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Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan combined to help Pakistan win an exhilarating encounter at Trent Bridge in spite of Liam Livingstone’s first international century.
Off the back of a 179-run partnership in the final ODI fixture at Edgbaston, the Pakistan duo continued their great form to register the tourist’s second-highest partnership in the T20 format.
Despite both players going on to score more than 60 runs with strike rates above 150, it was a somewhat subdued start from the opening pair.
With Rizwan scoring at a run a ball by the end of the eighth over, it took until the 12th for Pakistan to hit the first of their 12 maximums.
Although, by then, Azam had already brought up his 19th T20I half-century off 35 balls which provided a solid base for his side to push on from.
That 12th over, which was bowled by Matt Parkinson, signalled a change in Pakistan’s intent with both batsmen hitting slog-sweeps for six.
After just 8o runs from their first 10 overs, Azam’s side smashed 152 from the second half of their innings with England’s attack lacking the experience of Chris Jordan, Mark Wood and Adil Rashid.
Lewis Gregory would finally break the partnership with Rizwan feathering into the hands of Jonny Bairstow for 63.
The skipper would soon fall too. Following the dismissal of Sohaib Maqsood for a quickfire 19, Azam tickled David Willey’s wide-yorker to Bairstow on 85, but umpire David Milns remained unmoved which saw ultra-edge provide the evidence that was required for Milns to change his decision following a review from Eoin Morgan.
Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Hafeez’s partnership should not go unnoticed either, with 46 runs coming off just 10 balls to propel Pakistan into a position of almighty strength. Zaman even smashed Mahmood for 21 runs off his third over.
Mahmood would have the last laugh though after Zaman’s mistimed slog was caught out at mid-on.
232 was the final total with those 12 sixes being the most Pakistan have hit in a T20I fixture. You could argue that the Trent Bridge pitch was an easy one to score runs on, especially with the short boundaries, but the tourists deserve all the praise they will receive with England’s young guns looking slightly confused as to where they should bowl after being smashed.
However, Tom Curran will come away with credit. The Surrey man has endured a difficult time as of late, but he bowled maturely which was admired and stuck to his length which dismissed Hafeez with a perfect yorker.
If any side could chase this total down, it would be England who had the likes of Jason Roy, Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Livingstone, Morgan, Curran and Willey returning.
Dawid Malan’s poor run continued with the ever-impressive Shaheen Shah Afridi taking a terrific catch off his own bowling to dismiss the Yorkshire batsman for one and leave England at 12-1.
Roy and Bairstow added 30 runs in just 12 balls but failed to build a similar partnership to one they usually do in ODI games.
Bairstow was out for just seven after top-edging into the hands of Imad Wasim off the bowling of Afridi who had two early wickets.
Ali’s dismissal then came with a portion of comedy. After the Worcestershire all-rounder sent a shot towards cow-corner, Haris Rauf took an impressive diving catch before colliding heavily with Maqsood. However, Rauf somehow managed to keep the ball in his grasp whilst both players, fortunately, escaped injury.
In came Livingstone with England having lost three wickets after just five overs, and he was fortunate not to be out in single figures with Mohammad Hasnain parrying a catching opportunity over the third-man boundary.
He would not look back from there and dismissed anything that was under-pitched into the Fox Road Stand as the hosts had no problem with their scoring rate.
Roy would not be able to follow suit though as he sliced into the hands of Azam at deep-point for 32 to leave England at 82-4.
Livingstone displayed his repertoire of shots to bring up 50 as he hit Khan back down the ground twice in the same over.
Morgan has struggled for form in recent times and was next to fall after failing to beat Rauf at deep-square-leg which left his side with only one recognised batsman to support Livingstone.
Everything off Livingstone’s bat was finding the rope though, as he edged over third-man when approaching the nineties.
There was no time for nerves once he got there too, another straight crunching drive took Livingstone from 91 to 97 whilst an identical shot took him to 100 and the fastest ever T20I century from an Englishman.
Despite such an achievement, the celebrations were fairly muted from the Lancashire all-rounder who recognised that he still had a massive job on his hands to chase down Pakistan’s score.
That job was an even tougher one when Lewis Gregory was caught at long-on after attempting a Livingstone-Esq slog.
Khan would then deliver the fatal blow. It was ultimately a case of one shot too many from Livingstone, who picked out Afridi at long-on as Gregory had done earlier for a marvellous 103 off just 42 deliveries.
50 runs off 2.2 overs was the requirement, and despite David Willey’s best efforts, it was never a likely chase with just three wickets remaining.
Afridi would bring the innings to a close by bowling Parkinson with a devastating yorker to claim his third wicket in what was another impressive performance from a player who continues to perform beyond his years.
The 21-year-old would pick up the Man of the Match award which was arguably a surprise given Rizwan and Azam’s exploits.
A special mention should go to another Pakistani young bowler too. Mohammad Hasnain’s economy of just seven was the lowest of any bowler and vital in restraining England’s explosive lineup with the exception of Livingstone.
After suffering a series whitewash against a second-string England team, this victory should prove to be a major confidence boost even with a positive showing last time out.
From Livingstone’s point of view, he has done all he possibly can throughout his short international career to win a place in the T20 World Cup squad. His innings was a truly remarkable one and Morgan has a selection headache if he did not previously.
The series is now delicately poised with England needing a win at Headingley on Sunday, but Pakistan will be determined to pull off a series win of their own.
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