\nKARACHI, 20 Dec: Captain Ben Stokes believes England adapted well to the conditions in Pakistan with its aggressive and bold tactical moves to register the country\u2019s only second 3-0 test series sweep in the subcontinent.
\nStokes\u2019 predecessor Joe Root led England to its only other sweep on the subcontinent when it beat Sri Lanka 3-0 in 2018. And England\u2019s \u2018Bazball\u2019 approach to test cricket under new coach Brendon McCullum, a long-time star for New Zealand, was the determining factor in Pakistan losing a three-test home series 3-0 for the first time.
\nEngland signed off on its first test tour to Pakistan in 17 years with an emphatic eight-wicket win Tuesday on the fourth day of the final test in the cricket fortress of Pakistan \u2013 National Stadium.
\n\u201cIt won\u2019t really sink in until we get home or in the new year,\u201d Stokes said after scoring an unbeaten 35 in England\u2019s run-chase that was led by Ben Duckett\u2019s powerful 82 not out off 78 balls. \u201cWe understand what we\u2019ve done is pretty special \u2026 it will be something to be really proud of.
\n\u201cComing into subcontinental conditions \u2026 everything we\u2019ve tried has come off. I\u2019ve learned a lot in terms of the tactical side, that\u2019s the best thing to come out of it.\u201d
\nMcCullum described England\u2019s nine wins in the last 10 test matches as \u201cquite an incredible ride\u201d under Stokes\u2019 brand of aggressive cricket.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re definitely comfortable with nine out of 10,\u201d McCullum told the Pakistan Cricket Board\u2019s digital podcast. \u201cThe side is walking in his sort of style now and playing the way that he likes the game to be played, it\u2019s been absolutely fantastic.\u201d
\nEngland set the tone of its dominance when its top four batters \u2013 Zak Crawley, Duckett, Ollie Pope and Harry Brook \u2014 smashed belligerent centuries on the opening day of the first test on a flat wicket at Rawalpindi which later received a demerit point from the ICC.
\nStokes made a bold declaration on the fourth day at Rawalpindi that saw England registering a 74-run win in dimming light on the last day with Pakistan less than 10 minutes away from forcing a draw.
\nPakistan\u2019s batters cracked under Stokes\u2019 umbrella of fielders surrounding them throughout the 343-run chase before eventually falling for 268.
\n\u201cThe first test pitch was very, very flat and we just said \u2018enjoy the flatness boys, let\u2019s just enjoy this challenge and see what we can do.\u2019\u201d
\nEngland blunted the mystery spin of Abrar Ahmed on a slow turning wicket in Multan before registering a thrilling 26-run win \u2013 also inside four days. Ahmed did pick up 11 wickets in the game, his test debut, but Brook\u2019s century in the second innings once again gave England enough runs to defend through Mark Wood\u2019s express pace on the fourth day.
\n\u201cIt is a great time to be in this dressing room and a great time to be playing for England,\u201d Stokes said. \u201cI\u2019m just encouraging everyone to turn up every day and enjoy what you\u2019re doing. Obviously it is easier to do when we are winning the way we are at the moment.\u201d
\nThe toss didn\u2019t affect England\u2019s dominance in the series when Babar Azam won his first toss of the series and opted to bat in the final test. The left-arm spin of Jack Leach and 18-year-old Rehan Ahmed dismissed Pakistan for 304 before England notched a significant 50-run lead through Brook\u2019s third hundred in the series.
\nRehan Ahmed\u2019s maiden five-wicket haul, which made him the youngest to do so in men\u2019s test cricket, once against cracked through Pakistan\u2019s brittle middle-order as England shot out the home team for 216.
\n\u201cIt is exactly what you want when you are picking a team, you want to have discussions that are hard on who to pick,\u201d Stokes said. \u201cBrooky has been outstanding in this series. The way he has played, the way he has taken the game on, the runs he\u2019s scored, the strike rate he has scored at has been incredible to watch.\u201d (AP)<\/p>\n
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KARACHI, 20 Dec: Captain Ben Stokes believes England adapted well to the conditions in Pakistan with its aggressive and bold tactical moves to register the country\u2019s only second 3-0 test series sweep in the subcontinent. Stokes\u2019 predecessor Joe Root led England to its only other sweep on the subcontinent when it beat Sri Lanka 3-0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-207347","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=207347"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207347\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=207347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=207347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}