It was a relief for Pakistan to earn their maiden Test series victory on home soil after nearly three years as they blew away the England side in the three-match series with a 2-1 margin. Sajid Khan, the off-spinner, along with the left-arm spinner Noman Ali, were the chief of the destruction in the last two games in Multan and Rawalpindi.
The England batters hardly had any idea of facing both Sajid Khan and Noman in those games, as the ball was behaving off the surface. On a road and flat surface in the opening clash of the series in Multan, the Ollie Pope-led side cracked over 800 runs to achieve an innings victory, but that was the only time they showed a better show with the stick in hand.
In the second game of the series, despite the return of their regular red-ball captain and the premier all-rounder Ben Stokes, the Three Lions was blown away for just 291 and 144 in the two innings, getting a defeat by 152 runs. In the final clash, it went downhill as they struggled to reach 112 in their second innings before the home side grabbed a comfortable nine-wicket victory.
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Sajid Khan finished as the second-highest wicket-taker of the series with 19 scalps in four innings at an average of 21.10 and a strike rate of 28.63 with an economy rate of 4.42 thanks to his two five-wicket hauls. His bowling partner, Noman Ali, ended as the highest wicket-taker with 20 scalps in four innings at an average of under 14 and a strike rate of 27.25.
Sajid Khan informs why Azhar Mahmood cried in the dressing room after the end of the series
The start of the home season wasn’t creamy for the Green Brigade, who lost a history Test series at home against Bangladesh with a 2-0 margin. The likes of Shakib Al Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, and Hasan Mahmud went through the batting department of the home side, while their batter showed batter resilience with the stick in hand.
The tracks in the recent times of the country were prepared to assist the fast bowlers. There was a time when this team used to have Abdul Qadir, Saqlain Mushtaq, Mushtaq Ahmed, and Saeed Ajmal on the side, and as time has gone by, the quality of the spin has declined, as their coach Azhar Mahmood believed.
The veteran was surprised with the behavior of the surface in Rawalpindi, but he revealed that pitches were made with the sort of bowling they have on the side.
“We cannot prepare spinning pitches in Pakistan because we don’t have the quality of spinners to take 20 wickets in a match.” Mahmood addressed at the end of the opening clash, removing the likes of Sajid Khan out of his mind.
In a recent show after the series victory, Sajid Khan felt that because their coach stays in England for most of the time, those comments were quite anticipated., but he later appreciated them.
“Yes, Azhar Mahmood is our coach and has served a lot for Pakistan. Generally, he stays in England for most of the time during the County championship as the coach. But if you stay in Pakistan, then you know the situation better. I am not against the statement that he has made. He didn’t see us earlier, but when he saw us, then he appreciated our performances.” The spinner, who has 44 Test scalps in 19 innings at an average of 30.79, addressed.
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He also informed how the coach realized the mistake and ended up crying at the end of the previous series.
“We have hugged each other, and even he has cried at the end of the series. See, the water in his eyes was because he realized that what he said during the press conference wasn’t right. He also mentioned his lack of knowledge of not knowing about these quality spinners in Pakistan.” Sajid Khan remarked in the reality show.