England secured a 3-0 Test series win over Pakistan after a dramatic third Test at Edgbaston, with Joe Root leading his team to an eight-wicket victory. The home side, chasing 130, faced early difficulties when openers Ben Duckett and Emilio Gay were dismissed in the first over, bowled by Mohammad Abbas. Root, England’s record runscorer, edged his first ball for four in a nervy start but settled quickly to take the sting out of the situation. The skipper was given a huge reprieve when he chopped onto the stumps off Mohammad Ali, only for the umpire to signal a no-ball, leaving the bowler distraught. Root reached his half-century off 57 balls with a cut for four, and Jordan Cox matched him shortly afterwards. England reached their target in the 25th over, with Root unbeaten on 62 and Cox 59 not out.

England’s victory completes a 3-0 series sweep, their first since 2024, while Pakistan have now lost 16 of their last 21 games and are bottom of the World Test Championship table. Pakistan’s debutant Razaullah, 21, launched an audacious assault with the bat, clubbing nine sixes as he raced to 81 off 63 balls. The 21-year-old number nine, who also took four wickets in England’s first innings, put on 121 for the ninth wicket with fellow paceman Abbas (42) as England floundered. Pakistan’s woes continued after they sent seven players home following their crushing defeat in the second Test at Lord’s and brought in seven replacements, with Razaullah among them. They also sacked head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and assistant Umar Gul as their tour plunged into chaos.

Root, in his second spell as England skipper after the departure of Ben Stokes, admitted his team were not the finished article but said he was delighted with their series win. 'The amount of uncertainty, noise and I guess chaos there was coming into the series, the way the guys have dealt with that – being so clinical with what we’ve had in front of us – and be stood here with a 3-0 win is really pleasing,' Root told Sky Sports. 'It sets us up nicely looking ahead to the start of a new era with (new head coach) Stephen Fleming coming in.'

Pakistan captain Babar Azam admitted his team would have to take stock after a one-sided series. 'Before we came here, we had to think about different things and to decide our team,' he said. 'We had a couple of changes after losing two matches. Playing in England is very difficult. We were trying to do our best in the third match. We need to sit down and look hard at our mistakes, decide our playing XI.'

The 3-0 whitewash is a huge tonic for England, who were in turmoil just weeks ago following a series loss to New Zealand and the exits of head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Stokes. But tougher challenges lie ahead, starting with a Test series in South Africa in December and January, while a home Ashes looms next year. What remains unknown is the full impact of Razaullah’s performance on Pakistan’s long-term strategy and the extent of the internal turmoil within their team.