Eng v Pak Only T20I Review – Pakistan openers crush England by 9 wickets

After a dismal show in the ODI series, Pakistan only hoped to end their tour on a high with an improved performance in the solitary T20 match. England, on the other hand, had total dominion on the mind. When it comes to the shortest format, both teams have had contrasting fortunes in the recent times. Pakistan’s T20 game has been nothing else but an abridged version of their dwindling ODI form.

On the contrary, England have been emerging as juggernauts with their new found aggression and were the runner-up team in the ICC World T20 2016. The action moved to Manchester for the all-important final showdown of an eventful Pakistan tour. Pakistan looked upbeat under the new skipper Sarfraz Ahmed and England were bolstered by the T20 comeback of Ben Stokes.

Coming to the game, England skipper Eoin Morgan won the toss and opted to bat first. Pakistan drafted in Sohail Tanvir and Khalid Latif in the playing eleven and England opted to play with pace trio of David Willey, Chris Jordan and Liam Plunkett. English openers Jason Roy and Alex Hales walked into the middle. Surprisingly though, for Pakistan, Imad Wasim took the new ball. He conceded just 2 runs in the first over and shared the new ball with Tanvir.

Despite hitting a six and a four early on in the innings, Roy looked unsettled at the crease. Hales, on the other hand, took the attack to the Pakistani bowlers as England raced to 53/0 in the powerplay. Roy eventually departed just after the powerplay after being trapped lbw on 21(20) by Imad Wasim. In walked Joe Root to join Hales at the crease.

The proceedings slowed down and Imad was in the middle of a brilliant spell. He cleaned up Hales in his next over to push England right back on the back foot. Hales’ 26-ball 37 was studded with 5 boundaries. Meanwhile, Imad finished his 3 overs – giving away just 10 runs and picking up 2 key wickets.

More trouble followed as Root was sent back on 6 by Hasan Ali in the 10^th over to see England struggling at 67/3 with two new batsmen at the crease – Jos Buttler and Eoin Morgan. Both batsmen tried to settle in the nerves and nudged the ball around to keep the scorecard ticking. Just when Buttler tried to break the shackles, he lost his wicket on 16(15) to Wahab Riaz in the 14^th over. Stokes (4) went cheaply too, becoming Hasan Ali’s second scalp.

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Riaz came back to the attack to get rid of Morgan on 14 (16) to see England on 110/6 in 16 overs. He then bagged his 3^rd wicket of the match as he dismissed David Willey on 12 (12). Moeen Ali struggled for his unbeaten 13 off 15 balls as England managed to put on 135/7 in their stipulated 20 overs. It was some spectacular bowling by Pakistani bowlers. Riaz bagged 3/18 in his 4 overs while Wasim was effective in the early part of the innings, taking 2/17. Hasan Ali bagged 2/24 in his 4 overs.

With a modest target of 136 for the win, the Pakistani openers Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif took very less time to settle in. Some brave batting combined with wayward length bowling saw the Pakistan openers dismantle the English bowling attack. Latif and Khan raced to their 50 run stand in just 28 balls and ended the powerplay with 73/0.

They did not let any bowler settle in and Sharjeel soon moved to his fifty with a six in just 30 balls with 7 fours and 3 sixes to his name. Pakistan moved to 100-run mark in just 9.3 overs, something that speaks volumes about the carnage their openers inflicted on England bowlers. The 107-run opening partnership that came off 67 balls was finally broken in the 12^th over when Adil Rashid dismissed Sharjeel Khan on 59 (36). Babar Azam was the new man at the crease.

Latif brought up his half-century in style with a six in 36 balls. Both openers brought their fifties with a six! It was only formality from thereon. Latif (59* off 42 balls with 8 fours and 2 sixes) and Azam (15* off 11 balls with 2 fours) saw Pakistan over the line with 9 wickets in hand and 31 balls to spare. A thumping victory for Pakistan and certainly the perfect way to sign off from the tour.

Brief Scores:

England 135/7 in 20 overs (Hales 37, Roy 21, Riaz 3/18, Imad Wasim 2/17)

Pakistan 139/1 in 14.5 overs (Sharjeel 59, Latif 59, Rashid 1/29)