At this point yesterday there was a hope that England could get a strong, early footing in this seven-match series after taking a low-scoring opening match by six wickets. However, Pakistan soon put water on that notion, restoring parity in the series with a decisive ten-wicket win. England were good with the bat, with an excellent 55* from captain Moeen Ali taking them to a score of 199 from their 20 overs. Tough chase for the hosts? Not a bit of it. Openers Mohammed Rizwan (88*) and Babar Azam (110*) started to toy with the English bowlers, timing their chase perfectly to reach the target with three balls to spare. The innings was a perfect symbiosis of devastating batting and controlled partnership building, with Rizwan and Azam showing a fearsome ability to keep up with a high required rate of over ten per over without taking any real risks. England had a chance to trap Rizwan in the sixth over, but Alex Hales couldn’t get stuck in a tight spot in the middle. For the tourists, the result would be a real blow to the confidence of a young team that was riding high after the first match of the series.
