"From not bowling in the first session to five wickets is a dream come true" - Rehan Ahmed
England leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed,18, revealed that the message from the camp was for him to finish the game off with the bat before clarifying that he said that to himself. The youngster also reflected on his fifer, stating that it was a dream come true.
Rehan Ahmed, who enjoyed a promising first innings in Karachi with two wickets, scalped five Pakistan batters in the second to leave England needing 167 for a series sweep. The bowling all-rounder was sent up the order at No. 3 after Zak Crawley fell for 41. He struck two boundaries before losing his off-stump while slogging to the leg side off Abrar Ahmed's bowling.
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When asked by Michael Atherton on Sky Sports after the day's play about the message from the think-tank, he said:
"Try finish it tonight! We could have done it 100 percent. If we had faced another seven overs out there, it would have been quite easy. Yeah, I should have played straight. From not bowling in the first session to five wickets is a dream come true. I was enjoying it anyway, I was loving it out there, but it was nice to get the ball after three hours."
The teenage prodigy later added:
"No, he didn't say anything. I said it to myself."
Pakistan started their day at 21-0 before losing three wickets rather quickly. After a 110-run stand between Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel, the hosts collapsed again and never recovered. England made a rollicking start to their chase of 166 as Crawley and Ben Duckett added 87 in 11.3 overs, with the latter batting with Ben Stokes at stumps with 55 more needed on Day 4.
"He picks up on the momentum of days" - Stuart Broad on Brendon McCullum promoting Rehan Ahmed
Veteran seamer Stuart Broad felt it was a masterstroke to promote Rehan to cap off his perfect day with the ball. He added:
"What Baz is brilliant at is, he picks up on the momentum of days. After five wickets, emotions would have been really high. 'Go and have a bat, go and whack it'. There's no point in just taking the boots off and sitting down, and letting the day come to an end. Go and try and win it for us today, it would have been great if it had come off, but Stokesy gave it a decent go as well."
We will need 55 runs tomorrow to claim a 3-0 series victory! 🏴🏏
Scorecard: ms.spr.ly/6013ensdc
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England's 3-0 Test series sweep will be Pakistan's first such series loss on home soil.