England captain Ben Stokes revealed that he apologized to his teammates for showing his frustration on the field on Day 3 of their second Test against Pakistan in Multan. Stokes lost his cool after England slip fielders, including Joe Root, took easy catches that ultimately proved decisive as the tourists lost the second Test by 152 runs.

Ben Stokes used the F-word on the field when Salman Ali Agha was dropped twice in an over by fast bowler Brydon Carse. Wicketkeeper Jamie Smith and Root took a catch each. Salman got a reprieve when he punched in some numbers. The middle-order batsman made a crucial 63 runs, taking Pakistan’s lead to 296 runs in the second inning.

PAK vs ENG 2nd Test, Day 4: Scorecard | Highlights

England could have chased less in the final innings if they had been neater on the field. As expected, the dry surface in Multan aided Pakistan spinner Sajid Khan and Noman Ali as they went through the English batting order and bowled out the visitors for 144.

With Sajid and Noman picking up all 20 wickets together, Pakistan ended a nearly four-year wait for a home Test match win and leveled the ongoing series with England.

“No one is planning to drop the catches, but it just goes to show how important the catches are in these conditions in the subcontinent. They don’t happen that often. I apologized to the group last night because it is the first time in my captaincy that “I showed my emotions and how I felt about the way the game unfolded in my body language,” Stokes told broadcasters.

“I admitted that and was very annoyed with myself for putting that out there. It’s something I don’t want to do or be seen, so I apologized to the group for that.

“Poor old me, I was a tired, grumpy old man last night! You won’t see that happen again,” he added.

It was England’s first defeat in Pakistan in their last two tours. Under Stokes, England had beaten Pakistan 3-0. While Stokes was away due to a niggle in the first Test of the ongoing series, Ollie Pope led England to a sensational win. Pakistan had posted 556 in their first innings and England, riding on Harry Brook’s triple hundred and Joe Root’s double hundred, posted 823 in their first innings and went on to win the Test by an innings and 47 runs.

Pakistan made bold calls and dropped Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah from their squad for the second and third Tests. They also saved the field for the Multan Test and backed their spin bowling prowess after bringing in Noman Ali, Sajid Khan and Zahid Mahmood.

Kamran Ghulam, who replaced Babar Azam, hit a hundred while Noman and Sajid ensured England’s weaknesses against spin on a dry pitch were exposed.

The third Test between the two sides will be played in Rawalpindi from October 24.