England, touring Pakistan after almost 17 years, began their campaign on a rousing note, registering a commanding six-wicket win over the hosts in the opening T20I of the seven-match series, in Karachi on Tuesday.
Asked to bat first, Pakistan ended up with a below-par score of 158/7 despite having a good start, with Mohammad Rizwan being the top-scorer with 68 off 46 balls. In reply, England rode contributions from opener Alex Hales (53 off 40 balls) and Harry Brook (42 not out of 25 balls) to reach the target with four balls to spare.
England lost Phil Salt early in their chase, but with Hales, who returned to side after almost three years, going strong at one end and cameos from the middle-order — Dawid Malan (20) and Ben Duckett (21) — the visitors never lost sight of the target.
Start wasted
After England stand-in captain Moeen Ali, who was leading the side in place of the injured Jos Buttler, invited Pakistan to bat first, the spotlight was on the opening pair of captain Babar Azam and Rizwan.
The duo didn’t click as per expectations in the recent Asia Cup, where Pakistan finished runners-up. But the two of them looked determined to answer their critics and made their intention clear when together they cracked three boundaries in the third over of the innings, bowled by David Willey.
They didn’t really get the big hits but managed to find the gaps to put on 51 without loss in the six Powerplay overs. But the partnership was broken in the very next over when Adil Rashid crashed through Babar’s defence with a wrong one. It was yet another average outing for the outof-form Pakistan captain as he managed only 31 off 24 balls.
After the 85-run opening stand was broken, England put a leash on the scoring and Pakistan lost their rhythm. “The way we played the first Powerplay was great. After 10 overs, there was a swing of momentum, which you have to credit England for. We didn’t have enough big partnerships. Our batters need to step up,” Babar said at the post-match presentation.
Praise for bowlers
The boundaries dried up for Pakistan after the loss of the first wicket as the England bowlers put up a disciplined display. For the visitors, 27-year-old Luke Wood was the most successful bowler. The left-arm pacer finished with 3/24 on his T20I debut. Adil Rashid got two wickets, while Curran and Moeen got one each.
“Brilliant performance. We pulled the game back really well. A lot of praise to the bowlers who set it up nicely for our batters. Luke Wood and Adil Rashid were excellent,” Moeen said after the match.
Brief scores: Pakistan 158/7 in 20 ovs (Mohammad Rizwan 68; Luke Wood 3/24). England 160/4 in 19.2 ovs (Alex Hales 53, Harry Brook 42 n.o.). England won by six wkts.
