Pakistan celebrated their 200th T20I with a thrilling win in a match that swung like a pendulum – the hosts ran out England’s last batter at 19.2 overs to record a three-run win. The Sunday’s victory at the National Stadium has levelled the seven-match series 2-2 and added a pinch of excitement ahead of the last three matches to be played at the Gaddafi Stadium.
The 18th over of the run chase had almost settled the match for England with Liam Dawson smashing Mohammad Hasnain for a six, four off a no-ball, four, four and another four, before a dot and a single on the last two balls. The over had began with England needing 33 and the tourists needed nine off 12 at its conclusion.
Haris Rauf’s marvellous death bowling – in the next over – turned the match on its head. Dawson swatted Haris for a boundary in front of square on the second ball, but Haris, undeterred, followed it up with a bouncer which garnered Pakistan his crucial wicket. Dawson was beaten by pace and ended up holing out to midwicket.
Haris and Dawson had a chat about the dismissal after the match and the fast bowler told PCB Digital Dawson was anticipating a yorker after hitting him a four on the previous ball, but he pulled his length back instead. Proper mind games!
Olly Stone, in his debut match, recorded a golden duck the next ball as a scorching yorker rattled his stumps and with five remaining off the last eight balls, Reece Topley could yield only one run off a leg-bye in the over.
The drop-scene came in the last over when Shan Masood, the ever-alert Shan Masood, gathered the ball at mid-on, ran towards the non-striker’s end and dislodged the bails with an underarm flick when Topley attempted to sneak in a single to bring Adil Rashid on strike.
Pakistan’s defence of 167 was off to a solid start with Mohammad Nawaz accounting for Phil Salt in the first over, albeit after being smashed for two fours. Hasnain bowled beautifully in the powerplay, allowing England batters to get only 11 runs in his first two overs. He got the prized wickets of Alex Hales, who returned to the side after sitting out in the previous game, and Will Jacks in his first over (the second of the match). The former mistimed a pull that Usman Qadir gathered with an athletic dive at short midwicket and the latter was bowled with a lovely length ball.
Ben Duckett and Harry Brook, who set up a remarkable win for England on Friday, looked in prime touch, and launched a terrific counterattack that stunned Pakistan and the National Stadium crowd alike.
Pakistan could have had England four down inside the powerplay had Nawaz not spilled a sitter at cover with Brook on four.
Duckett attacked Mohammad Wasim Jnr in the fifth over, hitting him for three fours on the bounce, and added 43 runs in 5.2 overs with Brook before Nawaz had him trapped LBW in front.
But that did not deter England from continuing with the attack and the pair of Brook and Moeen Ali struck a 49-run partnership off 30 balls. The England captain became Nawaz’s third and final wicket of the match in the 14th over.
David Willey ramped Haris for consecutive fours to continue to lessen the difference between the runs required and the balls remaining, before Dawson took on Hasnain in the 18th over.
Pakistan, for the third time in four matches, accumulated more than 50 runs in the powerplay thanks to the solid foundation that the world’s most successful opening pair of Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam had laid.
Pakistan were 52 for none at the completion of the sixth over with Rizwan playing the lead role, scoring 38 off 26, hitting seven off the eight fours.
Babar Azam got in the groove in the eight over, dispatching David Willey for consecutive boundaries, but Adil Rashid’s next over tightened things for the two batters, leaking only three singles and Liam Dawson gave away eight in the next as Pakistan were 82 for none at the drinks.
Rizwan smashed Adil for a six over midwicket, but Babar fell in the next over. Over next five overs, the pair of Rizwan and Shan, who had breached the 50-run mark just in his second T20I last match in only 28 balls, added 40 runs, as the hosts failed to capitalise the death overs.
Masood was LBW in the penultimate over off Willey and Khushdil Shah and Rizwan fell on the first two balls of the final over, bowled by Reece Topley. The packed National Stadium, however, was in for an entertaining end, as Asif Ali hit two gigantic sixes off the three balls he faced to lift Pakistan to 166 for four.
Scores in brief:
Pakistan beat England by three runs
Pakistan 166-4, 20 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 88, Babar Azam 36, Shan Masood 21; Reece Topley 2-37)
England 163 all out, 19.2 overs (Liam Dawson 34, Harry Brook 34, Ben Duckett 33, Moeen Ali 29; Haris Rauf 3-32, Mohammad Nawaz 3-35, Mohammad Hasnain 2-40)
Player of the match – Haris Rauf (Pakistan)
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