PAK vs ENG: As Pakistan defeated England in a high-scoring match at the National Stadium in Karachi on Thursday (September 22), Babar Azam’s second T20I century (110* off 66, 11 fours, and 5 sixes) came in a record stand with Mohammad Rizwan’s (88* off 51, 5 fours, and 4 sixes). Pakistan’s victory tied the series against England.
England’s collective batting display was highlighted by Moeen Ali’s 23-ball fifty as they posted an impressive 199 for 5.
But the home team quickly reached their goal and won with three deliveries remaining thanks to the Babar-Rizwan stand, which was Pakistan’s first double century partnership and made them the first team to successfully complete a 200-run chase while keeping all of their wickets intact.
PAK vs ENG: The Pakistani openers got off to a quick start
Pakistan’s openers raised a half-century stand during the powerplay, giving them a strong start in the chase. Rizwan set the tone with two fours in the first over off David Willey, and after a sluggish start, Babar followed suit with two fours off Curran and a boundary off Luke Wood.
Taking over for Richard Gleeson, Liam Dawson began with an efficient over and should have also taken out Rizwan in the sixth over, but a backpedaling Hales managed to put down the catch.
After playing a pick-up shot off Willey earlier for a maximum, Rizwan went on to knock a six off the spinner, clearing the fence for the second time within the first six. By the time the powerplay was over, Babar had hit five fours and Rizwan had hit two fours in addition to the sixes, helping Pakistan quickly reach 59/0.
PAK vs ENG: Pakistan is pushed by Rizwan and Babar in the middle overs
At the halfway point of the innings, Pakistan was seven runs ahead of England and still had all of their wickets intact. A stumping opportunity that went begging as Salt missed catching the ball when Adil Rashid sailed beyond the outside edge spared Rizwan as well.
Rizwan went on to score his 18th T20I half-century in 30 balls, while Babar, who was at 38 off 31 at the time, reached fifty in 39 deliveries.
When Pakistan reached 151/0 after 15 overs, the equation changed to 48 off 30. Both batters then dealt in sixes, making the most of the conditions that had improved for the batters in the second innings.
PAK vs ENG: Babar bullies British bowlers
Rizwan had three more runs than the Pakistani captain when Babar hit his fifty in the 12th over. After that, though, Babar put on a show as he outran his opening partner. Babar became the first player from Pakistan to achieve two hundreds in T20Is in just 22 deliveries, slamming four sixes and three fours in his second fifty.
Babar added two more fours to his total, including the winning four, and Rizwan also hit a boundary as Pakistan easily reached their goal of 20 from the final two overs.
PAK vs ENG: England losses two wickets after a strong start
England got off to a strong start thanks to Alex Hales and Phil Salt, who both managed a few goals. England scored in every other over during the powerplay, with the exception of Mohammad Hasnain’s three-run opening over (he took over for Naseem Shah). There were a few sixes as well; Salt barely cleared the long-off boundary on a Mohammad Nawaz over, and Hales managed to edge a Hasnain delivery over the third-man barrier.
Despite not always having control over their shots, Hales and Salt managed four fours in a fast 42-run stand.
However, Pakistan made a strong comeback in the last powerplay over when Hales was bowled by Shahnawaz Dahani while attempting a pull and Dawid Malan was bowled around his legs. England reached 48/2 after six overs thanks to a four by Ben Duckett.
PAK vs ENG: England persists despite losing wickets
Pakistan attempted to suffocate the England hitters with spin from both ends on a surface that was on the slower side and had balls that kept low. However, Duckett had the tools necessary to deal with them, so he deployed the sweeps, reverse-sweep, and scoop to guarantee consistent bounds. After the powerplay, Salt slowed down at the opposite end and stopped adding to his total of boundaries.
Haris Rauf eventually defeated him, cleaning up for a 27-ball 30. Before becoming Nawaz’s lone victim, Duckett increased his total of fours to seven before deflecting a sweep onto the stumps to end a magnificent 22-ball innings for 43 runs.
As England amassed 85 runs with a scoring rate of more than 9 in the middle overs, Harry Brook smacked a six off Dahani and Moeen attacked Usman Qadir with a four and two sixes in the 15th.
PAK vs ENG: Moeen propels England to finish
Pakistan ultimately gave up 66 runs in the final five overs. Moeen and Brook each scored four runs in the 16th over, which also saw Brook hit an inside-out six over extra cover. Hasnain was eventually bowled out for 18 runs. A Rauf delivery was again top-edged over fine leg by Brook for another maximum before he was bowled out while attempting a reverse scoop.
In the 18th over, Moeen hit two fours off Dahani, one coming off each side of a catch by Khushdil Shah, while Sam Curran showed off some cunning shot-making by going across to a Rauf delivery and lapping it over short fine leg for a four.
Rauf, though, was the most efficient of the Pakistani bowlers, conceding only 30 runs in his four overs to claim the title of most economical. Moeen completed the innings with two sixes to reach his sixth T20I fifty, while Hasnain was the most expensive of the bunch, costing 51 runs overall, including 19 in the final over.
