ICC World Cup 2019: Match 6, England vs Pakistan, Review – Unpredictable Men in Green do the unthinkable at Trent Bridge

Exactly what the ancestors say, never predict what Pakistan will be doing on the day, they will end up shocking you. After a horrendous display against the Windies, they chipped in with an outstanding performance with the bat and ball, powered by Mohammad Hafeez and Wahab Riaz, which saw the hot favourites go down surprisingly.

After so many struggles, Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman finally got going together to good effect. They went after Mark Wood initially but towards the end of the powerplay, their scoring rate came down a little. The duo eventually added 82 runs before both of them got dismissed around about in quick succession.

Pakistan’s innings gained real momentum when Babar Azam and Mohammad Hafeez took on the English bowlers in the middle overs. Adil Rashid couldn’t contain these batsmen and the others too failed to hit the right areas. Babar Azam completed a half-century and his partnership with Hafeez accounted for 88 runs in 12 overs. Azam was later dismissed for a 66-ball 63.

There was no respite for England even after that as skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed and Hafeez began to counter-attack. Hafeez upped the ante further after completing his fifty and fell just short of a hundred. He was dismissed for a sensational 62-ball 84 with Sarfaraz too completing a brilliant half-century.

Towards the end, there were many bits and pieces contributions which helped them tail to the 348-run mark. Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali picked up three wickets each for the hosts.

Buttler and Root register tons for the Three Lions

After losing Jason Roy early, Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow ensured they got to the end of the powerplay without losing any other wickets. Bairstow hit some lusty blows and was just about loosening up. But he was dismissed by some brilliant bowling from Wahab Riaz. They lost Eoin Morgan soon as well, which saw the English in some trouble.

Ben Stokes once again came in ahead of Jos Buttler but this time he couldn’t do much damage. Joe Root then was joined by Jos Buttler and this duo brought England right back in the game. The duo started off on a slow note and then got going beautifully to keep the required rate in check. Once they completed their half-centuries, it seemed like England were in complete command.

Joe Root was the first to complete his hundred and Buttler was beginning to accelerate his innings. Root fell right after his hundred but Buttler had the responsibility on his shoulders to take the game deep and close. He did so till the 45th over, where he got to his 100 but was dismissed off the very next ball to Mohammad Amir.

Chris Woakes tried his hand towards the end alongside a struggling Moeen Ali, but they couldn’t handle the fiery death bowling from Amir and Wahab Riaz. They could eventually manage 334 runs for the loss of nine wickets. Unpredictable Pakistan once again turned up to surprise the fans and they did provide a killer blow to England on the day.

Brief Scores

Pakistan: 348/8 in 50 overs (Mohammad Hafeez 84, Babar Azam 63; Moeen Ali 3/50)

England: 334/9 in 50 overs (Joe Root 107, Jos Buttler 103; Wahab Riaz 3/82)

Result: Pakistan won by 14 runs.

Man of the Match: Mohammad Hafeez

Points Table: