2nd T20: England clinch T20 series as Pakistan surrenders after nail-biter

Hosts fail to cross the line by three runs after stunning comeback assault by Afridi, Sarfraz

DUBAI/ KARACHI: Pakistan surrendered the three-match T20 series against England after another lack-lustre all-round show at the Dubai International Stadium in front of a packed ground that were gunning for a win.

Down and out and needing 47 to win off the last three overs, the game sprang into action after Shahid Afridi played some typically lusty shots out of the park.

Chasing a stiff target of 173 — that could have been the highest-ever chase in T20s in the UAE — the opening pair of Ahmed Shehzad (28) and Rafatullah Mohamand (23) added 51 runs in five overs to give the partisan crowd a real hope of a stunning chase.

Unfortunately though, the start was thrown away by some inept batting by the middle-order. Boom Boom Afridi brought his team back in contention with a scintillating eight-ball 24-run assault that brought Pakistan with in a striking distance. Afridi's knock included three sixes of one Chris Woakes over but he fell on the last ball of the same over.

Sarfraz Ahmed made 20 runs off 13 balls that included a lucky over-throw boundary that was deflected off his bat as he dived to make his ground in an attempt for a quick second run.

Pakistan needed 11 off the last over, which came down to four off the last ball. Anwar Ali who was on strike failed to connect sending thousands into stunned silence. England went into frenzied celebrations as they recorded an impressive win over their Asian rivals.



Earlier, England have set Pakistan a stiff 173-run target in the second T20 being played at the Dubai International Stadium.

Batting first after winning the toss for the second consecutive time, the tourists posted a score of 172 for 8 in their allotted 20 overs.

After a drab performance both with the bat and the ball, Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi made a superb comeback in the second T20I bowling a superb spell of four overs giving away only 15 runs and bagging three wickets to peg back England. He also became the leading wicket-taker in T20s with his performance in today's match surpassing off-spinner Saeed Ajmal.

Afridi dispatched for 33 runs in his four overs in the opening game of the series struck with his first ball today sending back Alex Hales for 11. Jason Roy also fell to Afridi’s nagging line and length; he was snaffled behind the stumps by Sarfraz Ahmed after a contribution of 29 runs.

James Vince who propelled England’s innings with a 41-run knock in the first game, played a crucial 38-run innings off 24 balls to set-up the imposing total, he was also dismissed by Afridi.

Wahab Riaz and Sohail Tanvir had forgettable spells with the ball as England surpassed their 160-run effort in the first game, the two left-armers had combined figures of two for 87 from their eight overs.

Pakistan made two changes to their eleven, the duo of Shoaib Malik and Ahmed Shehzad recovered from their injury and illness respectively to take the field in the must-win game for the hosts.

England rested their captain Eoin Morgan, bringing in wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler as the man in charge for the game today. Buttler scored a quick-fire 33 off only 22 balls.

(Full-match report: Emmad Hameed from Dubai)

Shahid Afridi: I want to congratulate England. This is very fast cricket. We should raise our fielding standard and our fitness standards. I just missed the chance to end the game for Pakistan. We have sometime before World Twenty20 so we need to work on our weak areas. I always say my performance is very important for the team.

Jos Buttler: Its a bit more stressful being a captain. We didn't win as fluently as we would have liked. Plunkett, Parry and Rashid bowled really well. For Woakes to come back for the last over after getting a beating from Afridi says a lot about him. It took me a little while to get me going today in batting. The combination is coming together nicely.

Man of the match Liam Plunkett: I tries to bowl some cutters and bowled it in the block hole and it did the trick for us.

Teams

Pakistan: Rafatullah Mohmand, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Sohaib Maqsood, Sarfraz Ahmed†, Shahid Afridi (C), Anwar Ali, Sohail Tanvir, Wahab Riaz.

England: JJ Roy, AD Hales, JM Vince, JE Root, JC Buttler*, SW Billings†, DJ Willey, CR Woakes, AU Rashid, LE Plunkett, SD Parry.



PAK 169-8 (20 overs)

DOT. Its a DOT. How can it be a DOT. It was Anwar and it was a DOT. Unbelieveable! Well-played England. They were the better team today and yesterday.

Another single taken. Anwar couldn't connect. Pakistan need a boundary now.

Single taken. Anwar on strike. Six off 3 now.

FOUR! Sohail swings and get a boundary square on leg side.



BOWLED! Sarfraz tries to sweep, chip instead gets his wicket rattled. 11 off 5 now. Pretty achieveable if Anwar turn his Colombo mode on.



Woakes for the ultimate over.



PAK 162-7 (19 overs)

Sarfraz goes for two. Throw comes and Pakistan get a bonus boundary off an over-throw.

FOUR! Square on leg from Sarfraz.

David Willey.



PAK 148-7 (18 overs)

OUT! Caught at short third man off an edge. Afridi has done the damage. Its up to Anwar and Sarfraz now.

Wide ball. That is what Afridi does to you! Pressure on Woakes!

Swing and a miss. Bowled outside off and Afridi misses it by an inch.

SIX! Full-toss and Afridi has cleared it over covers. No-ball too, IT IS A FREE-HIT!



SIX! Afridi is still alive and still booming. Nearly full and lodged over square leg.



SIX! Who cares who the bowler is? Its Afridi on strike. Over extra cover.



Woakes.



PAK 126-6 (17 overs)

FOUR! Afridi goes after Plunkett from the word go. Midwicket it is.



OUT! Shoaib Malik gives it his all but could only manage to reach the fielder at midwicket. Shahid Afridi is in now. This is make or break for him as a captain going into the 2016 World Twenty20.



Liam Plunkett.



PAK 118-5 (16 overs)

Nine runs off the over.

David Willey is back.



PAK 109-5 (15 overs)

OUT! Umar Akmal caught brilliantly by Buttler. The ball was going down the leg side. It seemed like it hit his pad only. Replay shows he didn't edge it. Unlucky for Umar! Sarfraz Ahmed join Malik now.



Liam Plunkett.



PAK 106-4 (14 overs)

SIX! Short ball and Malik waits for it. Dispatches it over long leg.

Parry in now.



PAK 95-4 (13 overs)

Two runs and an important wicket off the over.

BOWLED! Googly cleans up Sohaib Maqsood. He never seamed comfortable from the word go. Meanwhile, Umar Akmal has joined Malik.

Adil Rashid.



PAK 93-3 (12 overs)

OUT! Leading edge and it is an easy catch for the mid-off fielder. Hafeez departs after showing promise. Sohaib Maqsood walks in join Malik.



FOUR! Short and slow. Hafeez knows there is no one guarding the square leg boundary.



Liam Plunkett.



PAK 86-2 (11 overs)

FOUR! Bowled wide on leg. Hafeez sweeps it nicely past short fine leg.

FOUR! Shoaib Malik this time. Hit hard enough to beat the fielder at long-on.

Adil Rashid.



PAK 74-2 (10 overs)

FOUR! Hafeez goes dead straight with his shot.

SIX! Hafeez pulls a short ball over midwicket.

Parry again.



PAK 62-2 (9 overs)

Two runs and a wicket off the over. England have capitalised on the pressure set up by the spinners.

STUMPED! Rafatullah fails to inspire once again. Walks out and misses the ball by a mile. Shoaib Malik joins Hafeez.



Adil Rashid.



PAK 60-1 (8 overs)

Four runs off the over. The asking rate is climbing. Hafeez and Rafatullah need to step up on the gas.

Parry.



PAK 56-1 (7 overs)

Just two off the over. These overs will hurt Pakistan at the end.

Change of bowling. Adil Rashid is in.



PAK 54-1 (6 overs)

Just three off the over.

Woakes.



PAK 51-1 (5 overs)

STUMPED! Ahmed Shehzad beaten by a slower one. Shehzad advances down the wicket and misses the ball completely.



FOUR! Rafatullah lofts it towards midwicket. Short ball treated nicely!



Spin time! Stephen Parry is brought into the attack.



PAK 45-0 (4 overs)

SIX! Shehzad goes for the deep midwicket boundary. Picks it up from outside off. Cracker!



FOUR! Rafatullah hooks it towards fine leg.

Liam Plunkett is in now!



PAK 30-0 (3 overs)

FOURx2! Shehzad is on fire right now. Pakistan surely missed him up the order.

SIX! Shehzad is back. Receives it full and goes for the square leg boundary.



PAK 14-0 (2 overs)

FOUR! Rafatullah picks it from outside off. It was short and nicely dispatched straight.

Chris Woakes in for the second over with the new ball.



PAK 6-0 (1 over)

Six off the first over.

Ahmed Shehzad and Rafatullah Mohmand open the chase for Pakistan. David Willey has the new ball for England.



ENG 172-8 (20 overs)

FOUR! Same full-toss and same shot by Woakes. Pakistan do not learn EVER!



FOUR! Full-toss and swung square on the off-side. Woakes gets his team a much needed boundary.



Wahab Riaz to bowl the last over.



ENG 158-8 (19 overs)

OUT! Short ball swung towards long leg by Willey. Sohaib Maqsood catches it.



DROPPED! Sohail Tanvir puts a dolly down. The ball went up in the air for a long time. David Willey survives.



CAUGHT BEHIND! Liam Plunkett edges trying to attempt a slog.



Anwar Ali for the penultimate over.



ENG 151-6 (18 overs)

OUT! Caught behind Buttler. Trying the chip shot over fine leg but receives it on off side. Tries to hit in still and edges it to Sarfraz.



SIX! Short and hooked to the fine leg region by Buttler. That was a mis-hit.

FOUR! Buttler receives one wide on off and goes for the extra cover region.

Sohail Tanvir again.



ENG 139-5 (17 overs)

OUT! Umar Akmal with a smart catch at long-on. He catches it, tries to stop himself from falling into the boundary, throws it back and then catches it again easily. Sam Billings departs but England still have Buttler out there.



SIX! Stand and deliver from Billings. Over midwicket.



Wahab Riaz runs in.



ENG 130-4 (16 overs)

SIXx2! Jos Buttler is back and on fire.

 



Sohail Tanvir is in to bowl now.



ENG 114-4 (15 overs)

Five runs off the over.

Anwar Ali is back. Jos Buttler joins Sam Billings. Two master blaster out and Pakistan have an upper hand at the moment.



ENG 109-4 (14 overs)

OUT! Shahid Afridi is back. Pakistan are back. Vincent top-edges. Anwar Ali catches it at square leg. Afridi has crossed Saeed Ajmal as the leading wicket-taker in Twenty20s.



Shahid Afridi in for his last over.



ENG 106-3 (13 overs)

FOUR! Again Vincent goes on one knee and beats the deep midwicket fielder.

FOUR! This time Vincent opts for the slow sweep.

SIX! A classy strike over extra cover by James Vincent.



Shoaib Malik.



ENG 89-3 (12 overs)

Five off five and then a SIX off the last ball. Sohail Tanvir just got his hands to it but it was struck powerfully over long-on.

Wahab brought into the attack by Afridi. He wants wickets, a lot of them.



ENG 78-3 (11 overs)

OUT! Afridi involved again. Catches it at short midwicket. Powerful shot by Root and Afridi jumps to bag it safely. Malik strikes.



SIX! Jot Root goes down on one knee and clears midwicket.

Shoaib Malik and he starts with a yorker to Joe Root.



ENG 67-2 (10 overs)

No boundary off his over. Just four runs off it.

Shahid Afridi again.



ENG 63-2 (9 overs)

Just five runs off the over.

Shoaib Malik has been given the ball now.





ENG 58-2 (8 overs)

FOUR! That shot bisected the two fielders perfectly. Short ball, slog sweeped towards midwicket by Root.

Joe Root and James Vince on for England.

Ahmed Shehzad is on! Interesting choice by Afridi. That is why Shehzad was bowling in the nets today.



ENG 48-2 (7 overs)

OUT! Sarfraz fumbles and fumbles more and eventually takes the catch behind stumps. Roy attempted a big swing towards leg. Two for Afridi now. He is changing Pakistan's fortune by himself today!



Shahid Afridi in for his second over.



ENG 45-1 (6 overs)

FOUR! Jason Roy is showing an aggressive intent. Goes with a lofted shot towards midwicket.

Sohail Tanvir is back from round the wicket.



ENG 36-1 (5 overs)

FOUR! Wide on off and Vince goes with an elevated shot over covers.



LBW! Alex Hales dismissed off a quicker one. He departs for 11. James Vince comes in to join Roy.



Shahid Afridi is on now.

Goosebumps! #PAKvENG pic.twitter.com/4YVjT0udjH

— Emmad Hameed (@Emmad81) November 27, 2015

ENG 32-0 (4 overs)

SIX! Down the track and Jason Roy has hit this one flat over midwicket. Clean hitting, timed hitting from Roy.



Wahab Riaz has been brought into the attack.





ENG 22-0 (3 overs)

SIX! Jason Roy hits a 90 meter monster. Over midwicket for maximum.



Anwar Ali continues.



ENG 11-0 (2 overs)

FOUR! Over mid-off. Alex Hales showing his intent.



Sohail Tanvir in for the second over with the new ball.



ENG 4-0 (1 over)

Just four runs off the first over.

Anwar Ali will start the proceedings with the new ball. Jason Roy and Alex Hales are opening for England.



Jos Buttler came out for the toss instead of Eoin Morgan. The captain has been rested. He wins the toss and opts to bat first against Pakistan.



Malik and Shehzad in, Imran Khan Jr and Rizwan will sit out

BREAKING: Team manager Intikhab Alam confirms that both Malik and Shehzad to play today...Rizwan and Imran junior to be benched #PAKvENG

— Emmad Hameed (@Emmad81) November 27, 2015

Will Rafatullah justify his selection today?

Match Day - Second T20I #PAKvENG #DreamGreen pic.twitter.com/kLBOQYjyON

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) November 27, 2015

Will Lala pick up wicket today?

Match Day - Second T20I #PAKvENG #DreamGreen pic.twitter.com/ZIh7R3URpx

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) November 27, 2015

Sarfraz warming up

Match Day - Second T20I #PAKvENG #DreamGreen pic.twitter.com/KgQmNxacto

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) November 27, 2015

Afridi and his men warming up before the game

All fun and games...Wednesday night...How things change here. #PAKvENG pic.twitter.com/U7jkGRxavg

— Emmad Hameed (@Emmad81) November 27, 2015