Twitter Reaction: Phil Salt shines as England hammer Pakistan to set up epic series finale

Philip Salt was named the player of the match for his breathtaking assault as England drew level in the seven-match series.

By Chaitanya Prakash

Updated - 30 Sept 2022, 23:36 IST

View : 1.6K
4 Min Read

England hammered hosts Pakistan in the sixth T20I at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, on Friday, the 30th of September, setting up a thrilling series finale. Philip Salt's breathtaking assault handed a comfortable victory to the visitors, who made a mockery of Pakistan's total of 169 runs.

Pursuing a series-leveling win, England started their chase like a house on fire as Alex Hales took the incoming Shahnawaz Dahani for 22 runs in his first over. The lanky opener fell in the fourth over of the innings, but not before providing England a blistering start with his explosive cameo of 27 off just half a dozen deliveries. 

Before the Pakistani bowlers could even take a breath of relief, Hales's opening partner Philip Salt, who hasn't had the best of time in the series, battered the home side with an exhilarating innings. The hosts were shell shocked after Salt's carnage, who registered his half-century in just 19 deliveries as England were almost halfway through the chase after the end of the powerplay.

The incoming Dawid Malan (26 off 18) played some lovely shots during his brief stay as the result was a foregone conclusion by the tenth over with England needing less than a run a ball to secure the win. Malan's wicket put a slight break in proceeding as the English batters refrained from taking unnecessary risks. England strolled past the finishing line with eight wickets in hand and more than five overs to spare.

Babar Azam becomes the joint fastest to 3000 T20I runs

Earlier in the match, Moeen Ali won the toss and continued the trend of chasing, putting the hosts to bat first on a sluggish track with dew in the forecast. Babar Azam's side had handed Mohamamd Haris a T20I debut in the match, who replaced the rested Mohammad Rizwan in the starting eleven. But the debutant's stay at the crease was cut short in the third over by Richard Gleeson.

In the absence of their run-scoring machine Mohammad Rizwan, skipper Babar Azam(87 off 59) stepped up his game by dropping anchor while the others played around him. Haider Ali and Iftikhar Ahmed contributed with handy cameos as their skipper kept rotating the strike in the middle overs. 

Once Babar got to his fifty, he put his foot on the accelerator as Pakistan finished with a more than competitive score of 169 runs, milking 28 runs in the last two overs of the innings. Sam Curran was at his mercurial best, scalping 2/26 in his four overs, while David Willey also contributed with two handy wickets.

Here is how Twitter reacted to England's comprehensive win in the sixth T20I:

Get every cricket updates! Follow Us:

Download Our App

For a better experience: Download the CricTracker app from the IOS and Google Play Store