Pakistan vs England 1st T20 Review: England continues their winning streak against a clueless Pakistan

Pakistan vs England 1^st T20 Review: England continues their winning streak against a clueless Pakistan: English continued their dominance over Pakistan in the shorter format with a comprehensive victory in the 1st T20I at Dubai International Stadium. While Billings chipped in with a quick 53, captain Morgan ended up unbeaten at 45. The Pakistani batsmen, in response to chasing the set target of 161, never really got their act together, thanks to some insensible batting. The Pakistani tail wagged hard, but to no avail, as they fell short of target by 14 runs.

After winning yet another toss, Captain Eoin Morgan did the obvious by deciding to bat first. Though unlike what everyone expected, Morgan brought in inexperienced likes of Billings and Stephen Perry into the playing XI. The team started off in a disastrous way, losing 3 quick wickets. Hales, Roy and Moeen Ali perished in quick succession, all falling to moderate deliveries. Trying to hit the bowlers out of the park from the very first ball, the batsmen paid the price for playing one shot too many in a sluggish pitch. Anwar Ali and Sohail Tanvir were the main partners in crime as they bowled effectively to dismiss the top 3. At 19 for the loss of 3 wickets, the visitors were already in trouble.

(Also read: Pakistan v England, 1st T20I, Dubai – 5 Talking Points)

But Morgan and debutant James Vince pulled the team out of danger. The duo was sensible with their approach, going after the bad balls alone. The Pakistani bowlers were wayward and were duly punished when deserved. Riaz, who went for 15 in his first over, came back strongly as he dismissed the debutant Vince for 41. With just 6 overs left and 95 on board, a 150 seemed to be a par score for the visitors.

But a Billings blitzkrieg propelled the visitors to a tough 160. Billings reached his half century in just 23 balls. Morgan played a second fiddle to the man on fire. Billings was especially severe against Imran Khan Jr and Wahab Riaz. The task was cut out for the home team, with the batsmen having a tough job in their hands. Billings top scored with an explosive 53, Captain Morgan and debutant Vince chipped in with useful 40s

The Pakistani innings started off in an inauspicious fashion as just like their English counterparts, lost 3 wickets in quick succession. While Hafeez and Sarfaraz fell trying to increase the scoring rate, the debutant Rafatullah never really looked comfortable at the middle and perished for 16. Plunkett was impressive in his first game on tour, and Pakistan really needed a big partnership. The spinners Stephen Perry and Ali were into the action in tandem, and Maqsood looked in good touch. But his partner perished trying to hit Perry out of the park, only to see his bails being dislodged by Billings. Umar Akmal came into the crease, and the duo eased the pressure with some gutsy hits over the park.

The run rate was just above 6, and the home team had an outside chance of a victory. But a horrendous mix-up effectively ended their chances, as Umar Akmal was dismissed in a horrible mix-up. The captain Afridi failed to open his account as he fell on the second ball he faced. Billings notched up yet another stumping, as Ali dragged one wide outside leg to bag Maqsood. Within a span of one over, Pakistan were effectively out of the game, having being reduced to 75-7, with the required run rate creeping above 11.

The Pakistani tail started to wag hard, and this started to become a bother for the visitors, who almost had the match on their bags. Both the batsmen, Anwar Ali and Sohail Tanvir, played according to the merit to the ball, rather than trying to slog everything out of the park. The required run rate gradually reduced to a gettable 12, but Ali fell to Plunkett, with the former bagging 3 important wickets in the match. 47 was required off 4 overs, but a tight 17^th over from Plunkett kept things easier for England. Riaz looked to push Pakistan to a very unlikely victory with some lusty blows in the 19^th over. But Topley eventually ended the little resistance, with that, Pakistan’s chance of gaining an unlikely victory was blown away. The visitors won the first T20I by 14 runs and move one up in the series.

Scorecard

England 160/5 ( Billings 53, Morgan 45*, Tanvir 2-31)

Pakistan 146 ( Maqsood 24, Tanvir 25*, Plunkett 3-21)

Sam Billings is awarded Man of the Match for his 25-ball 53 runs.

England won the 1st T20I and lead 3-match series 1-0. Follow the Pakistan v England T20I series live, Watch the live streaming at Cricketgateway.com