England won by 5 wkts
PLAYER OF THE MATCH : Eoin Morgan
Batter
Bowler
An international cricket match without rain intervention after a long time, that was really pleasing to see as a cricket fan. Pakistan have been good in patches, because when their batting has clicked, their bowling hasn't and vice versa. There's only one T20I left and the visitors still have a chance to level this series. Can they do that? Join us on Tuesday for the final encounter between England and Pakistan to find that out. On behalf of Akshay Maanay and Abhinand Raghavendran, this is NIkhil Jadhav signing off. Goodbye and take care!
Eoin Morgan, MoM: I have been the most productive in the last two years, that's great. I would like to continue doing the same. Today was an outstanding game, both the bowling teams found it tougher. Both sides haven't played T20 cricket for a while, so they might be rusty. They couldn't execute those yorkers, but that will get better. It's tough to bowl in the powerplay, especially when Babar plays well, he was in good touch today. All we are looking for is a slight improvement. Pleased with Malan's contribution, it's good to see him bat that way. Have played a lot with him while representing Middlesex, so we know each other well. You need to select from fifteen or sixteen, to nominate the best playing XI.
Babar Azam: We stuck to our plans while batting, but we couldn't bowl well. Credit to Malan and Morgan for the way they played. Got to learn a lot from the game. We need to guide the bowlers sometimes, so I'll try to sort that out. If your main bowler gets injured, the team struggles.
17:49 Local Time, 16:49 GMT, 22:19 IST: England go 1-0 up in the series as a result of a clinical batting performance. Bairstow couldn't really get going in the first T20I, but boy wasn't he in prime touch today! Along with Banton, the explosive opener had an exhilarating partnership at the top and that laid the platform for England's chase in the powerplay. England lost both the openers in quick succession, but Morgan and Malan made sure there were no further hiccups. Morgan attacked the bowlers right from the word 'go' and once the skipper departed, Malan with his finesse finished things off. Pakistan missed the likes of Mohammad Amir, who couldn't get back onto the field as he was out for a considerable period of time due to an injury. Shadab Khan was clearly the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan as he claimed three wickets. He could have had Morgan lbw too, but umpire's call came to the English skipper's rescue. Anyway, there's no room for ifs and buts in this sport, and with this loss, Pakistan are yet to get off the mark on this tour.
Shaheen Afridi to Malan, FOUR, Malan hits the winning runs as Shaheen Afridi feeds him with a full toss. Wide outside off and the left-hander creams it through the gap at cover-point. Walks towards his partner at the other end and gives him a high five. England beat Pakistan by 5 wickets with 5 balls to spare
Shaheen Afridi [3.0-0-40-0] is back into the attack
Lewis Gregory, right handed bat, comes to the crease
END OF OVER 19
11 Runs
ENG: 195 - 5
1 1 1 4 4 W
Sam Billings
10 (5)
Dawid Malan
50 (35)
Haris Rauf
4-0-34-2
Haris Rauf to Billings, out Caught by Fakhar Zaman!! What an anticlimax! With all that build-up, Billings fails to finish things off. Cuts the short ball but he finds the man at point. England need 1 run off the final over.. Billings c Fakhar Zaman b Haris Rauf 10(5) [4s-2]
Haris Rauf to Billings, THATS OUT!! Caught!!
Haris Rauf to Billings, FOUR, a baseball-like swing by Billings and scores are level! Haris Rauf bowls an overpitched delivery and the batsman has hammered it right over the bowler's head. Long-on had no chance, England need only 1
Haris Rauf to Billings, FOUR, relief in the England camp as Billings gets the boundary. Anticipates the slower one, shuffles in his crease and ramps it over short fine leg
Haris Rauf to Malan, 1 run, fifty for Malan! But his job is not done yet. Drives the fullish delivery through cover-point to bring up the milestone. This is getting much closer than we anticipated
Third man comes in..
Haris Rauf to Billings, 1 run, Haris Rauf isn't allowing them to do so, however. Nails his yorker around middle and leg, Billings has no other choice but to squeeze it out. Gets his bat down in time and flicks it through the leg side for one
England have six wickets in hand, so they need to try and finish it off it in this over itself..
Haris Rauf to Malan, 1 run, touch fuller around off and Malan square drives it through point for one
Run-a-ball 12 required
END OF OVER 18
6 Runs
ENG: 184 - 4
1 2 1 W 1 1
Dawid Malan
48 (33)
Sam Billings
1 (1)
Shadab Khan
4-0-34-3
Shadab Khan to Malan, 1 run, push-drives the legbreak into the gap at covers for a single
Shadab Khan to Billings, 1 run, drives the tossed up delivery to long-off as Billings opens his account
Sam Billings, right handed bat, comes to the crease