England took an unassailable 2-0 lead with a thumping 52-run victory over Pakistan at Lord’s, on Saturday. In a rain-marred affair, the match was reduced to 47 overs a side, and England could only set up a target of 247 on the board.
Phil Salt and James Vince starred with fifties before an all-round bowling performance sealed the victory for them. Pakistan were bowled out for 195 in 41 overs. Lewis Gregory picked up three wickets, while Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton and Matthew Parkinson got a couple of wickets apiece.
Pakistan’s decision to bowl first was vindicated early in the game. David Malan and Zak Crawley, architects of the first win, could not even open their account at Lord’s. Malan edged to Shadab Khan at the second slip, while Crawley was beaten through the gate by Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Phil Salt and James Vince steadied the innings, adding 97 for the third wicket. They kept the scoreboard ticking, smashing as many as 18 boundaries between them. Salt brought his maiden ODI fifty with an unconvincing boundary: he tried to push towards point but got a thick outside edge.
Two balls later, Vince notched up his fifty as well. The partnership was finally broken when Salt was dismissed by Saud Shakeel. Hasan Ali then struck thrice inside two overs to reduce England to 160/7.
But Lewis Gregory and Brydon Carse resisted. They forged a 69-run partnership to take England to 247. Hasan Ali finished with five wickets to his name.
Pakistan got off a terrible start, losing both Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam by the fifth over. Gregory induced an outside edge off Imam with the first ball, while Babar was trapped lbw by Saqib Mahmood on 19.
Mahmood struck again in his opening spell to get rid of Mohammad Rizwan. Pakistan were 36/3 at this stage. Soon, Fakhar Zaman’s agonising stay, where he made 10 in 45 balls, came to an end. Craig Overton nailed his stumps with nip-backer.
Shakeel offered some resistance, but none of his colleagues was able to provide support. He made 56 before Parkinson got the better of him to reduce Pakistan to 192/9. The last pair added three.
Brief Scores: England 247 in 45.2 overs (Phil Salt 60; Hasan Ali 5-51) beat Pakistan 195 in 41 overs (Saud Shakeel 56; Lewis Gregory 3-44) by 52 runs. Player of the Match: Lewis Gregory