Pakistan v England 4th ODI review: Buttler’s blitzkrieg helps England bag the series

Pakistan v England 4th ODI review: Buttler’s blitzkrieg helps England bag the series: An entertaining ODI series came to an exciting end at the Dubai International Stadium, as Jos Buttler’s 46 ball century lit up the stadium, and was eventually catalytic for England 84-run victory over Pakistan. Pakistan, despite half-centuries from Babar and Shoaib Malik, lacked conviction to chase down the target and fell 85 runs short.

After winning the all-important toss in the last ODI of the series England captain Eoin Morgan elected to bat on a sluggish pitch, and his batsmen backed the skippers call to prove him right. Alex Hales and Jason Roy started off steadily, but the former fell to Mohammad Irfan just after crossing the 50 mark.

But what can be considered as a repeat of the third ODI, the 2^nd wicket partnership yet again exceeded expectations for the visitors. Roy came in the English party with a fine half century and was looking good to convert it to a three-figure score. The in-form Joe Root gave Roy company at an important juncture and weathered the much famed Pakistani spin attack. Yasir Shah, on his return from injury, was well negotiated by the Roy-Root duo.

Swiftly, Root went past his fifty, and Roy was well set for his century. He reached his maiden century, but immediately fell to Yasir Shah, and Root followed him back to the pavilion trying to accelerate the scoring. Morgan came but went without making much of an impact. Surprisingly, it was Azhar Ali who took the two important wickets. But that was the beginning of Pakistani annihilation.

Jos Buttler, who played a crucial knock in the previous match, came out all guns blazing against the Pakistani bowlers. His 30 ball fifty propelled the visitors to above run a ball, and they were looking good for a 300 plus score. But Buttler went berserk after his fifty. Despite losing his partner James Taylor, he swatted the bowlers all around the park. He was especially severe on Anwar Ali, who was smashed for 3 hits over the rope in the 49^th over. Buttler, meanwhile, got to his century off just 46 balls, 6^th fastest century ever. The scorecard suddenly read a humongous 355, and Pakistan needed a miracle to pull off this one.

Chasing 356 Pakistani’s needed a positive start for creating a chance in the game, and their captain rose to the occasion. Ahmed Shehzad, meanwhile, struggled on his international comeback and got out eventually failing to control a pull off Willey. Ali found an able partner in Mohammad Hafeez, and Pakistan were sailing at a run-rate above 7. Just when it looked like that the skipper could play a long innings, he failed to convert yet another start, as he was outfoxed by a slower delivery from Willey.

The home team needed a long, constructive innings from one of their batsmen, and it looked like Mohammad Hafeez and Babar Azam would take up the challenge. Not only did they manage to continue the momentum created by the captain, their partnership looked really threatening. That was until Hafeez created a hara-kiri. Running for a non-existent single, some sharp work from Willey and Buttler shortened his stay at the crease.

In came Shoaib Malik and the duo continued to score freely. The run-rate was never the issue, but the wickets column was a concern for Pakistan. And Babar, just after celebrating a fine half century, gave away his wicket in a simple fashion. Rizwan followed suit soon after, and Pakistan were reeling at 194/5. Alex Hales, who dropped a tough chance, pulled a stunner to dismiss Malik, who departed after scoring an excellent half century. But Pakistan, despite the run-rate, were reeling due to lack of wickets, and the series was nearly into England’s bags.

Sarfaraz Ahmed’s wicket practically sealed the fate for the home team, but Ali’s entertaining cameo delayed the inevitable against them. Despite having scored at a rate in excess of 7, but since their batsmen lacked sensibility and management, Pakistan faltered in the chase, and ended up losing the match and the series by 84 runs.

Summary

A high scoring thriller was the last thing one expected at Dubai, but an excellent century from Jason Roy and perhaps the knock of the year from Buttler propelled England to a huge total of 355. Despite scoring at a fluent rate, none of the Pakistani batsmen converted the starts, and eventually ended up 85 runs short of the expected target.

Scorecard

England – 355/5 in 50 overs (Buttler 116*, Roy 102; Ali 2-26)

Pakistan – 271 in 40.4 overs (Malik 52, Babar 51; Ali 3-53)

Man of the Match – Jos Buttler (England)
Player of the Series – Jos Buttler (England)