Rehan Ahmed stars to put England on brink of beating Pakistan

By Darren Plant, Senior Reporter | 19 December 2022

Rehan stars to put England on brink of beating Pakistan

Teenage debutant Rehan Ahmed takes his first five-wicket haul in Test cricket to help put England on the brink of beating Pakistan in Karachi.

England will require just 55 runs on day four of the third Test with Pakistan after a stunning five-wicket haul from Rehan Ahmed helped push the match further in their favour.

Despite having not been introduced until after lunch, the 18-year-old debutant took five wickets in 13 overs as Pakistan were dismissed for 216.

Chasing 167, Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett put on 87 runs for the first wicket, but England ran out of time to seal a whitewash series success inside three days.

Having closed on 21-0, Pakistan started the day in solid fashion, progressing to 53 without loss, but a game-changing burst of wickets from Jack Leach emphatically turned the game in England's favour.

Leach took three wickets in six balls to remove Shan Masood (24), Azhar Ali (0) and Abdullah Shafique (26), yet Pakistan were able to battle back through Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel.

The pair put on 110 for the fourth wicket, making 54 and 53 respectively, but the delayed introduction of Rehan proved pivotal as the young spinner further justified his inclusion.

FIVE-STAR AHMED! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

The spinner becomes the youngest Test cricketer to take a five-wicket haul on debut as Pakistan all out for 216 🤯👏 pic.twitter.com/AzXtng9FV1
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) December 19, 2022

Although he bowled fewer than 13 overs during Monday, Rehan ended with five wickets, dismantling the Pakistan middle order to post figures of 5-48.

Joe Root also played a key role, dismissing Faheem Ashraf with the first ball after tea, and Pakistan being bowled out for 216 left England chasing 167 for victory.

Rather than try to negotiate a tricky period which would not last much longer than an hour, a four with the first ball set the tone as England attempted to seal the win with two days to spare.

Crawley and Duckett compiled 80 runs from the first 10 overs, giving England hope of another eye-catching triumph, but the dismissal of Crawley for 41 halted the tourists in their tracks.

Rehan, a surprise inclusion at three, hit 10 off eight deliveries to keep things ticking over, but the light meter came out several times before the close of play, Duckett unbeaten on 50 with Ben Stokes on 10 from 15 balls when the action was finally brought to a conclusion.