The tourists pulled a victory out of the fire on day five, clinching their third win in Pakistan by 74 runs as the light began to fade
England men's Test captain Ben Stokes has hailed victory over Pakistan in Rawalpindi as one of the team's greatest away from home.
Five wickets after tea secured a 74-run success with just minutes of the day remaining.
As well as being England's third Test win in Pakistan which gives them a 1-0 series lead, it came on a surface lacking in assistance for the bowlers.
It was the finest example yet of the aggressive philosophy implemented by Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum since their tenure began at the start of last summer.
Ollie Pope presents Will Jacks with his Test cap (Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)
From hitting a record-breaking 506 on the first day, scoring at a run rate of 6.73 across the Test, setting positive fields in the search of wickets and declaring boldly on day four, England were fixated on delivering a result on a benign pitch.
"We wanted to come here and carry on with our mantra," Stokes told Sky Sports. "I have got no interest in playing for the draws, and we try to look at the positive option.
"You have to make things happen on a wicket like this and make some bold decisions. James Anderson and Ollie Robinson were fantastic today.
"At the lunch break, it was exactly where we wanted to be and found ourselves in the perfect position. I think it's up there with one of England's greatest away Test match wins."
England's selection woes, deepened by the absence of Jonny Bairstow and Jofra Archer, were accentuated when illness went through the group in the lead-up to the game.
"We have got some broken bodies after that. It's amazing to see the amount of enthusiasm and heart the lads showed"
It left several players bedridden and almost saw the match delayed by 24 hours. England were able to field an XI but Ben Foakes was unable to feature and Jamie Overton could only appear as a substitute fielder.
Just minutes before play, Will Jacks was informed he was making his Test debut while Ollie Pope took the gloves as the designated wicketkeeper for just the second time in Tests. While Jacks claimed a maiden six-wicket haul, Pope kept for 252 overs and struck a first-innings century.
Problems continued once the game got underwent as Liam Livingstone picked up a knee injury which rendered him unable to bowl and has ruled him out of the series.
"With the illness that ran through the camp and the one change we had to make through Foakes being ill, Will Jacks having to come in to make his debut and getting a six-fer and Pope batting at three and donning the gloves for a long time," he added.
England celebrate a Test victory in Pakistan for just the third time (Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)
"Everyone has been incredible this week, everyone plays for each other and no one leaves anything on the field. That's the kind of attitude and mentality that we need out here.
"There are a few things that we can plan for, but some of the things you can't, which is obviously what happened to the squad before the Test match. I have got to give the players a lot of credit for turning up under the weather.
"Some key individual performances, like Jacks and Pope. I think what we had to deal with coming into this match makes it even better.
"We have got some broken bodies after that. It's amazing to see the amount of enthusiasm and heart the lads showed."
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