A massive 356 run chase proves too much for a fragile Pakistan batting line-up.

 By PakPassion.net Staff (21st November, 2015)

Result: England won by 84 runs, England 355/5 (50 ov), Pakistan 271/10 (40.4 ov)

Toss : England won toss and decided to bat

Teams: 

England Team
JJ Roy, AD Hales, JE Root, EJG Morgan*, JWA Taylor, JC Buttler†, MM Ali, CR Woakes, AU Rashid, DJ Willey, RJW Topley

Pakistan Team
Azhar Ali*, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Rizwan, Sarfraz Ahmed†, Anwar Ali, Yasir Shah, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Irfan

England innings: Entering the match in a must win position, Pakistan bowlers never threatened to cause jitters in the strong English batting line up. Roy and Root set up the platform in an important 2nd wicket stand of 140 before Jos Buttler launched his assault on generally innocuous Pakistan bowling. Buttler scored the fastest ever English century to help his team to a monstrous 355/5. Azhar Ali was the pick of the bowlers in an otherwise forgettable day for the Pakistan bowlers.

Fall of Wickets:

1-54 (Hales, 11.1 ov),
2-194 (Roy, 35.3 ov),
3-201 (Root, 36.4)
4-227 (Morgan, 40.2)
5-306 (Taylor, 46.6)

Pakistan innings: In pursuit of an improbable 356, Pakistan were off to flier with boundaries flowing in consistently. Azhar, Hafeez, Babar and Malik chipped in with healthy strike rates but no one stayed long enough to bother England. Pakistan maintained an unprecedented run rate throughout the chase but England chipped in with wickets at regular intervals to derail Pakistan's reply. Adil Rashid, often targeted throughout the series, managed to pick up 3 wickets as Pakistan's batsmen tried to cash on his inexperienced bowling. In the End, the spirited Pakistan batting effort was not enough to cover the damage caused by Pakistan's inconsistent bowling effort.

Fall of Wickets:

1-45 (Shehzad, 6.3 ov),
2-64 (Azhar, 8.4 ov),
3-129 (Hafeez, 18.6)
4-176 (Babar, 25.1)
5-194 (Rizwan, 27.2)
6-228 (Malik, 32.2)
7-249 (Sarfaraz, 35.2)
8-259 (Wahab, 36.1)
9-271 (Yasir, 38.4)
10-271 (Anwar, 40.4) 

Summary: Pakistan's often celebrated bowling up was put to test by England's determined and improved batsmen. Buttler's carnage was the perfect follow up after Roy and Root had established the platform. England, having wrapped up the series 3-1, will be looking at their future with lots of shine and hope and a win in alien conditions prove their ODI team is on a rise. Pakistan after winning the first match completely lost track and never looked like a winning unit. The rebuilding stage seems to be a never ending process and the ODI rankings does not allow Pakistan further leverage to experiment. It is time Pakistan make necessary changes in the team and personnel and get back to winning ways. Surely the coach and captain will have a lot to answer after such dismal all-round performances.

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