Fourth Twenty20 International Highlights: England defeated Pakistan by 7 wickets.
4th T20I Highlights between England and Pakistan: At The Oval on Thursday, England, the reigning champions, defeated Pakistan by seven wickets thanks to a superb all-around performance. After winning the toss, England limited Pakistan to a respectable 157, with player-of-the-match Adil Rashid, a leg spinner, claiming 2-27 from his allotted four overs. Then, they got off to a quick start when Phil Salt (45) and captain Jos Buttler (39) put together a scorching opening partnership of 82 runs in just seven overs. Haris Rauf, the best batsman for Pakistan with 3-38, was bowled out for a six by Harry Brook to end the match, and England won with over three overs remaining at 158-6.
In a four-match T20 series that saw games at Cardiff and Headingley abandoned without a ball being bowled, victory handed England a 2-0 lead.
The highlights of England’s 4th Twenty20 international match vs Pakistan are shown here.
At The Oval, England defeated Pakistan by seven wickets to end the T20 World Cup.
England bowled a terrific all-around effort to dismiss Pakistan for 157 on a confidence-boosting night before their title defence, and they cantered to their goal in 15.3 overs.
With scores of 45 and 39 in 6.2 overs, Phil Salt and skipper Jos Buttler amassed an impressive 82, and Jonny Bairstow led England home with 28 runs without conceding an edge.
Earlier, in his first outing since March, Mark Wood combined with Jofra Archer to bowl a quick opening burst and finished with an impressive 2-35.
England’s explosive start was blunted by Pakistan’s openers Babar Azam and Muhammad Rizwan, but the tourists fell down 59-0 to 82-5 when Archer trapped Babar with the last ball of the powerplay.
England restricted Pakistan with regular wickets, with Adil Rashid getting 2-27 and Liam Livingstone claiming 2-17, including the crucial wicket of Usman Khan for 38.
After winning this 2-0 series, England will head to the Caribbean on Friday. On Tuesday, they will play Scotland in Barbados in the first game of their World Cup campaign.
England is more confident going into the match.
England could not have hoped for much more in their last game before defending the T20 title they won in Melbourne eighteen months prior, following two washouts earlier in the series.
The biggest doubt going into the World Cup was their bowling attack’s consistency, both in terms of quality and fitness, but they performed admirably at The Oval.
With his second delivery, Wood—who has been dealing with a knee ache—clocked 95 mph, and Archer wasn’t much slower. Their spell’s introductory suggestion was tantalisingly close to what might be.
Phil Salt and Jos Buttler, chasing a target far below par, got off to a flying start, hitting six each to take 25 from Naseem Shah’s second over.
In a disorganised effort for Pakistan, wicketkeeper Azam Khan dropped Salt at 34 and Will Jacks at eight, the latter of whom hit 20 before being bowled by a sharp yorker from Haris Rauf.
Although Buttler, who was in fine form, was caught behind by Salt, the hard-hitting early aggressor, who picked out deep mid-wicket, England’s middle order was merely given much-needed time at the crease.
Bairstow hit Shadab Khan with consecutive straight sixes, and Harry Brook finished the match undefeated by clearing the ropes at 17 runs.
Last year, England’s 50-over World Cup title defence was a sorry one. They should feel more confident after this performance to keep the T20 edition.
