Jos Buttler’s 59 at the top of the order combined with 30s from Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone lifted England to 200. Pakistan top-order got starts but the England bowlers constantly chipped away with wickets and eventually restricted Pakistan to 155/9 to level the series.
After being put into bat, England lost a couple of early wickets. Imad Wasim dismissed Jason Roy and Dawid Malan in successive overs to peg England back (18/2). Pakistan had it under control for the first four overs before Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali went berserk. The fifth and sixth over of the innings yielded 19 runs each as England finished the powerplay with a score of 66/2.
The field spread out after six overs, but it didn’t matter. Ali kept going but he fell in the eighth over. He was out for a 16-ball 36 as Mohammad Hasnain got the breakthrough. Liam Livingstone came in and took over. He kept smashing it from the first ball, and Buttler continued in the same vein at the other end. He notched up his 14th T20I half-century. Hasnain was once again the man who got Pakistan the wicket as he got rid of Buttler.
Wickets tumbled after Buttler’s dismissal. Bairstow didn’t last long while Livingstone was runout for 38. The lower-order swung their bats around to push England’s score to 200.
In reply, Pakistan once again had a strong start. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan shared a 50-run stand for the opening wicket, but unlike the first T20I, both of them couldn’t convert their starts. Saqib Mahmood drew first blood for England as he dismissed the Pakistan skipper Azam. Once the powerplay was done, it was the England spinners who took control of the game.
Adil Rashid, Moeen Ali and Matt Parkinson combined to pick five wickets. Ali was taken to the cleaners in his first over, but he bounced back well. The leg-spinners bowled with control and gave nothing away. Saqib Mahmood complemented them well and took three wickets as well.
None of the middle-order batters for Pakistan couldn’t step up and drive the innings. Shadab Khan didn’t strike a few big shots towards the end, but it was too late. Pakistan fell 45 runs short as England levelled the series 1-1.
Brief scores
England 200 (Buttler 59, Livingstone 38, Ali 36, Hasnain 3/51, Wasim 2/37) beat Pakistan 155/9 (Rizwan 37, Shadab 36, Saqib Mahmood 3/33, Adil Rashid 2/30) by 45 runs.
