On a visit through Pakistan that has hurled a wealth of otherworldly minutes for Britain’s revived Test group, it likely could be that seeing Rehan Ahmed dropping to the dusty soil of Karachi to offer a request of thanks bested the parcel.
Ahmed
who was 18 years old and 128 days old, had just broken the record set by Pat Cummins of Australia for the youngest men’s Test cricketer to score five wickets on debut. Even better, 48 hours after praising the day as the best of his life, he had set his team on the path to a first-ever series sweep in Pakistan.
England set a target of 167 runs in seven sessions thanks to Ahmed’s magical figures of five for 48 from 14.5 overs, secured 68 days earlier than Cummins’ stunning arrival in Johannesburg 11 years ago. Pakistan were bowled out for 216 all out. The tourists wanted it over with in one go, scoring 112 for two from 17 overs in the arena, leaving only 55 runs for the fourth day.
With apologies to Stuart Broad, Ahmed became the first official “nighthawk” of the new era at No. 3, carting his first ball off Abrar Ahmed down the ground for four in this bid for glory before sunset. He was bowled for 10, followed by a second wristier boundary. No problem. History was within touching distance thanks to Ben Duckett’s unbeaten 38-ball 50 and Zak Crawley’s run-a-ball 41.
Another example of the Midas touch that has prevailed since Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum became captain and head coach, Ahmed scribbled his numbers in gold pen on the honors board after stumps, barely able to compute them. Ahmed, a talent who is putting in the most effort in cricket, couldn’t have asked for two better coaches to start with.
Even though Stokes took two wickets on the first day, he kept Ahmed at bay well into the afternoon. At 164 for three, with Pakistan leading by 114 runs, a three-wicket burst from Jack Leach first thing had given way to nearly three hours of steadfast resistance from Saud Shakeel and Babar Azam.
With an eight-over spell of strength in the heat, Stokes tried to get out of the way and became agitated. His shyness at the stumps allowed Babar to score a typically impressive fifty with overthrows. Ahmed, however, picked the lock after just 17 deliveries, picking off both set batsmen and Mohammad Rizwan to make it 177 for six and show Pakistan’s weak lower order.
A captain who had heard rumors about his future
Babar’s death in Ahmed’s second over was disheartening. He rocked back and hit a long-hop to Ollie Pope at midwicket on 54. Ben Foakes was able to pouch Ahmed’s dipping, almost purring legbreak into the edge of Rizwan’s defensive push on seven, proving the quality of the follow-up.
With its greater bounce, the googly is Ahmed’s most potent weapon, and after the latest of them beat Shakeel for 53 with a top-edged sweep, the hosts felt that sinking feeling once more. Mark Wood simply beat Nauman Ali for pace to finish with a gutsier 15 lbw. Joe Root quickly caught the largely unknown Faheem Ashraf at slip after tea off a loose drive.
After Ahmed completed his shutout of the innings, Mohammad Wasim Jr. was undone and committed another error, and Agha Salman swept to short fine leg. Ahmed’s immediate sajdah to celebrate with his Pakistani-born father, Naeem, who was crying in the stands, was truly special.
Leach had seen the young debutant steal headlines before, but his contribution, with figures of three for 72 from 26 overs, was hugely significant. When Shan Masood attempted a reverse sweep on number 24, Leach claimed the first of three victims in six balls and under-edged it onto the leg stump.
Azhar Ali was out strode in his final Test match before retiring
The 37-year-old is a player whose help to Pakistan has been colossal, not simply through 7,000 or more Trials and 19 centuries yet as one of the focal mainstays of the group that burned through 10 years in banishment yet rose to No 1 in the rankings in 2016. But what happened next was heartbreaking, with his wife and kids watching in the small stands.
The hosts were 54 for three with a four-run lead when Abdullah Shafique was run out in the following over, just like in the first innings when Leach struck again. However, despite Shakeel’s survival of the hat trick in the midst of a vulture cage and his role in a 110-run fightback with Babar, Ahmed and this England team appear to be facing a sense of destiny.