'Our plan was to keep it simple' - Noman Ali opens up on spin exploit against England in Multan

Rising spin duo Sajid Khan and Noman Ali picked all 20 wickets for England in the second Test at the Multan Cricket Stadium in Multan. While Sajid impressed with his seven scalps in the first innings, Noman snared eight wickets in the second inning as Pakistan won a Test match at home after over three years. It is worth noting that, Sajid played his only second Test and Noman returned to the Tests after over one year.

Sajid in particular stirred the hornet's nest for England with his seven wickets for 111 runs in the first inning. As a result, Pakistan generated 75 runs lead and this in return set the tone for the hosts. While Sajid finished with overall nine wickets, Noman dazzled with 11 scalps. Speaking of his partner in crime, Noman Ali asserted that sharing 20 wickets was an honour and it is a rare instance.

"Our plan was to keep it simple. We knew the England batsman would attack, so we were not distracted and kept it simple. This feat will go a long way in establishing our pairing. To get 20 wickets between us is an honour and it happens very rarely,” Noman was quoted as saying by NDTV Sports.

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Spin gives us winning formula which we were not using: Qasim

After Pakistan lost the Test series at home by 0-2 at the hands of Bangladesh, criticism overflowed when they were thwarted by England in the first Test. The request for a spin deck and fielding two specialist spinners worked in the favour of the hosts and former Pakistan spinner, Iqbal Qasim said that Pakistan did not capitalize on their spin prowess before.

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“Spin gives us the winning formula which we were not using. Noman and Sajid have matured with experience and can continue to give home wins like this,” said Qasim.