Pakistan's Remarkable Turnaround as Razaullah Shines at Edgbaston

Pakistan walked off Edgbaston on Friday to a standing ovation and a scoreboard that barely seemed believable. From a position of vulnerability, they surged to 449 all out – their highest total of the series – and flipped the third Test on its head, leaving England chasing 130 on the fourth day.

It was the kind of day that changes a tour. And it ended with a 21-year-old on debut swinging like a seasoned showman.

Steady hands in the morning

The tone early on was calm, almost understated. Azan Awais and Shan Masood, Pakistan’s overnight pair, knew they had to survive the new-ball burst and chip away at England’s lead. Jofra Archer banged it in short, repeatedly. Gus Atkinson backed him up with pace and hostility. Neither gave much away.

Josh Tongue did.

Whenever Tongue overpitched or strayed in line, Pakistan pounced. There was still a hint of movement, just enough to keep the bowlers interested, but not enough to truly trouble two batters locked into their plans. Around the drinks break, both Awais and Masood raised well-earned half-centuries, nudging Pakistan closer to safety and, slowly, into contention.

The stand felt set for a long stay. Then spin appeared, and the day changed.

Lawrence cracks it open, Root nails the call

Dan Lawrence, on for his first bowl of the Test, floated one down the leg side to Awais. The left-hander looked to glance, feathered it, and Ben Foakes took what looked a routine take. Nobody around the bat seemed particularly animated. The umpire said not out.

Joe Root did not accept it.

With a sharp review, Root overturned the decision and ended Awais’s stay, snapping a partnership that had anchored Pakistan’s morning. It was a clever intervention, and for a moment it felt like the kind of marginal call that can tilt a day back towards the hosts.

Pakistan refused to let it.

Masood and Babar restore authority

Masood, solid and increasingly assured, found a new ally in Babar Azam. The Pakistan captain had endured a wretched series to this point, starved of runs and rhythm. Here, finally, he looked like himself.

The pair stitched together an 89-run stand built on control and patience. Masood drove with authority, Babar threaded gaps with that familiar ease. England’s quicks hunted for a crack, but Pakistan’s senior batters shut the door, over after over.

Masood’s hundred seemed inevitable. Lawrence intervened again.

This time, it was in the field – a sharp, low, one-handed catch at gully that cut Masood down on 95. It was a cruel end to a fine innings, and a reminder of how thin the margins remain in Test cricket.

Babar pressed on. For much of his stay, he looked set to turn this into a captain’s hundred. Then England went short.

Short-ball trap springs into life

Once England committed to the bouncer plan, the game’s tempo shifted. Babar coped well with Archer’s barrage, swaying, ducking, occasionally counter-punching. The real damage came from Tongue.

Attacking down the leg side, Tongue drew Babar into a fatal touch when he looked poised to go big. Another set batter gone, another turning point. Seven overs later, Saud Shakeel fell to the same tactic, gloving a short ball to short leg as he tried to fend it away.

From a position of growing strength, Pakistan suddenly looked exposed. The deficit remained, and the middle order had been ripped out.

Collapse, then chaos

When the final session began, Pakistan trailed by just 23 runs with five wickets in hand. The equation looked simple: bat sensibly, wipe off the deficit, and build a lead.

England had other ideas.

In a sharp burst, the hosts grabbed three quick wickets: Shakeel, Ghazi Ghori, and Mohammad Imran Randhawa all departed before Pakistan could even pull level. At 8 down with the deficit still not erased, the innings teetered.

What followed was not consolidation. It was an onslaught.

Razaullah’s debut carnage

Razaullah walked in with little to lose and everything to hit. He left with a record and the match transformed.

The 21-year-old launched nine sixes – the most by a debutant – in a blistering 63-ball 81 that ripped England’s plans to shreds. He didn’t just clear the ropes. He dismantled the field.

The fireworks began quickly. Atkinson bore the brunt first, hammered for three sixes in a single over as Razaullah picked his spots and swung fearlessly. For a short stretch he eased off, absorbing a few dots, recalibrating. Then he sent Archer soaring over long-off to bring up a half-century that felt like it belonged in a different format.

At the other end, Mohammad Abbaas played the perfect foil. He rotated the strike, picked off loose balls, and gave Razaullah the freedom to keep attacking. As the stand grew, so did Razaullah’s confidence. Every mis-hit seemed to clear the infield, every clean strike threatened the stands.

The pair piled on 121 runs for the ninth wicket, turning a fragile position into a commanding 119-run lead. Abbaas’s 42 ended when Tongue finally broke through, but by then the damage was deep.

Razaullah added 10 more runs before Lawrence, once again, stepped in. A sharp stumping ended the debutant’s remarkable innings and closed Pakistan’s effort at 449.

England walked off knowing they had been battered by a kid on his first day in Test cricket.

Pakistan walked off knowing they had turned a deficit into a target, and a fading tour into a live contest.

Now, with 130 on the board and momentum suddenly green, the fourth day at Edgbaston holds a simple question: can Pakistan finish what Razaullah so spectacularly started?