Younis ton puts Pak in driver's seat

Dubai: Former captain Younis Khan scored the first century of the series and propelled Pakistan to 222-2 against England in the third and final Test on Saturday.

Khan grafted an unbeaten 115 off 195 balls and youngster Azhar Ali was 75 not out off 246 deliveries as Pakistan finished the second day with a productive overall lead of 180 runs.

The pair advanced Pakistan's bid to record their first ever clean sweep against England after winning the first two Tests comprehensively.

Khan and Ali batted fluently for more than four hours, a remarkable turnaround on a wicket that saw Pakistan bowled out for 99 and England also struggling to 104-6 on the first day.

Khan was under pressure after scoring only 66 in the previous five innings, but regained his touch and never looked to be in trouble against either spinners or seamers.

Ali, who scored a half-century in Pakistan's last Test win at Abu Dhabi last week, played the supporting role well in hitting three boundaries and a six.

Both Pakistan batsmen were patient, waiting for loose deliveries, and put on 90 runs in the second session before adding a further 102 after tea.

Khan reached his half-century before tea off 106 balls but attacked in the last session and raised his 20th Test hundred off the next 60 deliveries when he swept Graeme Swann to square leg and scampered for two runs. He has hit 11 fours and also lofted Swann over midwicket for a six.

Indian legends Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev were among the spectators who gave Khan a standing ovation before he was embraced by Ali.

England came close to breaking the 194-run stand late in the day, but Swann's lbw television referral against Ali was turned down just before the close as the replays showed the ball would have gone over the stumps.

Earlier, England's search for a sizeable lead was curtailed once Abdur Rehman clean bowled James Anderson in the first over of the morning after the touring side resumed on 104-6.

Captain Andrew Strauss hit a gritty 56 off 150 balls in more than three and a half hours before he was foxed by Rehman's flighted delivery and was stumped.

Stuart Broad fell lbw to Saeed Ajmal, who brought an end to the innings when Rehman took a catch in the deep to dismiss Swann (16) as England settled for 141 in its first innings.

Leftarm spinner Rehman took 5-40 — his second five-wicket haul of the series — and offspinner Ajmal stretched his wickets tally in the three-match series to 20 with 3-59.

Anderson had provided England with hope when he lured lefthanded Taufeeq Umar to play an expansive drive that flew to Strauss in the slips after Pakistan bowled out England inside the first hour of the day.

Mohammad Hafeez (21) lofted Monty Panesar for a straight six and then hit a square cut boundary before he lost his concentration and was trapped lbw by the leftarm spinner in an attempt to play a needless sweep shot.

England collapse gives Pakistan series win

Abu Dhabi: Leftarm spinner Abdur Rehman led Pakistan to a crushing 72-run over England and a convincing victory in the series on Saturday, taking a career-best six wickets for 25 as the world's top-ranked Test side was embarrassingly skittled out for just 72 runs.

Victory on the fourth day of the second Test earned Pakistan an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. The last match will be played next week at Dubai, where England were trounced by 10 wickets in the first Test.

England never looked in any real pursuit of the 145-run victory target after Pakistan were bowled out for 214, with Monty Panesar taking 6-62 in his comeback match after an absence of nearly three years.

In reply, only captain Andrew Strauss (32) and Matt Prior (18) managed to reach double figures.

"I don't have words to describe how big this victory is for us, because it has come against world's No. 1 team," Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq said.

"It's difficult for any team in the world to bat against the likes of Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman on this wicket."

It was England's lowest ever score in Test matches against Pakistan — and far worse than the 130 registered at the Oval in 1954 and at Lahore in 1987.

Rehman started the England slide in the penultimate over before tea when he removed Kevin Pietersen and Eoin Morgan to reduce England to 39-4.

He left the batsmen guessing in his remaining 7.1 overs after the break, claiming the wickets of Strauss, Jonathan Trott, Stuart Broad and last man James Anderson.

Strauss made no secret of his feelings after losing his first series since West Indies beat England in 2009.

"Pretty down and disappointed," he said.

"We must acknowledge how Pakistan bowled.

"They thoroughly deserved the win."

Strauss led a grim battle with a 100-ball 32 before he was trapped on the backfoot and even his DRS referral could not help England's cause.

Misbah deployed his slow bowlers from the outset after England began their run chase midway after lunch.

Alastair Cook had a torrid 45 minutes before Mohammad Hafeez caught a clean low catch as the ball flew back to him off the leading edge.

England had to shuffle their batting order after Trott could not bat at his usual No. 3 position due to a stomach upset that kept him away from the field in the morning.

But that mattered little for Rehman when he had Trott lbw for just 1 when he came out to bat at No. 7.

Earlier, Panesar had successfully led the bowling attack before Pakistan's tailenders frustrated England for nearly two and a half hours.

Pakistan resumed at 125-4 in foggy conditions but kept the scoreboard ticking against some disciplined bowling from Panesar and Graeme Swann.

Azhar Ali, 46 overnight, waited until the third over before turning Swann to square leg for two runs to complete his 13th Test half century, while Asad Shafiq, who celebrated his 26th birthday on Saturday, had to wait 24 deliveries before scoring his first runs of the day.

Panesar finally broke the 88-run stand when James Anderson held onto a sharp catch at slip to dismiss Shafiq for 43, giving the recalled English offspinner his fourth wicket of the innings.

Pakistan almost slipped to 160-6 when Australian umpire Steve Davis adjudged Ali lbw off Swann but TV umpire Billy Bowden overturned the decision as the hawk eye showed the ball would have turned too much and missed leg stump.

But England did not have to wait long enough to get rid of dangerman Ali once they took the second new ball.

Anderson banged one in short which got a faint edge of Ali's bat and flew to wicketkeeper Prior. Ali's 68 included eight fours.

Pakistan reached 172-7 when Broad won a psychological battle with Adnan Akmal. Just one ball after the pair exchange words, Akmal tried to drive a wide delivery and was out, caught by Strauss.

Ajmal and Rehman then added what might have proved to be an invaluable 26 runs before Panesar struck again. However, England's subsequent batting performance meant the extra runs were never needed.