‘We wanted to fool them’- Sajid Khan reveals masterplan with Saud Shakeel of using Urdu to target England bowlers: WATCH

Pakistan are on the cusp of a rare series win at home. Shan Masood’s side took a crucial 77-run lead in the first innings on a pitch that is doing a lot in Rawalpindi. At one stage, the home were placed at 177/7 before Saud Shakeel came to the fore. His partnerships of 88 with Noman Ali (for the 8th wicket) and 72 with Sajid Khan for the 9th wicket changed the game. 

At the end of the day, Sajid Khan revealed how his ploy with Saud Shakeel to target the England bowlers worked. The veteran spinner said that they spoke in Urdu to confuse Shoaib Bashir and Rehan Ahmed. Both the England stars understand Urdu well and this worked in favour of the Pakistani batting unit. 

Sajid Khan aur Saud Shakeel ne England waloon ko sahi chuna lagaya#SajidKhan#PakistanCricket#PAKvsENG#SaudShakeelpic.twitter.com/4suWZOGprC

— Pakistan Cricket Team USA FC (@DoctorofCricket) October 25, 2024

Sajid Khan said, “We were only doing that [speaking loudly in Urdu] to deceive the bowlers. Rehan and Shoaib understand Urdu, so to fool them, we wanted them to hear we were only looking for the single. When we did that, they brought the field up and the bowlers flighted it. Saud told me once they do, no half measures: just go for the big shot as hard as you can." 

Meanwhile, England spinner Rehan Ahmed said, “He didn’t fool me at all; he just said it for the media. I didn’t even hear what he was saying. I knew he was going to try and scoop me, but it didn’t really work. He hit well, but he didn’t fool me or Bash.”

England staring at a huge series loss after succumbing to spin 

Needing 78 runs to make, Pakistan bat again. England was left tied by the home team spinners. Ben Duckett was the first to be dismissed at the fag end of the day for 12 by Sajid Khan in the 5th over. Noman Ali joined in when he had the wicket of Zak Crawley for 2 off 12 balls. Pakistan ended the day strong with the wicket of Ollie Pope for 1. 

England began the day with Joe Root and Harry Brook in the wicket as the pair added 46 runs for the 4th wicket. Left-arm spinner Noman Ali dismissed both batters to set the cat amongst the pigeons. Joe Root was out for 33 runs while Harry Brook fell for 26 off 40 balls. 

The veteran left-arm spinner also picked England skipper Ben Stokes for 3. Sajid Khan then ran through the English lower order. The off-spinner castled Jamie Smith, Gus Atkinson, and Rehan Ahmed to complete his fifer. At the time of writing, England were bowled out for 112 giving Pakistan 36 runs to win the game and the series.