England completed a 3-0 series clean sweep against Pakistan after cruising to an eight-wicket win in the third Test. It was the first time England had whitewashed Pakistan in a home Test series.Chasing 130 runs for victory, England suffered an early scare when Mohammad Abbas removed both Ben Duckett and Emilio Gay in the opening over.But Joe Root and Jordan Cox stood firm under pressure and guided England to victory without any further damage.The defeat completed a disappointing series for Pakistan.England won the opening Test at Headingley by an innings and 103 runs before securing a 194-run victory in the second Test at Lord’s. They then finished the series in style, overcoming the early loss of two wickets to complete an eight-wicket win and a historic 3-0 clean sweep.
Abbas gives Pakistan early hope
Pakistan could not have asked for a better start to the chase.Abbas struck with the very first ball, dismissing Duckett for a duck. He then struck again later in the same over to remove Gay, leaving England at 2 for 2.With Abbas bowling an excellent opening spell, Pakistan had their tails up and England were suddenly under pressure.However, Root and Cox refused to panic. The pair soaked up the pressure, rotated the strike and slowly brought England back into control.
Root, Cox turn the match around
Pakistan had opportunities to break the partnership but failed to take them. Root survived one major scare when he chopped a delivery from Mohammad Ali onto his stumps, only for the bowler to be called for overstepping. He then survived another chance when an outside edge flew between two slip fielders.Root made Pakistan pay for those missed opportunities. The experienced batter settled down, brought up his half-century and continued to frustrate the Pakistan attack.Cox also grew in confidence as the partnership crossed the 100-run mark. He soon reached his own fifty as the pair completed the chase comfortably.England eventually crossed the target with eight wickets in hand to seal a memorable series sweep.