Hosts chased down 248 despite being 72/4 at one stage after Azhar Ali and Imad Wasim hit fifties for Pakistan.

By Abdullah Ansari (1st August, 2016)

Toss: Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat.

Teams:

England: JJ Roy, AD Hales, JE Root, EJG Morgan (c), BA Stokes, JM Bairstow (wk), MM Ali, DJ Willey, LE Plunkett, AU Rashid, CJ Jordan.

Pakistan: Sami Aslam, Sharjeel Khan, Azhar Ali (c), Babar Azam, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Nawaz, Imad Wasim, Hasan Ali, Umar Gul, Mohammad Irfan.

Pakistan Innings

Pakistan once again won the toss, and as in the first two ODIs, opted to bat. Pakistan made four changes as an injured Malik was replaced by Rizwan, while Irfan, Gul and Imad came in for Wahab, Yasir and a rested Amir. Sharjeel came out with his usual intent as he took on Chris Jordan's bowling and hit him into the stands, however, he did not last long as he tried to go over the off-side and skied it as he was dismissed for 16. Sami Aslam and Azhar Ali came together, and the innings came to a standstill as they struggled to get runs, specially the former. He was eventually dismissed after a 44-ball struggle for just 24 runs. Babar Azam once again got a bit of a start, but cut one from Moeen Ali that bounced a bit extra straight to backward point.

Sarfraz Ahmed hung around for a bit but the pressure mounted as England strung together some dot balls, and the wicket-keeper was dismissed as he tried, and failed to go over the top of mid-off. Azhar Ali got a move on in the meantime as he hit a couple of sixes. Mohammad Rizwan fell once again to leg-spin and didn't look comfortable in his short stay, after which Azhar was also dismissed as he tried to up the ante and was caught at the boundary for 80. Mohammad Nawaz didn't look very confident with the bat as he was soon dismissed. Imad Wasim, however, played very fluently in contrast to the rest of the Pakistan batsmen as he got to his third ODI fifty. He shared in a partnership of 56 with Hasan Ali, who made just 9 as Pakistan finished decently. Umar Gul came out and hit a six in the last over, as Pakistan finished at 247/8 with Imad 57*.

Fall Of Wickets

1-24 (Sharjeel Khan, 3.6 ov)
2-61 (Sami Aslam, 14.2 ov)
3-110 (Babar Azam, 22.4 ov)
4-136 (Sarfraz Ahmed, 29.5 ov)
5-152 (Mohammad Rizwan, 33.4 ov)
6-169 (Azhar Ali, 37.6 ov)
7-180 (Mohammad Nawaz, 40.5 ov)
8-236 (Hasan Ali, 48.5 ov)

England Innings

In contrast to previous matches, England were put under pressure early in the innings. Despite a couple of boundaries, Roy was out to Irfan as he edged one to slip, with Rizwan taking an excellent catch. The tall left-armer was given a couple of warnings for running onto the pitch, and resorted to bowling around the wicket. He soon had Hales as well, as he nicked one behind to Sarfraz. Irfan troubled the batsmen in the remainder of his spell as well, but bowled just five overs in it. However, he had a part to play in Root's wicket as he took the catch after a top-edge off Hasan Ali's bowling. Morgan looked troubled in his short stay as well, and was dismissed by Gul as he guided one, but it went straight to Sharjeel at slip, leaving England at 72/4.

The pressure was increasing on England, but Stokes and Bairstow weathered the storm, and the left-hander counter-attacked with good cricketing shots. Bairstow was firm at the other end and both batsmen got to their fifties. There was one close call for LBW against Stokes which wasn't given and a tough catch for Nawaz which was grassed. However, the partnership went on and passed 100. Pakistan face immense frustration as Mohammad Irfan was unable to come back for another spell, a major blow after he was the most threatening bowler in the initial stages. Stokes was dismissed for 69 as he went for a big shot after a few dots, getting caught at the boundary. Moeen Ali came in and showed no signs of allowing Pakistan a way through. Bairstow got to a fifty as well, but was run out for 61 by Azhar Ali. Moeen calmly guided England through to the close as he finished with a flourish, hitting Azhar Ali for a couple of sixes down the ground.

Fall Of Wickets

1-15 (Roy, 2.5 ov)
2-36 (Hales, 6.4 ov)
3-59 (Root, 11.2 ov)
4-72 (Morgan, 14.3 ov)
5-175 (Stokes, 34.1 ov)
6-225 (Bairstow, 44.2 ov)

Match Summary:

A better performance by Pakistan, but not good enough as England ultimately sealed a fairly comfortable victory. The batting was once again a problem with Sami Aslam struggling at the opening slot and Babar Azam again being dismissed after a start. The lower middle-order struggled as well, though Imad Wasim put up a good fight and showed his ability. The bowling was better and fields were more aggressive, but England were just a shade better once again. Mohammad Irfan's lack of fitness was a big blow as he severely troubled the English batsmen, but could not come back for a second spell. All that's left for Pakistan is to try and avoid a whitewash and regain some lost pride in the last match.

Next Game:

5th ODI at Cardiff, 4th September, 09:30 GMT.

Discuss!