Pakistan debutant Razaullah smashed a sensational 81 off 63 balls, sharing a stand of 121 with tailender Mohammad Abbas, to drag the third and final Test against England into a fourth day at Edgbaston.
Pakistan were bowled out for 449 in their second innings, leaving them a lead of just 130 over England, who had already won the first two Tests of the series and looked on course for a 3-0 whitewash.
Razaullah was eventually stumped for 81 by Jordan Cox, deputising for the injured Jamie Smith, trying to swing Dan Lawrence for what would have been his tenth six of the innings. He had survived a leg-before review the previous over before being given out next ball, triggering the close of play at 7pm. He walked off cursing his own dismissal, though there was no need for self-reproach, to a standing ovation from supporters of both sides.
The 21-year-old cleared the boundary nine times, equalling the record for the most sixes in a Test innings in England, a mark previously held by Ben Stokes at Lord's during the 2023 Ashes. He also set the record for the most sixes by a debutant in Test history.
Razaullah broke two bats during the innings and revealed he was using the last of the three he had packed when he was called into the Pakistan squad as one of seven replacements last week.
"I was planning to take it long and deep. They bowled in the slot so I was eyeing it up. There was no point I was scared," Razaullah said.
"That was an amazing feeling. I enjoyed it very much."
A debut to remember
Razaullah, who scored a century opening the batting for Peshawar against Islamabad in November, is one of four members of this Pakistan team drafted in at the last minute following the Pakistan Cricket Board's chaotic overhaul of the touring party.
He had already marked his debut with the wicket of Joe Root in his first over, and finished with Pakistan's best bowling figures of the innings, taking four wickets in total.
England's bowling under scrutiny
Razaullah's assault, and Abbas's careful, career-best 42, exposed England's lack of a frontline spinner for the first time in the series. Abbas eventually sliced Josh Tongue to point to end the stand.
Only Ollie Robinson, who conceded just 2.34 runs an over, emerged with real credit. He will finish the series with 21 wickets at an average of 8.76.
Between them, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson and Tongue conceded 335 runs at nearly five an over while taking six wickets, doing little to answer questions about how the pace quartet might fare in conditions less helpful than those seen in England this summer.
England interim head coach Marcus Trescothick admitted his side had struggled to contain Razaullah. "It was disappointing. We tried very many different plans, short balls, length, spin, but give him some credit," he said. "Some of the sixes he hit were pretty impressive."
How Pakistan got there
Earlier in the day, Shan Masood had looked set to become the first centurion of the series before he was caught low in the cordon by Lawrence off Atkinson for 95, ending a third-wicket stand of 125 with Azan Awais.
Babar Azam made 76 before gloving an unconvincing pull off Tongue down the leg side, and Archer bounced out Saud Shakeel. Atkinson then had both Ghazi Ghori and Mohammad Imran caught behind off inside edges to leave Pakistan 318 for eight, just one run short of an innings defeat, before Razaullah and Abbas counter-attacked.
Pakistan's lead of 130 leaves England needing to chase that target to complete the series whitewash on Saturday, on a pitch that remains the best batting surface of the summer, even if that is not saying much.
Durham crowned champions
Elsewhere, Durham were crowned champions of Division Two of the County Championship after a 93-run win over Middlesex at Chester-le-Street. Axed England seamer Brydon Carse took four wickets for Durham, who rested Ben Stokes from the match.
