On a frenzied, boisterous night in Birmingham, Pakistan threw all in their might but still could not avoid the ignominy of getting clean-swept by a second-string England squad. James Vince’s stunning century, along with 69-ball 77 from Lewis Gregory, helped England ease past the target.
Babar Azam led from the front, playing an entertaining knock of 158 to propel Pakistan to 331/9. He was helped on the way by Imam-ul-Haq (56) and Mohammad Rizwan (74).
Earlier, Ben Stokes won the toss and invited Pakistan to bat. For the third time in a row, Saqib Mahmood drew the first blood, getting rid of Fakhar Zaman for 6.
That brought Babar out in the middle. He took 15 balls to get off the mark. Both he and Imam-ul-Haq maintained composure, not taking any unnecessary risks. They reached 100 by the end of the 24th over. Imam reached his fifty before getting bowled by one that Matt Parkinson turned by the proverbial mile.
With Rizwan at the other end, Babar started scoring freely, hitting even a couple of sixes. He cut Mahmood through point to bring up his hundred. Rizwan kept scoring at a rapid pace, reaching 50 in just 42 balls.
Rizwan’s dismissal did affect the fluency of the innings. Pakistan lost a flurry of wickets after that, though Babar stayed till the last over. He made 158.
Hasan Ali then struck in his first over, inducing an edge off Dawid Malan, who walked back for his second successive duck. But that didn’t make Phil Salt curb his attacking instincts.
Salt dealt in boundaries, hitting seven fours en route to his 22-ball 37. He fell when an attempted pull fell into the safe hands of Fakhar Zaman at the mid-wicket.
Zak Crawley (39 off 34) became Haris Rauf’s second victim. England were 104/3 at this point. As wickets fell regularly, Vince not only held the innings from one end but also ensured that the asking rate doesn’t go off the radar. He made 102 in 97 balls to keep England in the hunt. He was well assisted by Gregory.
England still needed 29 runs in 35 balls when Gregory’s dismissal reduced them to 303/7. But Craig Overton and Brydon Carse did well to hold their nerves and take England past the finishing line, with two overs remaining.
Brief Scores: Pakistan 331/9 in 50 overs (Babar Azam 158; Brydon Carse 5-61) lost to England 332/7 in 48 overs (James Vince 102; Haris Rauf 4-65) by 3 wickets with 12 balls to spare. Player of the Match: James Vince.
England won the series by 3-0. Player of the Series: Saqib Mahmood.