After sensational six-hitting by No. 9 batter Razaullah Khan had helped to force a fourth day, Pakistan bowler Mohammad Abbas gave England another scare on Saturday in the third cricket test by reducing the hosts to 2-2 in the first over<\/p>\n
BIRMINGHAM, England — After sensational six-hitting by No. 9 batter Razaullah Khan<\/a> had helped to force a fourth day, Pakistan bowler Mohammad Abbas gave England another scare on Saturday in the third cricket<\/a> test by reducing the hosts to 2-2 in the first over. <\/p>\n But captain Joe Root (62 not out) and Jordan Cox (59 not out) came to the hosts’ rescue at Edgbaston as England successfully chased down a winning target of 130 runs. <\/p>\n England finished at 130-2 in 24.2 overs in a single session to win by eight wickets with a day to spare and sweep the series 3-0.<\/p>\n The third-day whipping was followed by a fourth-day horror start for England, which immediately lost Ben Duckett \u2014 caught behind to medium-pacer Abbas \u2014 and Emilio Gay on the last ball of the same over. Gay was trapped leg before wicket.<\/p>\n Root and Cox guided England to its first three-test whitewash since 2024 on the same ground against the West Indies.<\/p>\n Abbas, who overall took 9-130 in the second test<\/a>, finished with 2-27 in eight overs.<\/p>\n Pakistan was dismissed in its second innings for 449 after its first innings scrounged 133 runs<\/a>. <\/p>\n England opened with 453<\/a>, a lead of 320 runs.<\/p>\n Pakistan had been expected on Friday to follow the previous two tests in the series \u2014 including an innings defeat in Leeds<\/a> \u2014 and be cleaned up during the third day by a usually rampant England pace attack<\/a> against the lackluster visitors.<\/p>\n The Pakistan Cricket Board pressed the panic button a week ago and yanked home seven players<\/a> and fired the head coach. <\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n