Pakistan triumph over England

LAHORE – Pakistan, spearheaded by fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, won the third and final test against England by an innings and 100 runs on Saturday to take the series 2-0.

The fiery Shoaib with five wickets and spinner Danish Kaneria with four, including three wickets in five balls after lunch, broke England’s final-day resistance. The visitors were all out for 248 after the last eight wickets fell for 43.Ian Bell (92) and Paul Collingwood (80) had looked to be steadying England’s second innings with a third-wicket stand of 175 until Collingwood became the first of Kaneria’s victims caught Hasan Raza in the first over after lunch.Kevin Pietersen followed, caught Raza for one, and Andrew Flintoff was bowled first ball.After Shoaib trapped Bell lbw, England’s hopes of a face-saving draw faded.Pakistan, who won the first test in Multan and drew the second in Faisalabad, had bowled England out for 288 in their first innings then piled on the runs to declare on Friday at 636 for eight.”It really was a tremendous effort from all the boys.They really worked hard,” Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq said.Inzamam, named man of the series, led by example, passing 8 000 test runs during his innings of 97 on Friday.He also scored centuries in each innings in Faisalabad.”They put us under a lot of pressure,” England captain Michael Vaughan said.”They played better cricket over the three matches in all aspects of the game…We had a chance in Multan we didn’t take it.Shoaib I think played a big role in this victory for them,” he said.”We have to learn lessons from this series.We have to face India in similar conditions and we have to make sure we have learned those lessons.”Shoaib finished with figures of five for 71 and Kaneria with four for 52.England lost their last eight wickets in a whirlwind collapse in 12.1 overs after lunch.Shoaib and Kaneria shared seven wickets and Mohammad Sami took one.For England, who had arrived in Pakistan on a high after their Ashes triumph over Australia, it was the first series defeat after six wins in a row.- Nampa-ReutersThe visitors were all out for 248 after the last eight wickets fell for 43.Ian Bell (92) and Paul Collingwood (80) had looked to be steadying England’s second innings with a third-wicket stand of 175 until Collingwood became the first of Kaneria’s victims caught Hasan Raza in the first over after lunch.Kevin Pietersen followed, caught Raza for one, and Andrew Flintoff was bowled first ball.After Shoaib trapped Bell lbw, England’s hopes of a face-saving draw faded.Pakistan, who won the first test in Multan and drew the second in Faisalabad, had bowled England out for 288 in their first innings then piled on the runs to declare on Friday at 636 for eight.”It really was a tremendous effort from all the boys.They really worked hard,” Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq said.Inzamam, named man of the series, led by example, passing 8 000 test runs during his innings of 97 on Friday.He also scored centuries in each innings in Faisalabad.”They put us under a lot of pressure,” England captain Michael Vaughan said.”They played better cricket over the three matches in all aspects of the game…We had a chance in Multan we didn’t take it.Shoaib I think played a big role in this victory for them,” he said.”We have to learn lessons from this series.We have to face India in similar conditions and we have to make sure we have learned those lessons.”Shoaib finished with figures of five for 71 and Kaneria with four for 52.England lost their last eight wickets in a whirlwind collapse in 12.1 overs after lunch.Shoaib and Kaneria shared seven wickets and Mohammad Sami took one.For England, who had arrived in Pakistan on a high after their Ashes triumph over Australia, it was the first series defeat after six wins in a row.- Nampa-Reuters