilst he ended up with a five-wicket haul on debut, it was Babar&rsquo;s wicket that he hailed as a &lsquo;dream come true&rsquo; moment for him. Babar, who was batting well on 54 hit the ball straight to Ollie Pope, starting off a huge collapse. But it was his skilful bowling against Rizwan that dismissed the Pakistani batter, with a sharp turn past the right-hander.&nbsp;&quot;I have bowled better balls and not got wickets. To get Babar Azam out is a dream come true. He is a very good player. I liked the Rizwan wicket because I have been working hard on my leg-spin for the last two months with bowling coach Jeetan Patel. To get one to spin a little bit was great.&quot;Azhar Ali, who was making his final appearance for Pakistan in the longest format, summed up his feelings after his final day of play in Test cricket.&nbsp;&quot;I was more emotional in the first innings than the second. I was quite calm but I am a human being and was feeling some emotions.&quot;I played the wrong line and Leachy, my old Somerset team-mate, got me out. I have faced him a lot in the nets. It was my time to say goodbye.&quot;Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

Rehan Ahmed picked up a five-for in the second innings on Test debut

Rehan Ahmed

Getting Babar out was a dream come true: debutant Rehan Ahmed

Spending almost 10 months in professional wilderness due to recurring back issues had <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/64168/ollie-robinson/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ollie Robinson</a> considering retirement from international cricket. The 29-year old was ruled of England&#39;s March tour of West Indies due to the injuries which forced to him sit out a major chunk of County cricket with Surrey.However, the pacer made a great comeback in the Test series in Pakistan this month and claimed eight wickets from four innings at an average of 18.37 as the visitors sealed the series 2-0.&quot;There were points when I didn&#39;t think I was going to play for England again, or play cricket again. I kept coming back to full fitness, then getting an injury or illness, then another injury. There was a point in June time when I thought &#39;I might have to look at what else I can do here, I don&#39;t think I&#39;m going to be able to carry on playing cricket&#39;. It&#39;s been tough and there has been some dark days, but tours and series wins like this make it all worthwhile,&quot; Robinson told Sky Sports ahead of the third Test.England are on the cusp of sweeping the series in Karachi and Robinson is hungry for more wickets.&quot;Twelve months ago I was struggling to even get on the park. It&#39;s a really proud tour for me, in the fact my body has got through it, I&#39;ve bowled well and I&#39;ve proved to the world, almost, I can do it in any conditions. Not just for the team, but for myself. It&#39;s been a really good tour so far and hopefully we can win 3-0 this week,&quot; he added.After seemingly unending period of back spasms, a change in training routines and seeking inspiration from Test skipper <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/10130/ben-stokes/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ben Stokes</a>, who himself has powered through mental issues and multiple injuries, Robinson was glad to be back.&quot;I had different types of scans. MRIs, X-rays. It was just a bit of wear and tear. Because there was so much inflammation, every time I got back to full fitness, the inflammation was there. It was jarring again and giving me another back spasm. I ended up having five injections, which took the inflammation away and allowed me to train a bit harder. Then it settled down. It was a strange one, because I felt it was career-ending, the way it felt,&quot; Robinson remembered the dark times he went through.&quot;You only have to look at Stokesy, when he trains, to look at how intense some people train. I&#39;ve tried to get as near that as possible. Jimmy (Anderson) has played for 20 years now. He&#39;s a great role-model for me and someone I look up to,&quot; he said.England have charted a new path under Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum by winning eight off the nine matches so far.&quot;It&#39;s an exciting time for English cricket. We&#39;ve done 2-0 and if we can do 3-0 it will be an amazing effort. The boys are prepared for one, last big push to get the 3-0 whitewash,&quot; Robinson said.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

The England pacer made a grand return to the Test side against Pakistan and picked up eight wickets from two matches

Ollie Robinson

Ollie Robinson reveals contemplating retirement due to injuries

Pakistan fast bowler <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/69956/naseem-shah/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Naseem Shah</a> has been ruled out of the third Test against England at the National Stadium, Karachi due to a niggle in the bowling shoulder, the PCB has confirmed. No replacement has been sought by the team management at this stage.The pacer will now travel to Lahore where he undergo further assessment at the National High Performance Centre (NPHC) before beginning his rehabilitation. Naseem bowled just under 34 overs in the first Test in Rawalpindi, finishing with figures of 6 for 206, conceding at an economy rate of more than six an over.Both Pakistan and England will travel to Karachi on Wednesday (December 14). The third Test will commence from Saturday (December 17).Pakistan started the series off without their premier fast bowler <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/66833/shaheen-afridi/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Shaheen Afridi</a> who continues to recover from a knee injury, while <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/70326/haris-rauf/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Haris Rauf</a> who made his debut in Rawalpindi too has been ruled out with a thigh injury.England have already taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. The visitors claimed a 74-run victory on a dead pitch in Rawalpindi and followed that up with yet another spectacular 26-run win in Multan. Ben Stokes therefore became only the third England captain after Ted Dexter and Nasser Hussain to win a Test series in Pakistan.There does not seem to any fresh injury concerns for England as of now. Liam Livingstone, who received his maiden Test cap in Rawalpindi, made way for Mark Wood in Multan due to an injury. It remains to be seen if England do make any changes for the final Test.They still have Keaton Jennings, Ben Foakes, Jamie Overton and Rehan Ahmed, who are yet to game in this tour.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

The team management have not sought any replacement for the fast bowler

Naseem Shah

Naseem Shah out of Karachi Test due to shoulder niggle

The wicket used in the first Test match featuring Pakistan and England at Rawalpindi has been rated &#39;below average&#39; by ICC match referee Andy Pycroft.&nbsp;The wickets offered no assistance to the bowlers on either side, and despite England&#39;s memorable 74-run win, it was not surprising for the pitch to receive this rating for a second time this year.&nbsp;In a statement released by ICC, Pycroft said, &ldquo;It was a very flat pitch which gave almost no assistance to any type of bowler. That was the main reason why batters scored very fast, and both sides posted huge totals.&nbsp;&quot;The pitch hardly deteriorated during the course of the match. Since there was very little in it for the bowlers, I found the pitch to be &#39;below average&#39; as per the ICC guidelines,&quot; he further added.&nbsp;It means Rawalpindi has lost two demerit points from the clash and two more from their previous performance from the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process.&nbsp;If a particular venue has five demerit points in a five-year rolling period, they cannot stage any international cricket for a period of 12 months, and any more demerit points can lead to suspension for the Rawalpindi ground.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

The wicket in the first Test has been under the scanner after England recorded over 500 runs on Day one

Rawalpindi pitch rated 'below average' by ICC

Pakistan captain <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/59429/babar-azam/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Babar Azam</a> has given his verdict on <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/64153/saud-shakeel/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Saud Shakeel</a>&#39;s controversial dismissal. Shakeel, who was batting on 94, gloved one to the &#39;keeper <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/66403/ollie-pope/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ollie Pope</a> down the leg side. However, replays suggested that the ball may have kissed the ground after he took it. The soft signal adjudged the batter and after a close look it looked as though the third umpire did not have sufficient evidence to overturn the on-field decision.The wicket came at a crucial juncture for England as Pakistan were just 64 runs away from their second highest run-chase in Tests, just before lunch on Day Four. Mark Wood delivered a bouncer that was going down the leg side but Shakeel looking to pull the ball only managed a glove to Pope.Babar says that the dressing room was surprised with the final decision but at the same time, they respect the call made by the umpires.&quot;The Shakeel dismissal cost us,&quot; Babar said after the his side&#39;s 26-run loss in the second Test in Multan, according to ESPNCricinfo.&quot;It looked to us as if the ball had touched the ground. As a professional, you have to respect the umpire&#39;s decision, but we felt the ball had been grounded.&quot;The soft signal is part of the game and well within the rules of the ICC. However, it was scrapped in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The rules mention that if there is &quot;inconclusive replay evidence, the on-field decision communicated at the start of the consultation process shall stand&quot;.Asked if the soft signals should be done away with altogether, Babar said, &quot;I think it&#39;s for the umpires to decide Like I said, we felt the ball was grounded.&quot;However, Babar&#39;s counterpart <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/10130/ben-stokes/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ben Stokes</a> did not think there was anything wrong with the decision in the end. &quot;I don&#39;t think [there were any doubts about the catch], personally,&quot; he said.&nbsp;&quot;The only thing where you start worrying is when it gets looked at for a long period of time because that&#39;s when you start having doubt in your own head. I&#39;ve been part of games before where I&#39;ve been on the team who&#39;s been on the receiving end of those decisions and you&#39;re always like, &#39;that&#39;s not carried&#39;.&quot;You see a lot of lot of those decisions and those type of catches in cricket. You could say the similar thing was when Rooty got caught at short leg - you could say that might have touched the floor. But you&#39;ve just got to go with what the umpire&#39;s decision is. It went our way but I&#39;ve been involved in a few decisions where stuff like that has gone against us. But you can&#39;t change that.&quot;Even Pope, who claimed the catch said there he was sure it was clean. &quot;I knew it had carried,&quot; Pope said.&nbsp;&quot;I didn&#39;t think it had bounced before. As a keeper when you&#39;ve got the gloves on you honestly can&#39;t tell. I didn&#39;t think it had touched the ground after. When you have gloves on you feel it go in but that&#39;s it.&quot;After a 74-run defeat in the first Test, Pakistan lost the second game in Multan by 26 runs to concede the series. They will look to end the series on a high when they face England for the final Test in Karachi, starting December 17.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

The southpaw was caught down the leg side off a Mark Wood bouncer which put Pakistan on the back foot 

Ollie Pope

Saud Shakeel

Looked like the ball touched the ground: Babar on Shakeel's dismissal

England under <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/10130/ben-stokes/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ben Stokes</a> are on a roll. With the win in Multan, they have now won eight out of their last nine games, including taking an unassailable 2-0 series lead. This is England first Test series win in Pakistan since 2000, led by Nasser Hussain.England&#39;s attacking brand of cricket helped them secure a 74-run win in the first Test in Rawalpindi and in Multan, they fought hard to eke out a closely-fought 26-run win after they set the hosts 355.Pakistan seemed to be in the contest but a couple of quick strikes by Mark Wood before lunch put them on the back foot.&nbsp;Stokes acknowledges that his team was fortunate that the cracks opened up brining the fast bowlers into play on an otherwise turning track.&quot;Take a look at the conditions, it was a tricky wicket for slower bowling. We were fortunate that with the cracks opening up our seamers became effective,&quot; Stokes said at the post-match presentation.&quot;Jimmy [Anderson], Robbo [Robinson] and Woody [Wood] put in a seriously good effort, so hats off to the lads. The way they bowled throughout the game, they looked a huge threat. When it came down to the wire I had three guys to turn to. They bowled short spells and always seemed to pick up a wicket when needed.&quot;<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">The winning moment 🎉 🇵🇰 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAKvENG?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PAKvENG</a> 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 <a href="https://t.co/GmsHsQETtJ">pic.twitter.com/GmsHsQETtJ</a>&mdash; England Cricket (@englandcricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/englandcricket/status/1602234795467149314?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2022</a></blockquote>Pakistan captain<a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/59429/babar-azam/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;Babar Azam</a>, who has now lost three Tests in a row at home said that his side&#39;s performance with the bat especially in the first innings let them down.&quot;Yes, we were not up to the mark in the first innings. We had a couple of soft dismissals. After that we had a fightback in the bowling and second innings we fight good, but unfortunately we did not finish it,&quot; Babar said after conceding the series in Multan.&quot;We have a simple plan to carry on the momentum, we had good partnerships between Imam and Saud and then Saud and Nawaz. The tail also fought well, but we didn&#39;t finish well,&quot; he added.<a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/66884/abrar-ahmed/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Abrar Ahmed</a> scripted history, becoming only the second Pakistan bowler to pick up 11 wickets on Test debut. Babar reckons it is an encouraging start for the 24-year-old.&nbsp;&quot;Dream start for Abrar, he used conditions very well in the first innings and after that he bowled well. Good for him and the team,&quot; Babar quipped.<a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/66374/harry-brook/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Harry Brook</a> was adjudged player of the match for a magnificent century in England&#39;s second innings to go with his 153 in the first Test. He got out cheaply in the first innings in Multan and was determined not to repeat his mistakes when he got a chance to bat again.&quot;Tried to learn from my mistake in first innings, try not to be too aggressive but still put pressure on the bowler,&quot; Brook said.&quot;No, we just wanted to go out and play our brand of cricket, put pressure o the bowler and be aggressive throughout,&quot; he added when asked about the target England had in mind.With the series already lost, Pakistan will hope for some consolation when they face England for the third and final Test at the National Stadium, Karachi from December 17 onwards.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

With the win in Multan, England have not just won eight of their nine Tests, but have also taken an unassailable 2-0 lead against Pakistan

BATSMAN	R	B	4s	6s	SR
Ben Foakes b Faheem Ashraf	21	6	0	3	350
Ben Duckett b Agha Salman	38	10	2	4	380
Ben Stokes hit wicket b Faheem Ashraf	12	3	0	2	400
Joe Root Batting	6	1	0	1	600
Harry Brook Batting	20	4	0	3	500

BOWLER	0	R	W	Econ
Abdullah Shafique	1	23	0	23.00
Faheem Ashraf	1	24	2	24.00
Agha Salman	2	50	1	25.00

PAK VS ENG,3rd Test

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