ENG vs PAK Ball by Ball Commentary

PAK

14/1(5.1 ov)

ENG

Day 1Session 1

ENG won the toss and chose to field

Commentary

Pakistan 1st Innings

5.2

Jofra Archer to Azan Awais, no run

No run, played towards third man.

5.1

Jofra Archer to Abdullah Shafique, 1 run

140.0kph

Cannons one on a fullish length and the ball curves in sharply on the pads. Abdullah misses the flick and the ball strikes his front pad hard before rolling to short fine leg. They get a leg bye.

End of over 50 run

PAK: 13/1CRR: 2.60

Ball

Azan Awais:9 (16)

Abdullah Shafique:0 (4)

Ollie Robinson:3-3-0-1

4.6

Ollie Robinson to Azan Awais, no run

125.0kph

At 125 kph, outside off, on a good length. Azan camps back and loosely hangs his bat away from his body, only to get beaten again.

4.5

Ollie Robinson to Azan Awais, no run

123.0kph

Beauty! Hits the length hard, just outside off. Azan Awais tries to defend it down but his bat is nowhere close to the line of the ball and Jamie Smith nestles the ball nicely in his gloves.

4.4

Ollie Robinson to Azan Awais, no run

125.0kph

Fuller and straighter now, Azan Awais keeps it out to the point region.

4.3

Ollie Robinson to Azan Awais, no run

125.0kph

Good length, outside off, Azan Awais is forced to play at it because of the angle created by Ollie. But the ball nips away and beats his outside edge.

4.2

Ollie Robinson to Azan Awais, no run

123.0kph

A fractionally full, outside off, shaping away late. Azan Awais leans forward to defend, but gets a fat outside edge. But he plays with soft hands and hence the ball goes to ground and rolls to the first slip fielder. Where, Root? is stationed.

4.1

Ollie Robinson to Azan Awais, no run

127.0kph

Stays a bit low from a good length as Robinson challenges the front pad. Azan Awais hangs back and stabs it back to the bowler.

End of over 45 runs

PAK: 13/1CRR: 3.25

Ball

Abdullah Shafique:0 (4)

Azan Awais:9 (10)

Jofra Archer:2-0-9-0

3.6

Jofra Archer to Abdullah Shafique, no run

138.0kph

Full and on middle with just a hint of an inward shape, Abdullah Shafique stretches forward and pushes it straight back at the bowler.

3.5

Jofra Archer to Abdullah Shafique, no run

135.0kph

Bangs it short and outside off, Shafique ducks underneath it.

3.4

Jofra Archer to Azan Awais, 1 run

140.0kph

Slanted down leg, full, Awais whips it to deep backward square leg for a single.

3.3

Jofra Archer to Azan Awais, no run

143.0kph

Spears it on a fuller length, and attacks the pads. Azan Awais brings the bat in front and solidly blocks it out.

3.2

Jofra Archer to Azan Awais, no run

140.0kph

Hammers it on a good length, and gets it to leave the batter. Azan Awais gets completely squared up but just manages to drag his bat inside the line to let it fly through to Smith behind.

3.1

Jofra Archer to Azan Awais, 4 runs

136.0kph

FOUR! Lovely shot! Even better than the first one he played. Full and wide outside off, Azan Awais cashes on the width and cracks it past the vast acreage in the cover-point region for a boundary.

End of over 30 run

PAK: 8/1CRR: 2.67

Ball

Abdullah Shafique:0 (2)

Azan Awais:4 (6)

Ollie Robinson:2-2-0-1

2.6

Ollie Robinson to Abdullah Shafique, no run

125.0kph

Play and a miss! Probes it on a good length, just outside off. Abdullah Shafique leans forward to defend, but the ball zips away and beats his outside edge. Jamie Smith is standing up to the stumps and gathers it sharply behind the wickets.

2.5

Ollie Robinson to Abdullah Shafique, no run

128.0kph

Attacks the stumps, on a fullish length, Abdullah Shafique blocks it in front by pressing forward.

10:16 AM IST England already have their first breakthrough and Robinson's remarkable summer continues as this is his 24th wicket in this series. Abdullah Shafique is in at number 3.

2.4

Ollie Robinson to Saim Ayub, no run

123.0kph

OUT! LBW! There's the first wicket and Robinson gets his 100th Test wicket in just his 24th appearance in the whites. Bowls it full and angles it into the batter. It further jags in off the pitch. Saim Ayub gets drawn forward and attempts to drive it straight, but gets beaten on the inside edge with the ball thudding his back pad. A lot more confident appeal from Robinson and the men behind the bat, and Chris Gaffaney obliges. Saim Ayub has immediately sent it upstairs for a review. UltraEdge shows no bat involved. In fact, it's a daylight gap between bat and ball. Ball Tracking comes up and confirms three reds, with the ball projected to crash into the leg stump. A ten-ball duck for Ayub as Pakistan are 8/1.

Saim Ayub

0 (10b 0x4 0x6)SR: 0.00

lbw b Ollie Robinson

2.3

Ollie Robinson to Saim Ayub, no run

125.0kph

Short of a good length, on off, angling in. Ayub hangs back and knocks it to mid off.

2.2

Ollie Robinson to Saim Ayub, no run

125.0kph

Nice and full, around off, crunched away to the short cover fielder.

2.1

Ollie Robinson to Saim Ayub, no run

122.0kph

Beaten! Inviting line and length. Full, just outside off, Saim Ayub draws the front foot out and looks to drive it straight but the ball lands and just nips away to beat his outside edge.

End of over 24 runs

PAK: 8/0CRR: 4.00

Ball

Azan Awais:4 (6)

Saim Ayub:0 (6)

Jofra Archer:1-0-4-0

1.6

Jofra Archer to Azan Awais, 4 runs

135.0kph

FOUR! A pistol-click sound when it left the bat. Long half-volley by Archer, outside the off stump. Azan Awais leans on, frees his arms and cracks it through the covers for a boundary to get off the mark. First runs off the bat for Pakistan.

1.5

Jofra Archer to Azan Awais, no run

135.0kph

Massive deviation, full and outside off, Awais lets it be.

1.4

Jofra Archer to Azan Awais, no run

On a fuller length, around off, this is watchfully blocked out by Azan.

1.3

Jofra Archer to Azan Awais, no run

135.0kph

Nagging length, outside the off stump. Let through by Awais.

1.2

Jofra Archer to Azan Awais, no run

135.0kph

Hits the deck hard, on off, Awais camps back and dabs it to backward point.

1.1

Jofra Archer to Azan Awais, no run

Archer starts with a full ball, outside the off stump. It lands and skids through and Awais tries to drive through covers, but gets beaten on the bottom edge.

10:05 AM IST A testing first over by Robinson. And it will be Jofra Archer to bustle in from the opposite end.

End of over 14 runs

PAK: 4/0CRR: 4.00

Ball

4LB
0
0
0
0
0

Saim Ayub:0 (6)

Azan Awais:0 (0)

Ollie Robinson:1-1-0-0

0.6

Ollie Robinson to Saim Ayub, no run

123.0kph

Good length ball which keeps angling in from around off. Saim looks to defend down but gets beaten on the inside edge and wears it high on the front thigh pad. A gentle appeal for LBW, but wanes away instantly as the umpire shakes his head.

0.5

Ollie Robinson to Saim Ayub, no run

123.0kph

Almost a wicket for Robinson! Good length, jagging in sharply off the pitch with a little bit of bounce. Saim Ayub covers the stumps and shoulders arms. A massive appeal for LBW and up goes the finger. Robinson on the money in the first over, but Ayub has it straightaway reviewed. No shot is offered, so the impact does not matter here, but height can save Ayub here. And that's exactly what has happened. Ball Tracking confirms that the ball is projected to miss the off stump on height. The on-field decision is overturned and Saim gets an early reprieve. But that always looked to be missing the stumps, honestly.

0.4

Ollie Robinson to Saim Ayub, no run

Beats the bat! Beauty from Robinson. Back of a length, around off. It straightens up from the surface after landing on the seam and beats Saim on the outside edge as he looks to defend.

0.3

Ollie Robinson to Saim Ayub, no run

122.0kph

Bowls it much fuller now, angling it in and then getting the ball to curve away late. Ayub presses forward and defends it out carefully.

0.2

Ollie Robinson to Saim Ayub, no run

125.0kph

Nagging length, nipping away this time, Ayub gets on top of the bounce and taps it out to covers.

4LB

0.1

Ollie Robinson to Saim Ayub, 4 runs

119.0kph

FOUR BYES! A bit of a loosener to start the final Test. From around the stumps, this is bashed hard on a length, but it swings down leg. Saim Ayub misses the flick off the back foot and the ball shoots off the thigh pad to the deep fine leg fence.

10:00 AM IST Righto, Pak Sarzameen Shaad Baad and God Save the King have been sung/chanted in front of a packed Edgbaston. The English players spring out to take their respective fielding positions. Saim Ayub and Azan Awais are the two Pakistani openers making their way to the crease. For England, Ollie Robinson, 23 wickets and counting this Test series, has the new ball, and with three slips and a gully, he is ready to steam in. Ayub to face. Here we go...

9:56 AM IST We are just about five minutes away from the first ball, but before that, both teams have lined up for the national anthems. It will be Pakistan's first, followed by England's.

9:55 AM IST Word coming in that it's gotten noticeably dark over Birmingham, with the floodlights already switched on at Edgbaston. So the decision to bowl first was a bit of a no-brainer from Root. But let's hope there are no rain interruptions to what is already expected to be a chaotic dead rubber.

9:38 AM IST England (Playing XI) - Emilio Gay, Ben Duckett, Jordan Cox, Joe Root (C), Harry Brook, Dan Lawrence, Jamie Smith (WK), Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Ollie Robinson, Josh Tongue. England are going unchanged.

9:55 AM IST Pakistan (Playing XI) - Azan Awais, Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood, Babar Azam (C), Saud Shakeel, Ghazi Ghori (WK), Mohammad Imran, Razaullah, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Abbas. IN - Saim Ayub, Ghazi Ghori (On Test Debut), Mohammad Imran (On Test Debut) and Razaullah (On Test Debut). OUT - Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Rizwan, Ali Usman, Khurram Shahzad.

9:32 AM IST TOSS - Both captains - Joe Root and Babar Azam - are out in the middle under slightly overcast conditions. The coin flip is won by Root and England have elected to BOWL first.

9:29 AM IST Expected combinations - With the series already wrapped up, England could well look to rest a few of their cross-format players for this final Test, opening the door for the likes of Sonny Baker and Sam Cook to come back into the fold. As for Pakistan, a solitary win from six Tests this year tells only part of the story. It's the sheer scale of their defeats that paints the truer, far grimmer picture. But more than England, it's Pakistan who find themselves under the microscope here, all eyes on what changes they make and how they respond after being so relentlessly put under the pump. Stay tuned for toss and team updates.

9:29 AM IST Pitch and conditions - The pitch has stayed under covers overnight, though it wore a noticeably browner tinge than what was on show in either of the first two Tests. With forecasters calling for cooler conditions and the odd shower along the way, seam bowling could well continue to dictate terms here, much as it has done right through the series.

9:14 AM IST The big picture - England, like Pakistan, are also officially out of WTC final contention despite their dominance in this series. Still, with three Test assignments awaiting them in this cycle on South African soil later this year, and with the home Ashes next year, they will want to close out this summer on a winning note, a result that could give a healthy nudge to their ICC Test ranking, where they currently sit fifth. Their pace quartet has been ruthless throughout, ably backed by a middle order firing on all cylinders. One area England will be eager to sharpen this time around, though, is the top order. Ben Duckett has managed just 33 runs across the series so far, while Emilio Gay has found starts on a couple of occasions but never quite turned them into something substantial.

9:10 AM IST Unending downward spiral - Throw in as many adjectives as you like, Pakistan's troubles simply refuse to relent. A sweeping shakeup has unfolded between the second and third Tests, and honestly, nothing about it feels surprising anymore. First up, wholesale changes have hit the squad, with an unceremonious axe falling on as many as seven players, among them a couple of high-profile names in Rizwan and Salman Agha, both former captains of the side. Head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and his assistant have also been shown the door, with Mike Hesson and Ashley Noffke stepping in to oversee the Edgbaston finale, while an internal inquiry into discipline and conduct, has only deepened the sense of a camp in complete disarray. What will that do to their confidence? And with as many as three or four debuts on the cards, can this new-look Pakistan side pose a stern challenge to the hosts? Only time will tell.

9:06 AM IST A lukewarm summer - 2026 has been a bit of a mixed bag for English Test cricket. It began with eyebrows raised all around after a 2-1 series defeat to New Zealand, followed by Stokes calling time on his Test career and Joe Root stepping back into the captaincy for a second stint. Throw in a healthy dose of off-field controversy, and it's been anything but a quiet summer. Still, as they wrap up their Test calendar for the year with this match, there's plenty for England to feel good about. The quality of the opposition will always spark debate in certain corners, sure, but when a team is dominating the way England have been, that noise barely matters.

9:03 AM IST Final destination - Seven days. A single week. That's all it took for England to hand Pakistan one of their most miserable Test series defeats in recent memory. Given how this calendar year has gone for the tourists, though, every series seems to find a new floor to fall through. England have been ruthless in every department, unrelenting, refusing to give even a sliver of daylight. That's simply what a side in full flow looks like. With a series whitewash well within touching distance, England will walk out brimming with belief. But confidence and overconfidence live awfully close to each other, and they will want to tread that line with care. With that, welcome to the third and final Test at Edgbaston.

9:00 AM IST ... DAY 1 ...

9:17 AM IST A dead rubber? Think again - We are down to the last Test of the English summer, and there have been plenty of storylines along the way. From Ben Stokes' retirement and Brendon McCullum stepping down as Test coach, to Stephen Fleming's appointment as the replacement (yet to take charge) and Joe Root being reinstated as Test skipper, it has been quite the summer. And the latest chapter has come with Pakistan, true to their unpredictable nature, undergoing a major overhaul. The series may already be done and dusted, with England holding an unassailable lead, but who knows what's in store at Edgbaston in Birmingham? Set for the finale - All stable at the England end, which, given the off-field incidents involving different players this summer, is an achievement in itself. Brydon Carse remains out following the incident, while Matthew Fisher misses out for this Test. Batting depth on show - Interestingly, for all the dominance England have shown in this series, not a single English batter has scored a century yet. The likes of Harry Brook, Jordan Cox and Dan Lawrence have been among the runs, while the focus will also be on Joe Root and whether he can find a solution to his LBW troubles, which have become a recurring pattern. 7 of his last 9 dismissals have come via LBW, and with the keeper coming up to the stumps, opposition sides have found a way to trouble him. Back with a bang - Making a return to the Test side after more than two years in the wilderness, Ollie Robinson has made a roaring comeback, picking up 23 wickets in just three games since his return and making this England attack all the more potent. Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue have chipped in with wickets as well, but the same cannot be said for Gus Atkinson, who has just one wicket in two games, although he has bowled better than those numbers suggest. 7 players sent home - Yes, you read that right. An unprecedented knee-jerk reaction to losing the first two Tests handsomely has seen Pakistan send 7 players home. Salman Agha, the stand-in skipper in the first Test in the absence of Babar Azam, was dropped for the second and will not even be on the bench in Birmingham. Ali Usman, the left-arm finger spinner who took five wickets at Headingley to become the first touring spinner to do so at the venue since 1972, has also been asked to return home. Of the 7 players brought in to link up with the squad, five are uncapped in Test cricket, and four have yet to play international cricket. The overhaul has extended to the coaching staff as well, with Sarfaraz Ahmed and Umar Gul released from their roles. Mike Hesson, the white-ball coach, has been parachuted in as interim coach for this Test. Batting has to stand up - For a side that has not even reached 200 in any of their four innings so far in the series, with 50.5 overs the maximum they have lasted, Pakistan will have to bat out of their skins. If ever there was a time for Babar Azam to lead from the front, this is it. The other senior batter, Shan Masood, has all his County experience behind him but hasn't been able to rise to the occasion yet, and he will be keen to change that. Saud Shakeel came ever so close to getting his name etched on the Lord's Honours Board and will take confidence from that, while Abdullah Shafique is the only other batter in this setup to have registered a fifty-plus score. He too will have a big role to play.Saad Baig has been called up ahead of this Test, having amassed 1,000 runs in the 2025 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy at an average of 55.55. He can also don the gloves, as can Ghazi Ghori, who has been with the squad as the reserve wicketkeeper from the outset. Abbas sets the standard - Mohammad Abbas often goes under the radar when the discussion turns to the top Test bowlers around the globe, but he got his just reward at Lord's, etching his name onto the Honours Board. The likes of Mohammad Ali and Khurram Shahzad have not been able to replicate Abbas' effectiveness so far and will need to find a way to make more of an impact in Birmingham. Pakistan's pace ranks have been replenished with the additions of Razaullah, Mohammad Imran Jnr and Mohammad Imran. Of the three, Imran brings more than a decade of first-class experience, while the other two have nowhere close to the same level of experience as their veteran counterpart. Team form (Last 5 Tests, most recent first) - ENG - WWLLW | PAK - LLWLL. What to expect? There could be something in it for the bowlers early on the opening day, but conditions should settle down as the game progresses. The heat is not expected to be much of a factor either, and there is no major threat of rain on any of the days. Edgbaston challenge - Among the four home venues where England have played more than 50 Tests, they have their best win percentage at Edgbaston. However, they have lost four of their last six Tests here, with their most recent outing ending in a 336-run drubbing by India in 2025. Pakistan, meanwhile, have never won at Edgbaston in 8 previous trips, with 5 losses and 3 draws. But after everything that has panned out in this series, wouldn't it be the most Pakistan thing ever if they were to finally break that duck?

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