ENG vs PAK: 2nd T20I – Morgan-Malan lead England to a thumping victory
England chased down Pakistan’s total of 196 with five balls and five wickets to spare at the Old Trafford, Manchester. The surreal effort was powered by brutal hitting exhibited by Dawid Malan and captain Eoin Morgan. The duo added 112 runs for the third wicket in just 62 balls to gain a 1-0 lead for England in the three-match T20I series. Morgan was adjudged the man of the match for his splendid knock of 66 from 33 balls. Here’s how the match unfolded.
Babar Azam’s classic beginning
Inserted to bat first by England, world’s number one T20I batsman Babar Azam was off to a quick start with a boundary on the first ball of the match. Azam then adopted the anchor role while his opening partner Fakhar Zaman stepped up with his attacking approach. Zaman struck a quick-fire 36 from 22 balls and even his partner did not miss out on any boundary ball that came his way. The duo added 72 runs for the first wicket. Azam went on to complete another fifty in T20 and eventually fell for 56 off 44 balls with seven fours.
The professor muscles a few
FIFTY for @MHafeez22. What a knock ?#ENGvPAK pic.twitter.com/lggR02615j
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) August 30, 2020
The move of sending Mohammad Hafeez at number three did not please many Pakistani fans as Hafeez is known as someone who takes his time at the crease. However, the professor was in a different mode in this game. He crunched a six over deep square leg to bring up his 2000 runs in T20I cricket. With Shoaib Malik at the other, Hafeez took the aggressive route and bashed the English bowling without fear. His entertaining knock kept the Pakistani run rate soaring above. Hafeez’s enterprising innings of 69 runs came off just 36 balls and it included 5 fours and 4 sixes. He fell on the penultimate ball of the Pakistan innings. His contribution helped Pakistan post 195 for 4 in their 20 overs.
Banton and Bairstow get going
Jonny Bairstow, who fell in the first over in the last match, decided to make amends in this outing. The wicketkeeper-batsman was off to a quick start with a flurry of boundaries. The opening pair decided to counter the Pakistani spinners with sweep shots. Tom Banton pulled off a reverse sweep on the bowling of Imad Wasim for a six. England made the most of their powerplay overs as Banton and Bairstow added 65 runs in the first six overs. The leg-spinner Shadab Khan turned around things for Pakistan in the very next over as he dismissed both the set batsmen within two balls to put England on the back foot.
Malan and Morgan put up a show
14th IT20 fifty for the skipper ?
Live clips: https://t.co/jbQgZsoeXk#ENGvPAK pic.twitter.com/tHPZKw86xZ
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 30, 2020
Captain Morgan was in no mood to concede any ground to the visitors. The English captain launched a ferocious onslaught of clean hitting as it rained sixes and boundaries. Making use of his nimble footwork, he slammed exquisite sixes and found non-existent gaps. His stormy knock off 66 runs came off just 33 balls which included 6 fours and 4 sixes. After Morgan’s fall, Dawid Malan took up the reins. The left-hander completed his own half-century and guided England to the 5-wicket win. He remained unbeaten on 54 runs. Shadab Khan was the most successful Pakistani bowler on the show, he ended up picking three wickets while conceding 34 runs.
These two teams will meet each other again on Tuesday, 1st September to conclude the three-match T20I series.
