LONDON – England won the toss and asked Pakistan to bat first, hoping toreduce them to yet another lower target.1st Innings: Pakistan Batting Steps Up
After a debacle in their opening game, Pakistan batsmen stepped up andplayed very sensibly. The opening partnership between Fakhar Zaman andImam-ul-Haq broke a 26-year-old record, which laid a nice foundation tobuild on.
Despite getting starts, the top three batsmen all lost their wickets toMoeen Ali. Fakhar Zaman was stumped whereas Babar and Imam tried to loftMoeen out of the park only to be caught near the boundary line.
At 199-3, Babar Azam and Mohammad Hafeez both kept the momentum going andultimately scored 63 and 84 runs respectively.
Sarfaraz Ahmed also made a vital contribution of 55 runs from just 44deliveries. Pakistan tailenders put up a decent fight and gathered someadditional runs for the Greens to push the total a little more.
Pakistan eventually scored 348-8 from their 50 overs.2nd Innings: Wahab Riaz Spoils Root & Buttler’s Efforts
Pakistan started off well as Shadab Khan dismissed Jason Roy in the 3rdover of the innings. His opening partner, Jonny Bairstow showed someresistance but he also returned to the pavilion thanks to Wahab Riaz’squick pace.
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England fans were in shock after Eoin Morgan and Ben Stokes both lost theirwickets cheaply to Hafeez and Malik respectively.
Struggling at 118-4, England needed someone to step up and theresponsibility was taken by Joe Root and Jos Buttler – who both made acentury but failed to see off the game.
Shadab Khan made the crucial breakthrough of securing Joe Root’s wicket andEngland lost their 5th wicket at 248 with Jos Buttler still at the crease,who was later dismissed by Mohammad Amir.
The stage was set up for Wahab Riaz to deliver and he did exactly that.Pakistan required wickets as England kept edging closer to the target andWahab Riaz got 2 wickets in 2 deliveries to put the tie back in Pakistan’sfavor.
This is Pakistan’s first victory in last 12 one-day internationals and one,which perhaps holds the most significance.
