Razaullah’s Six-Hitting Epic Sparks Pakistan's Edgbaston Revival
The script was written. England’s quicks would storm in on day three at Edgbaston, roll Pakistan for something flimsy, and stroll to a three‑Test whitewash without breaking stride.
Razaullah Khan tore that script to shreds.
On debut. At No.9. Having only just got his first passport.
By the close, Pakistan had not only survived but roared to 449 all out, a lead of 129, and forced a fourth day that almost nobody saw coming. England now need 130 on Sunday to complete a clean sweep. They expected a formality. They’ve got a contest.
From crisis to counter-attack
The backdrop was brutal. Pakistan had been dismantled in Leeds and at Lord’s, never once reaching 200, never lasting 50 overs. The Pakistan Cricket Board reacted with a full-blown reset: seven players sent home, the head coach sacked, three debutants thrown into a series already slipping away.
Their first innings in this Test? A flimsy 133. England’s reply of 453 on Thursday, a lead of 320, looked terminal. When Pakistan began their second innings 0-2 on Thursday evening, the only question seemed to be how quickly England would wrap up another innings victory.
Instead, day three turned into a slow, stubborn, then spectacular rebellion.
The pitch eased. The ball stopped misbehaving. England’s lines frayed. Joe Root’s captaincy came under the microscope. For the first time in the series, it was England who were made to toil.
Pakistan, who hadn’t touched 200 all tour, ticked past that mark after lunch. Then 300 after tea. Then 320 around 40 minutes later. By stumps they had piled on 397 runs in 84 overs, powered by their first two century stands of the series and one of the great lower-order ambushes seen in England.
Top order finally stands tall
The fightback began in familiar territory: at 0-2. From there, it was about nerve.
Azan Awais and Shan Masood, two left-handers with reputations for style, chose substance. They added 125 for the third wicket, dragging Pakistan from the edge of oblivion to genuine respectability.
Awais, compact and busy, reached 59 from 84 balls with 10 fours before the technology did for him. England reviewed, UltraEdge showed the faintest feather behind, and a promising innings ended just before lunch. Still, Pakistan walked off at 184-3, the mood transformed.
Masood was the heartbeat. Feet dancing, hands soft, he looked as assured as any Pakistan batter has on this tour. He survived a chance at point before reaching a 50 from 81 balls, then inched towards what would have been a cathartic century. On 95, he edged Gus Atkinson and watched Dan Lawrence dive low in the slips to cling on to a superb ankle-high catch. Atkinson, largely peripheral in the series until then, finally had his first wicket of the match.
Babar Azam matched his captain’s poise with his own. Starved of a Test hundred for 20 matches, he appeared in the mood to end that drought. England turned to the short ball, peppering him with bumpers. On 69, he miscued and was caught, only for substitute fielder Theo Wylie to brush the boundary rope. Reprieved, Babar pushed on to 76 before Josh Tongue found his edge just before tea, Jordan Cox flinging himself to complete an acrobatic catch behind the stumps.
Saud Shakeel, ever the accumulator, nudged and steered his way past 2,000 Test runs, repeatedly dropping the ball just beyond the reach of frustrated fielders. His 29 ended in ugly fashion, fending at a Jofra Archer bouncer that climbed awkwardly. At 306-6, Pakistan’s last recognised batter was gone and the old narrative loomed again.
Atkinson strikes, England scent blood
England finally sensed the kill. Atkinson, who had been a bit-part player until this Test, suddenly found rhythm and purpose.
He removed debutant Ghazi Ghori at 312, then Mohammad Imran at 318. Two wickets in quick time, Pakistan still two runs short of making England bat again, and the tail exposed. Root’s men had the new ball, the crowd behind them, and the familiar expectation of a swift finish.
That was the moment Razaullah chose to walk in.
Razaullah rewrites the day
The 21-year-old arrived with a first-class century to his name, but nothing could have prepared Edgbaston for what followed.
He didn’t just survive. He detonated.
His first six swung the match situation on its axis, hauling Pakistan into the lead. From there, he treated England’s attack with a mixture of audacity and calculation that electrified the ground and stunned the hosts.
Gus Atkinson copped three sixes in a single over as Razaullah picked the length early and swung cleanly through the line. Archer, England’s enforcer, was launched over the ropes twice; Razaullah’s fifth six, off Archer, brought up a 43-ball fifty. His next blow off the same bowler carried Pakistan to 400.
By the time he was done, Razaullah had hammered nine sixes in an 81 off 63 balls, tying Ben Stokes’ record for the most sixes in a Test innings in England, set during the 2023 Ashes at Lord’s. On debut, at No.9, in a series where his team’s batting had been a running joke.
“I just had to bat. You were the ones who enjoyed it,” he told Sky Sports through a translator, explaining that he simply looked for balls in the slot and “planned to take it long and deep.” There was, he insisted, “no point I was scared.”
From 318-8 to 449 all out, Pakistan’s transformation was driven by his fearless hitting and a crucial ally at the other end.
Abbas joins the resistance
Mohammad Abbas, better known for his work with the ball, played the perfect foil. He contributed a career-best 42, laced with two sixes and five boundaries, but just as importantly, he stayed in long enough to turn a handy recovery into a full-blown heist.
The pair added 121 from 123 balls for the ninth wicket, the highest ninth-wicket stand against England since 1984. Every boundary twisted the knife a little deeper. Every six cranked up the disbelief.
Abbas eventually fell to a standing ovation, his role in the drama fully recognised by the Edgbaston crowd. Razaullah followed in the final over of the day, stumped for 81, and received the same treatment. From nowhere, Pakistan had not only saved face but seized control of the narrative.
“The first time he’s been out for Pakistan ever, and absolutely lights up the show,” former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja told the BBC. “This is the attitude that was needed. Someone with a strong body language and who believes in himself. They’ll want him playing all formats because he’s a natural.”
Former England captain Michael Vaughan’s verdict was simple: “They’ve unearthed a gem.”
A whitewash on the line
So the equation is stark. England, 129 behind, need 130 runs to complete their first three-Test whitewash since 2024, when they crushed West Indies on this same ground. They still hold the advantage. The pitch remains friendly. The target is modest.
But the aura of inevitability has gone.
Pakistan, ridiculed for their collapses and upheaval, have finally shown the steel their supporters demand. A side that couldn’t reach 200 a week ago has bullied its way to 449, with a debutant No.9 standing toe-to-toe with Archer and Atkinson and swinging them into the stands.
One more chase. One more twist, perhaps, in a series that suddenly has a pulse again.
