ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: Pakistan trump nervy England

SOUTHAMPTON: Pakistan bounced back from a humiliating defeat in their opening match against the West Indies, as they stunned England by 14 runs in a keenly-fought encounter at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Monday. 

Chasing a stiff target of 349 runs to win, England were given hope with Jos Buttler (103) and Joe Root (107) scoring centuries each. But the pressure of asking rate got the better of hosts, as they lost wickets at regular interval.

For Pakistan, it’s a timely boost after a thumping defeat on Friday last.

Earlier, batting first-Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam and Sarfaraz Ahmed scored the fifties as Pakistan scored 348 for 8.

Having failed with the bat in their previous game, Pakistan had a point to prove as they took on England in the second match of the World Cup and their openers—Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq—set the tone.

While England tried to test them with the short-pitched deliveries, the left-handers were up to the task. The two played their shots and did not let England bowlers to have an upper hand as Pakistan zoomed to 69 after 10 overs, with Fakhar scoring 31 from 26 balls and Imam adding 30 runs in 34 deliveries.

However, England managed to end the 82-run opening stand, after keeping the things tight from the 10th-14th over, conceding just 15 runs, as Jos Buttler’s brilliant work, off Moeen Ali’s bowling, behind the stumps caught Fakhar short of his crease.

Chris Woakes then, fielding in the deep, covered the ground and took an excellent catch, diving sideways, as Moeen scalped his second wicket, dismissing Imam for 44.

Imam perished in the 21st over and England had a chance to land another blow in the 25th over. But Jason Roy, fielding at long-off, dropped an easy catch off Adil Rashid’s bowling as Babar, then batting on 29, got a reprieve.

The Pakistani right-hander made a good use of the life and brought up his 14th ODI fifty. He and Hafeez put on an 88-run stand. However, like the openers, Babar missed out on a chance to score big as Moeen once again rescued England with a wicket. The Pakistani right-hander got out for 63.

Hafeez, meanwhile, brought up his half-century, his 39th in ODIs as he and Sarfaraz kept the scoreboard ticking. While there were not too many quick singles or doubles, the two did not miss out on hitting fours at regular intervals as Pakistan moved past 250 in the 40th over.

The Sarfaraz-Hafeez duo added 80 runs together. But just when it looked that the two will take the game away from Pakistan, Woakes took another fine catch, this time off Mark Wood’s bowling, to dismiss Hafeez. 

Hafeez’s dismissal though did not slow down Pakistan as Asif Ali, who replaced Haris Sohail in the playing XI, and Sarfaraz, who notched up a fifty, took Pakistan past 300 in the 46th over.

SCOREBOARD:
Pakistan Innings: Imam-ul-Haq c Woakes b Ali 44 (58b, 3x4, 1x6), Fakhar Zaman st Buttler b Ali 36 (40b, 6x4), Babar Azam c Woakes b Ali 63 (66b, 4x4, 1x6), Mohammad Hafeez c Woakes b Wood 84 (62b, 8x4, 2x6), Sarfaraz Ahmed c & b Woakes 55 (44b, 5x4), Asif Ali c Bairstow b Wood 14 (11b, 1x6), Shoaib Malik c Morgan b Woakes 8 (8b), Wahab Riaz c Root b Woakes 4 (2b, 1x4), Hasan Ali not out 10 (5b, 1x6), Shadab Khan not out 10 (4b, 2x4).

Extras: 20 (b 1, lb 8, w 11). 
Total: 348/8
Fall of wickets: 1-82, 2-111, 3-199, 4-279, 5-311, 6-319, 7-325.
Bowling: Chris Woakes 8-1-71-3, Jofra Archer 10-0-79-0, Moeen Ali 10-0-50-3, Mark Wood 10-0-53-2, Ben Stokes 7-0-43-0, Adil Rashid 5-0-43-0. 

England Innings: Jason Roy lbw b Shadab Khan 8 (7b, 2x4), Jonny Bairstow c Sarfaraz Ahmed b Wahab Riaz 32 (31b, 4x4, 1x6), Joe Root c Mohammad Hafeez b Shadab Khan 107 (104b, 10x4, 1x6), Eoin Morgan b Mohammad Hafeez 9 (18b, 1x4), Ben Stokes c Sarfaraz Ahmed b Shoaib Malik 13 (18b, 1x4), Jos Buttler c Wahab Riaz b Mohammad Amir 103 (76b, 9x4, 2x6), Moeen Ali c Fakhar Zaman b Wahab Riaz 19 (20b, 1x4), Chris Woakes c Sarfaraz b Wahab 21 (14b, 1x4, 1x6), Jofra Archer c Wahab Riaz b Mohammed Amir 1 (2b), Adil Rashid not out 6 (5b, 1x4), Mark Wood 6 (5b, 1x4).
Extras: 8 (lb 3, w 5). 
Total: 334/9. 
Fall of wickets: 1-12, 2-60, 3-86, 4-118, 5-248, 6-288, 7-320, 8-320, 9-322.
Bowling: Shadab Khan 10-0-63-2, Mohammad Amir 10-0-67-2, Wahab Riaz 10-0-82-3, Hasan Ali 10-0-66-0, Mohammad Hafeez 7-0-43-1, Shoaib Malik 3-0-10-1.