Commanding batting performances from Phil Salt and Jos Buttler helped England chase down the target quite easily, dashing the hopes of visitors to level the series as Haris Rauf's fiery spell and Usman Khan's cameo went in vain.

By PakPassion Staff (31st May, 2024)

England secured a seven-wicket victory over Pakistan in the fourth and final T20I of the series at The Oval on Thursday, winning the series 2-0. Both teams completed their preparations for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 with these two matches at The Oval and Edgbaston, while the games at Cardiff and Headingley were washed out.

Chasing a target of 158 runs, Jos Buttler and Phil Salt started aggressively, hitting the ball to all parts of the ground. The pair amassed 78 runs during the powerplay, with Salt striking five fours and two sixes, and Buttler hitting five fours and one six.

Haris Rauf dismissed Salt (45 off 25 balls, 6x4s, 2x6s) in the 7th over and Buttler (39 off 20 balls, 7x4s, 1x6) in the 9th over, but England was already cruising at 102-2 by the halfway mark. Rauf returned in the 11th over to remove Will Jacks with a searing yorker (20 off 18 balls, 1x4, 1x6), right after being hit for a six.

In the following over, Jonny Bairstow hit Shadab Khan for two consecutive sixes, maintaining the run rate. An unbeaten 46-run fourth-wicket partnership between Harry Brook (17 not out off 14 balls, 1x4, 1x6) and Bairstow (28 not out off 16 balls, 1x4, 3x6s) took England to victory with 27 balls remaining. Rauf was the sole wicket-taker for Pakistan.

Earlier, after England invited Pakistan to bat first, openers Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam put together a solid 59-run partnership, hitting eight fours and a six. Jofra Archer made the first breakthrough, removing Babar (36, 5x4s, 1x6) on the last ball of the powerplay.

In the seventh over, Adil Rashid bowled Rizwan (23 off 16 balls, 3x4s) out. England continued to take wickets at regular intervals as Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid dismissed Fakhar Zaman (9 off 9 balls, 1x6) and Shadab Khan (0 off 1 ball), leaving Pakistan at 84-4 at the halfway mark.

Azam Khan was out for a five-ball duck in the 11th over. Usman Khan played a brisk knock of 38 off 21 balls, hitting three boundaries and two sixes. Liam Livingstone bowled a double-wicket maiden, dismissing Usman and Shaheen Shah Afridi, leaving Pakistan struggling at 126-7 after 15 overs.

Iftikhar Ahmed (21 off 18 balls, 2x4s) and Naseem Shah (16 off 18 balls, 1x4, 1x6) helped Pakistan past the 150-run mark before England bowled them out for 157 in 19.5 overs. For England, Rashid, Livingstone, and Mark Wood took two wickets each, while Archer, Moeen, and Chris Jordan claimed one apiece.

England and Pakistan will now fly to the Caribbean and USA respectively to begin their T20 World Cup campaigns.