Sajid Khan, Noman Ali 'Keep It Simple' For Perfect Mix To Put England In Spin
Sajid Khan and Noman Ali are as different as chalk and cheese but they gelled perfectly as they tore through England's batting to give Pakistan a long-awaited Test win. The spin pair took all 20 wickets on a worn, turning, Multan track for a 152-run win to set up a third Test winner-takes-all showdown at Rawalpindi starting on Thursday. Left-armer Noman, 38, is the senior partner of a pair who have played together in eight Tests. "We bowled with a lot of confidence and his energy is always very high," Noman told AFP about his partner, off-spinner Sajid.
"Our plan was to keep it simple. We knew the England batsman would attack, so we were not distracted and kept it simple," he said in written comments to AFP.
"This feat will go a long way in establishing our pairing. To get 20 wickets between us is an honour and it happens very rarely."
The win is Pakistan's first at home since they beat South Africa in Rawalpindi three years and eight months ago.
Noman took a career best 8-46 as England were 144 all out chasing 297 to win.
But it was Sajid who set the platform with 7-111 in the first innings to give Pakistan a crucial 75-run lead.
Noman finished with match figures of 11-147 and Sajid 9-204.
They became the seventh pair of bowlers to take all 20 wickets in a Test, and the first since Australia's Dennis Lillee and Bob Massie against England in 1972.
Sajid cuts a dashing figure on the field, frequently twiddling his immaculately groomed moustache and celebrating a wicket with an exuberant thigh slap that has become his signature.
"I followed my father in keeping a moustache," Sajid told AFP of his late father, who had served in the military.
"(Former Australia batsman) David Warner once said he was frightened of my