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Lahore
15 - 19 November 2000
England won the toss and elected to bat. They batted confidently through the crucial first session of this series without losing a wicket for a total of 76. Pakistan made only one break though in the afternoon session as England started to claim the ascendancy. By tea they were one for 148, however Saqlain Mushtaq spun Pakistan back into the game in the evening session by dismissing three batsmen in the space of 14 runs. When stumps were drawn early due to bad light, England were 4 for 195 with Pakistan ruing the number of dropped chances in the field.
England continued in the same manner on the second day, scoring at around 2.5 runs per over. They went to lunch at 5 for 277 having lost only one wicket in the morning session. They bettered that feat after lunch when they batted for a full session without losing another wicket and moved the total to 341. They looked like repeating the performance in the evening session, however, Thorpe (118) became Saqlain Mustaq's sixth wicket in the innings shortly before stumps. When bad light stopped play early for the second day running, England were 6 for 393. While England seem to be in command of the crease, their inability to make more than 393 runs over nearly two full days brings into question if a result in this test is likely.
England batted through to the lunch break on the third day losing two more wickets in the session to be 8 for 480 when they declared the innings closed. Thorpe was the top scorer for England while Saqlain Mushtaq was the only bowler to take wickets and he finished with 8 for 164 off 74 overs. Pakistan lost only one wicket in the session before tea to go to the break at 1 for 63. When bad light stopped play for the third day in a row, Pakistan were 2 for 119 and need another 162 to avoid the follow on target.
Pakistan resumed on the fourth morning and batted confidently through the session. However, just before the lunch break England struck three times in the space of 11 runs and the match tilted back in their favour. At lunch, Pakistan was 5 for 212 needing another 69 runs to avoid the follow on. Pakistan inched toward the follow on target through the afternoon, but lost another three wickets in the process. However, at tea they only needed five more runs with two wickets in hand and they soon passed this target after the break and any hope of a result in the test evaporated. When bad light finished the day again, Pakistan was 8 for 333.
The final morning found England unable to break the ninth wicket partnership during the morning session. Youhana (124) and Saqlain Mushtaq batted patiently to move the total to 396 at the lunch break. However, in the afternoon session, England finally dislodged the remaining wickets when the total was 401 for a first innings lead of 79. White (4 for 54 off 24.3 overs) and Giles (4 for 113 off 59 overs) shared the bowling honours for England. England batted out the rest of the day ending at 4 for 77 with Stewart (27*) top scoring.
Second Test
Faisalabad
29 November - 3 December 2000
Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat. England gained a slight edge late in the session, claiming two quick wickets, including Saeed Anwar (53) to have Pakistan 3 for 97 at lunch. In the afternoon session England gathered greater control of the match by taking two more wickets while Pakistan only added 71 runs to be 5 for 168. By stumps, Pakistan had recovered to be 5 for 243 with Youhana (61*) and Moin Khan (57*).
England struck four times on the second morning including the overnight not out batsmen Youhana (77) and Moin (65). At lunch Pakistan were 9 for 298. Pakistan lost its last wicket after lunch when the total was 316 with Giles the best of the bowlers with 5 for 75 off 35 overs. England then batted through to be 1 for 63 at tea. Pakistan struck twice in the last hour of the evening session dismissing Atherton (32) and Hussain (23) to have England 3 for 110 at stumps.
On the third morning, England moved the total to 3 for 182 at the lunch break. Pakistan managed to remove Salisbury (33) in the afternoon session while England increased the total to 4 for 227 at the tea break, still 89 runs in arrears but looking to a first innings lead. However, Pakistan fought their way back into the test by dismissing Thorpe (79) and three other batsmen to have England 8 for 282 at stumps - still 34 runs in arrears with no recognised batsmen at the crease.
Pakistan was unable to contain the English tail on the fourth morning as they took the total to 342 and a first innings lead of 26 runs. Razzaq (3 for 74 off 20 overs) and Saqlain Mushtaq (3 for 62 off 30.4 overs) shared the bowling honours for Pakistan. England claimed one wicket while Pakistan had made 23 runs when lunch arrived. Pakistan took control of the match after lunch as they only lost Elahi (72) shortly before the tea break to be 2 for 116. In the afternoon session, England failed to take a wicket as Razzaq (60*) and Inzamam-ul-Haq (33*) steered the total to 2 for 186 and a lead of 160 runs.
The final morning saw some faster scoring as Pakistan looked to set a target for England. England dismissed Inzamam (71) in the second hour of the session. However, when Razzaq (100*) brought up his first test century Moin declared with the score 3 for 269 and setting a target of 244 for England to win off 63 overs. Gough, Giles and Salisbury each took one wicket for England. England was ten without loss at lunch and then made a competent start to the run chase in the afternoon session. However, they lost three wickets for 13 runs to be 3 for 57. From there it was clear they were batting for a draw and they went to tea at 3 for 88. In a shortened afternoon session, England lost two more batsmen and when stumps were drawn they were 5 for 125 and a draw was declared. Atherton (65*) was the best of the batsmen while Arshad khan (2 for 31 off 13 overs) and Afridi (2 for 21 off 12 overs) were the most successful bowlers.
Third Test
Karachi
7 - 11 December 2000
Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first. From the time they lost Anwar in the fifth over to be 1 for 8 until they were 3 for 64 in the twenty-second over this did not look to have been the right choice. However, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Youhana took Pakistan through to lunch to be 3 for 71. The afternoon session proved fruitless for England as the Pakistani batsmen moved the total to 160 without further loss. England again failed to dislodge the batsmen in the evening session with both Inzamam and Youhana bringing up their centuries as Pakistan headed for a large total. At stumps, Pakistan was 3 for 292.
England fought back on the second morning taking five wickets in the session including Youhana (117) and Inzamam (142). At lunch, Pakistan was still on top with 8 for 380. It took the better part of the afternoon session for England to take the final two wickets. Eventually, Pakistan was dismissed for 405 with Giles the best of the bowlers with 4 for 94 off 35 overs. England batted through to tea without loss for a total of 10 runs. England lost Trescothick (13) in the evening session as they sought to reach their first target 206 to avoid any follow on risks. At stumps, England was 1 for 79, still 326 runs in arrears.
England resumed on the third morning with their batting at just over two runs per over clearly announcing that they intended to patiently make as close to the Pakistan total as possible. At lunch Pakistan had failed to break through as the total moved to 149 runs. Pakistan finally took a wicket in the afternoon session as first Hussain (51) and then Thorpe (18) left England at 3 for 199 at tea with only seven more runs to avoid a follow on. England batted through the evening session for the loss of Stewart (29) while Atherton brought up his 16th century. At stumps England were 4 for 277 still 128 in arrears.
On the fourth morning Pakistan broke through twice removing Hick (12) and Atherton (125). However, two chances went to ground behind the wicket and this may prove to be a turning point in the game as England went to lunch at 6 for 335 only 70 runs behind the Pakistan total. Pakistan fought back straight after lunch taking three more wickets in the space of ten runs to have England 9 for 349. However, they failed to take the last wicket until another 39 runs were added for a total of 388 and a deficit of 17 runs at tea. Waqar Younis was the most successful of the bowlers taking 4 for 88 off 36 overs. England claimed two quick wickets in the evening session to have Pakistan 2 for 26 before they recovered to be 3 for 71 at stumps with an overall lead of 88 runs.
And so the final morning of the final test dawned in a reflection of the entire series. With six Pakistani wickets in hand a result looked less than likely. With the series in the balance, there would be no heroic declarations by Pakistan. England moved back into contention by taking three wickets in the morning session to have Pakistan 6 for 128 at the lunch break and an overall lead of 145 runs. Pakistan needed to occupy the crease for as long as possible to help their chances of drawing the game. However, within the first hour of the afternoon session they lost their remaining four wickets for a total of 158 runs. Top scorer for Pakistan was Saleem Elahi (37) while Gough (3 for 30 off 13 overs) and Giles (3 for 38 off 27 overs) shared the bowling honours.
That left England a target of 176 runs in 44 overs (4 runs per over) to win the series. England went to tea at 27 without loss off 7 overs. In the final session, England lost Atherton (26) and Trescothick (24) just after the break and Stewart (5) a short while later to be 3 for 65 from 17 overs - still on track for victory. Hick (40) and Thorpe (64*) then took England to within sight of victory before Hussain (6*) helped achieve a historic victory with two and a half overs to spare.
