England registered an emphatic eight-wicket victory over Pakistan in the third and final Test at National Stadium, Karachi on Tuesday (December 20).

Chasing 167 in the fourth innings, the visitors were 112/2 at the close of play on Day 3 and they took only 67 balls on the penultimate day to seal the deal.

Having won the first two Tests in Rawalpindi and Multan, the Three Lions had already taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.

With this victory in Karachi, the Ben Stokes-led side completed a historic 3-0 whitewash.

After the game, Stokes addressed a media conference, where he said that the series sweep will take a while to sink in and called the result “pretty special”.

“It won’t really sink in until we get home or in the new year,” Stokes said in the post-match presser.

“I know it’s a cliched thing, but being out in the subcontinent is one of the hardest places to do it. I understand, and we understand, what we’ve done is pretty special… to win 3-0 out here, it will be something to be really proud of.”

Ever since Brendon McCullum and Stokes assumed the roles of the head coach and captain, respectively, England have played a fearless brand of cricket in the longest format of the game. Under their leadership, the Three Lions have defeated New Zealand and South Africa at home and also won the one-off Test against India at Edgbaston.

Now, the series win with the same approach in Pakistan shows how far the Stokes-led team has come in the last seven months.

Seeing his tactics work in tough conditions “is the best thing”, Stokes said.

The England captain had special praise reserved for every member of his side.

“I think everyone who has played has, at some point throughout the series, put their hand up and contributed to us winning a game,” he said.

“They’ve been amazing as well. Just a great place to be at the moment for a team, where everyone wants everyone to succeed and everyone understands their position in the team — even if they’re not playing.”

Stokes specifically mentioned leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed, who at 18 years and 128 days became England’s youngest Test player and then the youngest in the world to take five wickets on debut.

“For an 18-year-old to come into his first Test match and have such a cricket-savvy brain — especially under Test-match pressure — was really good for us,” he said.

“We got a sniff of what he can do with the bat as well. Very talented young man, and I think just let him progress.”

(With AFP inputs)