Pakistan Bowled Out for 133 at Edgbaston After Setting Unwanted Test Batting Record

Pakistan’s troubled tour of England reached a fresh low on Wednesday as the visiting side suffered an extraordinary batting collapse, being bowled out for just 133 runs inside 34 overs on the opening day of the third Test match at Edgbaston cricket ground in Birmingham.

In the process of their rapid capitulation, the tourists claimed an unwelcome record in the history of international Test cricket. Pakistan became the first team ever to have their entire top five batters dismissed for nine or fewer runs in an opening innings, highlighting the deep structural frailties within their batting order against high-quality fast bowling.

The third Test began under heavy overcast morning skies in central England, creating favorable bowling conditions that prompted England captain Joe Root to win the toss and immediately insert the opposition to bat. Root’s tactical decision yielded immediate rewards, as the damp atmosphere and responsive pitch provided England’s seamers with the perfect platform to attack.

The visitors entered the Birmingham contest carrying the heavy burden of having already conceded the series, trailing 2-0 after two lopsided encounters. With their tour slipping away, the Pakistani squad had come under intense public scrutiny and growing criticism, targeting both their disjointed performances on the field and chaotic decision-making off it.

That mounting crisis had triggered drastic emergency measures following the second Test in London. In an aggressive squad clear-out, Pakistani management sent seven players home and sacked both head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and assistant coach Umar Gul in a desperate bid to alter the team's trajectory before the third encounter.

Those severe organizational penalties followed comprehensive defeats in the earlier legs of the tour. England had initiated the series with an emphatic victory by an innings and 103 runs at Headingley in Leeds, before compounding Pakistan’s misery by securing a 194-run triumph at Lord’s cricket ground.

Facing the threat of a complete series sweep, captain Babar Azam walked out at Edgbaston with a revamped lineup that included four new faces, among them three debutants tasked with stabilizing the fragile team. However, the drastic personnel changes proved ineffective in halting the momentum of a dominant English bowling unit.

England’s pacemen tore through the reconstructed top order with ruthless efficiency. The home side dismantled Pakistan’s defenses early in the morning session, reducing the tourists to a precarious 48-5 by the 15th over when Babar himself was sent back to the pavilion after failing to anchor the innings.

The failure of the top order was widespread and swift. Opening batter Shan Masood was dismissed after scoring just five runs, while Mohammad Imran similarly managed only five before losing his wicket, watching his bails fly as England’s fast bowlers maintained unrelenting accuracy around the stumps.

Amid the widespread batting collapse, middle-order batter Saud Shakeel stood out as the sole pillar of resistance. Shakeel demonstrated grit and composure under intense pressure, battling through the seam attack to top-score with 43 runs while wickets continued to tumble at regular intervals around him.

Shakeel received fleeting assistance from the lower order, where a debutant bowler showed courage by surviving the fast-bowling onslaught for 11 deliveries. Pakistan’s standout bowler Mohammad Abbas then contributed a spirited effort with the bat, compiling 21 runs off 36 balls to become the third player in the lineup to reach double figures.

Abbas’s eventual dismissal brought an abrupt conclusion to Pakistan’s first-innings resistance in 33 overs and five balls. The entire innings lasted less than two full sessions, leaving the visiting dressing room stunned by the rapid pace of the collapse.

England’s pace bowlers maintained absolute supremacy throughout the innings, claiming all ten Pakistani wickets without needing to rely on spin. Fast bowler Josh Tongue spearheaded the attack, finishing with destructive figures of 4-42, which featured the key dismissals of both Babar and Shakeel.

Tongue was expertly supported by seamers Ollie Robinson and Jofra Archer, who kept the pressure suffocating from both ends. Robinson, who had previously claimed player of the match honors in the first Test at Headingley, took 3-15, while Archer bowled with searing hostility to capture 3-25 and finish off Pakistan’s innings.

The disastrous start at Edgbaston leaves Pakistan facing yet another steep uphill battle to rescue some pride from a dismal tour. Despite wholesale squad overhauls, coaching dismissals, and multiple debuts, the visitors find themselves trapped in familiar problems against an uncompromising English bowling attack.