Twitter Reactions: Pakistan survive Liam Livingstone’s hurricane to end winless streak

Shaheen Shah Afridi became the Player of the Match after he picked up three crucial wickets.

By Sabyasachi Chowdhury

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Babar Azam
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Babar Azam. (Photo by Zac Goodwin/PA Images via Getty Images)

The opening T20I between Pakistan and England on Friday turned out to be a high-scoring thriller. Both teams crossed the 200-run mark, but in the end, the Men in Green won by 31 runs. It also brought an end to their winless streak on the tour after the 0-3 whitewash in the ODI series.

Babar and Rizwan power Pakistan

After being put in to bat first, Pakistan got off to a flying start. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan stitched together a 150-run stand for the opening wicket off 88 balls. Rizwan strained at the start but stepped on the gas to score a 41-ball 63 before being dismissed by fast bowler Lewis Gregory.

Babar, on the other hand, went on to score 85 off 49 with eight fours and three sixes. Useful cameos from Sohaib Maqsood, Mohammad Hafeez, and Fakhar Zaman helped the visitors amass a big score of 232. For England, David Willey was the only bowler who conceded runs at less than 10 an over.

Livingstone tries his heart out

Jason Roy started the Brits’ run-chase with a 13-ball 32. But after Shadab Khan dismissed him in the seventh over, it was Liam Livingstone, who tried to pull off a single-handed effort. With Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, and Eoin Morgan failing to perform, Livingstone took charge.

He notched his maiden T20I ton off 42 balls with the help of six fours and nine sixes. But to his dismay, his knock went in vain. He batted until the 17th over to keep the Three Lions in the hunt for a win. Shaheen Shah Afridi became the Player of the Match after he picked three crucial wickets.

When you look at the chase, it was a huge positive: Eoin Morgan

After the victory, Babar, the Pakistan skipper, talked about remaining positive despite a rough patch. He also credited Mohammad Hasnain and Afridi for their performance with the ball. Morgan, the English captain, lauded the Pakistan bowlers as well but spoke positively about his team’s run-chase.

“I spoke about not repeating the mistakes. I and Rizwan got off to a good start and every batsman played his role well. You need to change your mindset a bit (to switch to the shortest format). In the T20s, you need to take quick decisions, you have to remain positive. We gave our 100% in all departments. We took good catches, Shaheen and Hasnain bowled well,” Babar said.

“When you look at the chase, it was a huge positive. We were in the game till Willey was out there. It was Pakistan’s day, they bowled well and put or bowlers under pressure in the second half of their innings. There were a lot of positives to take on a ground like this which replicates Sharjah where we might play games during the World Cup,” Morgan said.

Here’s how the netizens reacted to Pakistan’s win:

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