A used pitch and spin bowling led to England’s defeat as Pakistan ended their 11-match winless streak at home dating back to March 2022 (which included seven losses) with a 152-run victory in the second Test in Multan.
Pakistan quickly took the first wicket of the day, with Sajid getting a catch off his own bowling to dismiss Ollie Pope in the second over. Noman then bowled Joe Root, leaving England struggling at 55/4.
Ben Stokes and Harry Brook attempted to build a partnership, but Noman got Brook out lbw, making it 88/6 within the first hour as he claimed his fourth wicket after Jamie Smith top-edged a slog-sweep.
Stokes continued to play positively, and Brydon Carse started aggressively, hitting two sixes off Sajid as England passed the 100-run mark.
However, Stokes was stumped off Noman after a 37-run partnership, marking Noman’s fifth five-wicket haul. Carse hit his third six with a slog-sweep off Sajid while Matthew Potts got off the mark with a boundary off the same bowler.
But Noman ended Carse’s innings with a catch at slip, leaving England with eight wickets down. Noman then took Jack Leach’s wicket, who caught a short leg, and Shoaib Bashir’s catch at silly point gave Noman eight wickets in an innings for the first time.
Pakistan’s victory was set up in their first innings with strong performances with the bat and ball. Kamran Ghulam, replacing Babar Azam, scored a century on his debut, while Saim Ayub added 77.
The middle order contributed vital runs to help Pakistan reach 366. Ben Duckett scored a century in response for England, but the rest of the team struggled as Sajid bowled them out for 291, giving Pakistan a 75-run lead.
On a pitch that was turning significantly, resembling a Day 8 surface when Pakistan batted in the second innings, Agha Salman made 63 to help Pakistan finish with 221. A target of 297 on a challenging wicket was well out of England’s reach as Noman dismantled their batting lineup on the fourth morning.