When England won the second faceoff between of the 3-match T20 series against Pakistan, the fans geared up for a thrilling series decider in the third and final match of the series and the two teams did not disappoint their fans. In the final match being played at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground, England made an astonishing comeback to win the series despite having lost the first match. However, it was anything but a one-sided match and offered lots of surprise elements.
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Having won the toss, Pakistan elected to bat first. Captain Babar Azam failed to impress as Mohamad Rizwan’s opening partner as he departed early after making 11 runs in 13 deliveries. The ones who replaced Babar Azam weren’t any better and Pakistan’s batting order was a one-man show led by Mohammad Rizwan. The Pak wicket-keeper played an unbeaten knock of 76* of 57 and almost single-handedly scored more than half of Pakistan’s total runs. Fakhar Zaman played a good cameo in between (24 off 20) but failed to find a closure. At the end, Pakistan managed to put up a target of 155 for England.
Coming in to chase, England got just the start they needed. Openers Jason Roy and Jos Buttler went full throttle from the very first ball and gave England’s batting unit a good platform to build upon. The partnership of Jason Roy (64 off 36) and Jos Buttler (21 off 22) did wonders for the English side and added up to their confidence. Coming in at no.3, Dawid Malan picked up from where Jos Buttler left and played a brilliant cameo of 31 off 33 to almost guarantee England’s win.
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However, England lost a number of wickets in quick succession after that and their middle order looked shaky. However, they somehow managed to reach the target with 2 balls to spare and won the match and with it, the series
The best moment from England’s innings, however, has to be Jos Buttler’s fearless reverse sweep that he played against Usman Qadir in the first ball of the 6th over. The shot that went for a boundary, unnerved the spinner completely as Jos Buttler clearly got the better of him. England Cricket Board shared a slip of the shot on their Social media handles with the caption ‘Outrageous’. It got viral in no time.
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