Pakistan collapse to 133 for 9 in third Test after Babar Azam falls cheaply

The third and final Test of the three-match series between England and Pakistan began at Edgbaston today, but there was no improvement in Pakistan's performance. Having lost the first two Tests badly, Pakistan's batting flopped again in this match.

England won the toss and chose to bowl first, a decision that proved entirely correct as Pakistan's batting fell apart. Four key changes had been made to Pakistan's playing eleven for this match, with hopes that the changes made by the cricket board would show on the field. That did not happen.

After losing the first two Tests in a row, there had been a major shake-up in the Pakistan Cricket Board. In the middle of the series, seven players were sent home at once, and the team's head coach was also sacked. Despite this large-scale overhaul, there was no change in Pakistan's performance on the field.

Captain Babar Azam came in to bat at number five, and there had been hopes he would play a good innings today. He too failed. Babar Azam was out for 7 runs off 18 balls, hitting just one boundary during his innings. He was clean bowled by Josh Tongue, and a video of the dismissal went viral, showing the ball beating his bat and crashing into the stumps. Pakistan were pushed onto the back foot on the very first day of the match, losing 9 wickets for a total of 133 runs.

England, on the other hand, have been in a strong position throughout the series. Having played well in the first two matches to take the lead in the series, England came into the third match looking to continue their winning momentum.