Pakistan vs England 1st ODI Review: Pakistan gives Younus a perfect farewell with a comprehensive win

In what eventually became Younus Khan’s farewell match as an ODI player, Pakistan comprehensively beat England by 6 wickets, going one up in the four-match series. While Taylor and Morgan scored impressive fifties before the lower middle order collapsed, it was Hafeez’s century and Babar’s stroke-filled 62 which lead Pakistan to a relatively easy win.

Earlier, Eoin Morgan decided to bat first after winning the toss on what looked like a good batting wicket. But the batsmen gave the team a worst possible start, losing two wickets within the first  two overs. While Jason Roy was castled by an accurate delivery by Mohammad Irfan in the very first over of the match; lack of footwork from Root against Ali ended up costing his wicket, as he was trapped in front of the stumps.

Alex Hales, who witnessed these dismissals from the non-striker’s end, tried to take the attack onto the bowlers. But he too fell, trying to guide away a nothing ball outside off stump, only managing to edge it to the first slip. With the scorecard reading 14 for the loss of three wickets, England looked deeply in trouble.

But cometh the hour, and cometh the man. Eoin Morgan, who has been England’s pillar over the past 6 months in the shorter formats, did exactly what was expected from a captain. Just like Hales, he adopted the counter-attacking strategy, but unlike the opener he was quite successful at implementing it. His partner, James Taylor, was playing the perfect role of a sheet anchor. The bowlers who had started off wonderfully, erred in their line and lengths, and were punished by the batsmen for their inconsistency.

Eoin Morgan was at his impressive best, showing off his wide array of shots. James Taylor was not far behind, showcasing an exhibition of how to play spinners in spin-friendly conditions. The English were cruising, thanks to 100+ stand from the duo. Though Azhar Ali spilled a chance in the 31^st over, the Pakistanis did not have to wait for long for the breakthrough. Part-timer Shoaib Malik, who has time and again proved his credentials in the shorter format as a capable all-rounder, got the much-required breakthrough. Eoin Morgan was dismissed trying to drive the ball, only ending up edging it to the keeper. He failed to convert yet another 50 to a big score, and fell for 76.

It triggered an almighty collapse for the English batsmen. Buttler was dismissed run-out as he was caught short at the striker’s end. Taylor soon fell in a soft manner, and suddenly Pakistan were on top of the game, with the English team reduced to 157 for the loss of 6 wickets. Yasir Shah came to the party by dismissing Moeen Ali, thanks to a stunner from Babar Azam. Chris Woakes waged a lone battle in the middle, as the tail were getting cleaned up by an imposing Mohammad Irfan. Only David Wiley held up long enough to help England go past 200, even surviving a hit on the rib-cage from Riaz on the process. Woakes’ resistance came to an end after a good piece of work from the wicketkeeper, and English ended up with a modest 216 on board. Such was the quality of Pakistan’s bowling, that they did not give away a single boundary in the final 10 overs.

Pakistan, despite starting off on a positive note, were left reeling by an inspired Topley. He struck twice in successive overs to remove Ali and Bilal. The Pakistan were already two down for 15 runs, and in came Younus Khan. The veteran looked scratchy during his stay, and was eventually dismissed for 9. He received a warm reception while going back to the pavilion, but Pakistan were in a spot of bother, with the scorecard reading 3-41.

Hafeez and the in-form Shoaib Malik started to rebuild the innings. While Malik became the 9^th Pakistani batsman to score 6000 runs in ODIs, Hafeez continued his rich vein of form. He reached his 50 in style, pulling Moeen Ali for a maximum. The English spinners, meanwhile, were unimpressive and looked out of sorts against the Pakistani batsmen. But soon the English got the much-required wicket, as Malik fell to Ali trying to work the ball on the leg side. The scorecard read 4-114, the match still evenly poised.

Hafeez got a decent partner in the form of Babar Azam, who took it onto himself to attack the bowlers. Though he survived a close caught behind call earlier in the innings, his innings was embedded with some quality hits over the rope. The duo squeezed out the target with utmost ease towards the end. While Hafeez got a well deserved century, Babar scored his 2^nd ODI fifty. Hafeez deservingly scored the winning runs as Pakistan defeat England by 6 wickets.

Summary

A tale of two collapses can aptly summarise the English batting. Though a lot of positives can be taken from the captain’s and Taylor’s form. The bowlers, meanwhile, were decent enough, but just did not have enough score on the board to defend. As far as the Pakistani’s are concerned, a clinical all-round performance ensured that the team sent off the veteran Younus Khan with a victory.

Scorecard

England 216 all out ( Morgan 76, Taylor 60; Irfan 3-35)

Pakistan 217-4 ( Hafeez 102*, Azam 62*; Topley 3-26)

Mohd Hafeez if Man of the Match.