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England had little to answer to the combative spin attack of Pakistan as the hosts levelled the series with a 152-run victory in the second Test on the same pitch in Multan.
Pakistan took an unprecedented decision to re-use the pitch where England had scored more than 800 in an innings just a week previously, but second time around it offered a lot more for the bowlers, and the home side’s spin attack proved too much for the tourists.
Ben Stokes returned to the side as captain and all-rounder for the match and as England let opportunities to remain in the match slip through their grasp on day three when the catches went down, he cut an uncharacteristically frustrated figure.
On a pitch offering extreme turn England were set a near-impossible chase of 297 but were left kicking themselves on the third afternoon when they put down two catches in the space of three Brydon Carse deliveries. The lucky batter, Salman Agha, was spared on four by wicketkeeper Jamie Smith and six by slip Joe Root and went on to make them pay with a vital 63.
When asked about the dropped catches from England after the conclusion of the Test, Stokes told Sky Sports: “No one means to drop catches and it just shows how important catches are in these subcontinent conditions.
“On that I actually apologised to the group up there last night. It’s the first time in my captaincy that I’ve let my emotions in how the game was unfolding show in my body language.
“I owned up to that and I’m very annoyed at myself for letting that out. It’s something that I don’t want to do or be seen to be doing.
“So I apologised to the group about that and just sort of said ‘that was poor of me’ (I was) a tired and grumpy old man last night, but you won’t see that happen again.”
When it came Stokes’ chance to bat, he had faced 35 balls on the morning of the fourth day of the second Test, resisting the inevitable by using sweeps and reverse sweeps. But then he went on the attack, trying to launch Noman Ali down the ground, missed the ball, and flung his bat far into the leg side.
“Yeah, I’ll try and remember to keep holding my bat the next time,” Stokes said with a half smile.
“Look, it was always going to be a very, very tough task, but we backed ourselves to chase that down and I think it was pretty evident from the way we had to go and play.
“It was always going to be in the bowlers’ favour when there is so much going on (with the pitch). You couldn’t just look to sit in there at that time because there was always going to be one with your name on it.”
England leave Multan with scores level after back-to-back games on the same pitch. England won the first after making the most of a run-fest on a flat deck but became sitting ducks after Pakistan won the toss on the crumbling surface.
Nobody yet knows what awaits in Rawalpindi, a venue not known for offering drastic spin, but Stokes is ready for the shootout.
“I think it sets a series up brilliantly. That’s why I think it should always be an odd number of games in a series because you want there to be a winner,” he said.
With reporting from PA
