Fans cheered. After going through a seemingly endless spiral, there was a moment of redemption in Multan.

They had some unlikely heroes to thank.

Saijd, a 31-year-old off-spinner from Peshawar, who posted match figures of 9-204 – more England wickets than the entire team managed in the first Test.

He is a man from a humble background, an orphan who made a living pawning cell phones and repairing bats, and who has become an inspiration to 260 million people.

Then there is the 38-year-old, ever-smiling, slow-moving left winger Noman Ali, who scored 11-147.

Together they took all 20 opposition wickets – only the seventh time this has happened in Tests and the first since 1972. The feat is all the more remarkable considering that neither of them featured in the first Test.

The debut of 29-year-old Kamran Ghulam, who had to wait a long time for his chance, took a century.

Burdened with the burden of replacing Babar, he fought brilliantly on a difficult surface and laid the foundation for Pakistan's victory.

The literal foundation, the surface used, has always been a gamble from Pakistan.

Had it not worked out, it would have been a stupid and knee-jerk reaction to another embarrassing loss.

But it worked. And for now, the selectors, curator and pitch management can rightly feel complacent.

There was outrage over the three major omissions, but there is no arguing with the outcome of the selection.

However, it is unlikely to be a sustainable model for Pakistan.

You can't play every game on used playing fields. And you certainly can't go full throttle in all conditions.

At some point, Babar, Shaheen and Naseem will all appear in Pakistan colors again.

It is unclear how Pakistan cricket will develop from this moment onwards. It could also just be an isolated case.

But for now, it has broken their winning streak and given Pakistan fans an opportunity to celebrate.

You've waited long enough, right?