Rising Pakistan thump England for 2-0 series win

Pakistan spinner ran riot as the Misbah-ul-Haq-led team defeated England by a big 127-run margin in the third and final Test in Sharjah and won the three-match series 2-0. 

 Spin trio of Shoaib Malik, Yasir Shah and Zulfiqar Babar shared nine wickets between them to help Pakistan beat England by a big 127-run margin in the third and final Test in Sharjah on Thursday.

Shah finished with 4-44, Malik -- playing his last Test -- took 3-26 and Babar grabbed 2-31 to bundle England out for 156 soon after lunch on the fifth and final day for a 2-0 series win at Sharjah stadium.

England, set 284 to win, were always on the back foot on a turning pitch as only skipper Alastair Cook showed some resistance during his 241-minute fight, scoring 63 with four boundaries.

It was Malik who gave Pakistan the prized wicket of Cook, stumped by wicket-keeper Sarfraz Ahmed, to finish with seven wickets in the match.

Shah had Ben Stokes stumped in the next over for 12 to spark celebrations in the field as Pakistan players embraced each other.

The victory lifts Pakistan to an equal highest ever number two in the ICC (International Cricket Council) Test rankings, a spot which they previously attained only for a few days in August 2006.

Pakistan won the second Test by 178 runs in Dubai.

Alastair Cook's team fought well throughout the three Tests and was unlucky not to win the first Test in Abu Dhabi, forced into a draw due to bad light with just 24 needed for victory.

England are now pushed to sixth from their pre-series third in the Test rankings.

England were in danger of losing the match before lunch but Adil Rashid (22) helped add 49 for the seventh wicket with Cook to delay Pakistan's win.

Cook punched paceman Rahat Ali for a single to reach his 46th half-century in Tests.

When the final day began England were rocked right at the start, losing four wickets in the space of 31 balls after resuming at 46-2.

Shah trapped Joe Root in the second over with a delivery that kept low and caught the batsman in front of the stumps before he had added to his overnight score of six.

James Taylor survived nine deliveries to score two before Babar spun one across his bat for Younis Khan to take the edge in the slip. In the next over, Shah trapped Jonny Bairstow leg-before for nought.

It became 59-6 when Samit Patel was leg-before in Babar's next over, leaving England in fear of being bowled out for their lowest total of 72 against Pakistan when they crumbled in Abu Dhabi in 2012.

But the Rashid-Cook stand got England past the 100-mark before Rahat bowled Rashid with 15 minutes to go before lunch.

Alastair Cook plays down spat with Shane Warne

Shane Warne irked England skipper Alastair Cook with critical comments about his captaincy last year in a newspaper column when he suggested the Englishman should step down from his role. 

Sharjah: England skipper Alastair Cook on Saturday said his spat with famous rival Shane Warne had been blown out of context as he insisted he now has a better relationship with the Aussie great.

Warne irked Cook with critical comments about his captaincy last year in a newspaper column when he suggested the Englishman should step down from his role.

Visibly upset at the comments, Cook hit back, saying: "Well something needs to be done because for the three years I've been England captain I have in my eyes been criticised for a hell of a lot of that."

But a courtesy visit by Warne to help England spinner Adil Rashid in the nets in Sharjah on Friday ahead of the decisive third Test against Pakistan seemed to have eased out the tension.

"He was still fairly critical in the summer as well, as (former Australian captain) Michael Clarke's best mate he was always going to do that," said Cook of Warne's comments during England's 3-2 Ashes win this year.

"Me and Warne's so-called spat, what I said was taken a little bit out of context – it was probably directed to the whole media, not just him, and people jumped on that," Cook said.

Cook said he talked to Warne on the phone last year, which helped ease the tension. "We had a phone call for an hour, hour and a half, and have stayed in contact ever since. We have a better relationship than before the phone call and it was great of him to come down. It was great of him to come down and spend some time with Rash," said Cook.

Cook believes Warne's advice will help Rashid, who made his debut in the drawn first Test against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi. "For a young leg-spinner to spend time with the greatest ever and have access to him, and for him to be so open with Adil, was brilliant," said Cook of the meeting.

"Me listening to what he was telling Rash was fantastic and we are very grateful to him. I'm sure the Pakistanis were as well with Yasir, so he's just evening himself out," said Cook.

Rashid will be key to England's plans as they seek to level the series in the third and final Test starting on Sunday. Pakistan won the second Test in Dubai to take a 1-0 lead. "Hopefully Rash took something from it -- I'm sure he did -- and can continue on his improvement as a young leg-spinner in terms of experience at international level," added Cook.

Cook also insisted that he has learnt with each game as captain, something which Warne had also conceded. "Absolutely, I've learnt. No doubt. The more you do the job the better you get at it. You can better cope with everything that goes with it," he said.