Twitter Reactions: Alex Hales stars in comeback game as England comfortably defeat Pakistan in 1st T20I

Team England had a perfect start to the seven-match T20I series after they defeated the home team Pakistan the first T20I encounter played at the National Stadium, Karachi on September 20 (Tuesday). 

The visiting team won the toss and had no hesitation in bowling first. The English bowlers were put under some pressure during the field restrictions as skipper Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan thrashed the visiting bowlers. 

The Men in Green put up 80+ runs without losing any wickets but pacer Luke Wood and veteran spinner Adil Rashid brought England back into the contest. Pakistani middle-order was exposed once again as they suffered a humiliating collapse. 

None of the Pakistani batters except Iftikhar Ahmed and openers managed to cross the double-digit mark as the home team did not manage to even cross the 160-run mark in their allotted 20 overs. 

Alex Hales played a disciplined knock for his team

Making a return to the English side, senior batter Alex Hales ensured that the Three Lions did not stutter in their chase. Some decent contributions were also given by Dawid Malan, Ben Duckett, and Harry Brook as the home team completed the chase rather easily. 

For Pakistan, Usman Qadir (two wickets), Haris Rauf (one wicket), and Shahnawaz Dhani (one wicket) were the successful bowlers, but they could not ensure their team's victory in the first match of the series. Pacer Naseem Shah who had a good outing during the 2022 T20 Asia Cup, failed to impress as the right-arm pacer gave away 41 runs in his allotted four-over quota. 

Meanwhile, both teams are set to face each other in the second T20I encounter to be played at the same venue on September 22 (Thursday). The home team after losing the first match will want to make a strong comeback in the series.  

Meanwhile, here are some Twitter reactions: