It took until the final day of the final Test but Pakistan at last managed a reprise of England's 2012 nightmare against spin. They needed less than half of the overs available to polish off victory in Sharjah, Yasir Shah taking the first and last wickets to fall as Pakistan skipped home by a 127-run margin for a 2-0 win that will lift them to No. 2 in the ICC Test rankings.
Alastair Cook resisted almost until the end, ninth man out for 63, but his team had been cut adrift during a dizzying first hour when they lost 4 for 11 in five overs. England were competitive for all but two sessions in the series but on both occasions, here and in Dubai, Pakistan were ruthless enough to seize the prize.
The conditions were perhaps not as treacherous as England's batsmen made them look but Yasir and Zulfiqar Babar did not need encouragement to prey on the slightest hesitation or indecision. They collected six of the eight remaining wickets, evoking the damage inflicted by Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman last time around, not to mention their own exploits against Australia and New Zealand 12 months ago.
With Shoaib Malik completing his final Test appearance by taking a seven-wicket haul, it meant Pakistan's spinners had collected 9 for 101 in England's second innings. That was nearly half as many wickets as England's trio of Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid and Samit Patel managed in the entire series. With 15 from just two Tests, Yasir reigned supreme.
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