Birmingham, Sep 13: England completed a dominant 3-0 series whitewash over Pakistan with an eight-wicket victory in the third Test at Edgbaston, while India retained fifth place in the World Test Championship standings despite England’s win.
England sealed the three-match series in emphatic fashion, winning the Tests by an innings and 103 runs, 194 runs and eight wickets respectively.
Pakistan’s batting struggles continued in the final Test as they were dismissed for 133 in their first innings, marking the fifth time in the series that they failed to cross the 200-run mark.
The visitors showed greater resistance in their second innings, posting 449 runs. Azan Awais, Shan Masood, Babar Azam and debutant Razaullah all scored half-centuries, with the latter also impressing with his lower-order contribution.
England, however, had already put the match firmly in their control after taking a massive 320-run first-innings lead, with five of their batters reaching half-centuries.
Set a target of 130, England suffered an early scare when openers Ben Duckett and Emilio Gay were dismissed by Mohammad Abbas in the first over. Joe Root and Jordan Cox then steadied the innings, both scoring unbeaten fifties to guide the hosts to victory.
The result did not alter England’s sixth position in the WTC standings, although their points percentage improved to 38.54. Pakistan remained at the bottom of the nine-team table, with their points percentage falling to 14.81.
India continued to occupy fifth place with 68 points and a points percentage of 51.52 after 11 matches in the current WTC cycle. India have recorded five wins, four defeats and two draws.
Australia lead the standings with a points percentage of 80, followed by South Africa on 75 and New Zealand on 72.22. Bangladesh are fourth with 55.56 per cent.
India’s next WTC assignment will be a two-Test series against New Zealand, beginning on November 19 in Wellington.
