Shaheen, Vaughan laud Pakistan for Test series win over England

New Delhi: Pakistan pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi and former England captain Michael Vaughan lauded Pakistan for their emphatic 2-1 Test series win over England after securing a nine-wicket victory in the third and final match in Rawalpindi on Saturday. Pakistan bounced back strong in the series after suffering an innings and 47 runs drubbing in the first Test in Multan. The hosts dropped former captains Babar Azam and Sarfaraz Ahmed along with pacers Shaheen and Naseem Shah for the second and third Tests. They brought in uncapped Kamran Ghulam, Sajid Khan and Mohammad Ali among others for the final two games of the series and the move worked for them. Pakistan went on to win the second Test by 152 runs at the reused strip in Multan as Kamran Ghulam struck a century on his Test debut while Noman Ali and Sajid Khan shared England’s all 20 wickets between them. The result of the third Test at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium was no different with Saud Shakeel scoring a ton and the spin duo of Sajid and Noman clinching 19 scalps across innings to register another dominating win. It was also Pakistan’s first home series win since 2021 after four Test series. “What an emphatic way to introduce #AqibBall to the world! Pitch-perfect performance from the spin duo Noman and Sajid, and incredible century by Saud Shakeel. Congratulations Pakistan!,” Shaheen wrote on Instagram story. On the other hand, former English cricketer Vaughan flagged England’s approach on turning surfaces after their surrender against Pakistan spinners in the final two Tests of the series. “Fantastic series win for Pakistan .. As soon as the pitches started to spin they dominated England .. It happened in India last year and now Pakistan .. Englands high risk strategy doesn’t work against the spinning ball,” Vaughan wrote on X. Pakistan’s Saud Shakeel, who scored 134 runs in the first innings, was named Player of the Match while Sajid Khan bagged the Player of the Series accolade after finishing with 19 scalps in two matches. –IANS