Pakistan spinners wrap up 2-0 series win

Pakistan 234 (Misbah 71, Anderson 4-17) and 355 (Hafeez 151, Broad 3-44) beat England 306 (Taylor 76, Malik 4-33) and 156 (Cook 63, Yasir 4-44, Malik 3-26) by 127 runs

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 had been 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 wickets 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.

More to follow...

Lunch England 306 and 46 for 2 (Cook 17*, Root 6*) need a further 238 to beat Pakistan 234 and 355 (Hafeez 151, Broad 3-44)
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

It took until the final day of the final Test but Pakistan at last managed a reprise of England's 2012 nightmare against spin. At lunch, they needed three wickets to finish England off and complete a 2-0 win that would lift them to No. 2 in the ICC Test rankings. Alastair Cook was unbeaten on 50 but his team, who have been competitive for all but two sessions in the series, had been cut adrift during a dizzying first hour when they lost 4 for 11 in five overs.

The conditions were perhaps not as treacherous as England's batsmen made them look but Yasir Shah and Zulfiqar Babar did not need encouragement to prey on the slightest hesitation or indecision. Joe Root, the No. 1-ranked batsman recently referred to as one of the best players of spin in the world, was trapped lbw by Yasir's fourth ball of the morning, back when he should have been forward, and it caused a detonation is brutally effective as pulling the pin from a grenade.

From 59 for 6, and with visions of Abu Dhabi three years ago - when they were dismissed for 72 chasing 145 - swimming through addled English minds, Cook and Adil Rashid did a respectable patch-up job, adding 49 for the seventh wicket and bringing a sense of calm to proceedings. Rashid has shown a propensity for fifth-day heroics but this was beyond even him and Rahat Ali fired one through his defences shortly before lunch to bring Pakistan closer still.

England have shown plenty of guts this time around in the UAE but they were swiftly disembowelled on the fifth morning in Sharjah. A target of 284 was well beyond anything England had previously managed to Asia but their displays of resilience on tour had encouraged some to think they might get close.

That hope disappeared quicker than a lizard darting under a rock. Root was pinned in front of leg stump in the second over of the day, plumb enough not to bother with a review, and James Taylor only lasted long enough to bring up England's 50 before he edged a flighted delivery from Babar to slip.

Pakistan had wasted their reviews on the fourth evening but they need not have worried. Jonny Bairstow and Samit Patel fell lbw in successive overs, the latter for a golden duck, as England's slide became terminal, losing 3 for 2 in 12 deliveries. Bairstow was hit on the thigh pad in front of middle stump trying to sweep his way out of trouble, England's final review burned in the process, and Patel succumbed to the contagion by missing a straight one from Babar that would have clipped leg.

Cook alone managed to weather the desert storm, maintaining his focus even as the ball beat the bat or rapped the pads and Pakistani appeals tore the air. Another half-century and more than 900 balls faced in the series but it was not going to be enough.