Published: Sep 04, 2016, 11:09 PM (IST)
Edited: Sep 05, 2016, 12:24 AM (IST)
Pakistan successfully chase 303 down in the fifth One-Day International (ODI) agaist England to win the match by four wickets. Sarfraz Ahmed and Shoaib Malik scored superb fifties to ensure that Pakistan got home comfortably in the end. Pakistan started off their chase in a slow manner with Sharjeel Khan and Azhar Ali opening the innings fr them. Sharjeel loking to clear mid on, was dismissed for 10, ensuring Pakistan’s poor opening stand in the series continues. Babar Azam then walked in at No. 3 and immediately got into the grove. He got off the mark with a delightful cover drive to the fence and kept the scoreboard ticking. Azhar at the other end too was going at a decent pace and the duo looked set to build a solid partnership. But a peach of a delivery from Mark Wood, saw Azam’s wickets uprooted and he had to walk back for 31. Full Cricket Scorecard: Pakistan vs England 5th ODI at Cardiff
Things got worse for Pakistan as Azhar was caught behind off Wood a few moments after Azam’s dismissal. He fished at a ball short and wide and managed to snick it to the ‘keeper. The on-field umpire did not initially give it out, but had to change his decision after the third umpire asked him to, following England’s review. Wood was once again the wicket-taker and his two wickets off the 14th over had given England back their initiative. Pakistan vs England, 5th ODI, Full Updates
Pakistan had two new batsmen at the crease in the form of Shoaib Malik and wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed. They had to start all over again and get Pakistan to a god position. The required run rate at this stage was well over six and any further slip up by Pakistan will see them staring down at the barrel.
Sarfraz and Malik took on the debutant Liam Dawson and were always on par with the required run rate. Sarfraz and Malik got to their fifties at better than run-a-ball and their partnership was growing from strength to strength. The England bowlers toiled hard, but failed to break this partnership. Sarfraz and Malik looked extremely comfortable throughout their innings, which says a lot about them, considering they came out to bat after Pakistan had lost Azhar and Azam in quick succession.
The partnership was broken by Liam Dawson, who was brought back into the attack after going at over 10 an over in his first four overs. Sarfraz, looking to sweep, top-edged the ball and Alex Hales running back from mid-on completed a tricky catch. Sarfraz and Malik put on 163 off just 143 deliveries, which put Pakistan in the driving seat.
Dawson again struck in his very next over, this time getting rid of Malik for a 80-ball 77. Malik had already scored a six in the previous ball and in an attempt to do it again, he found Jason Roy at long off. Things went from bad to worse for Pakistan as Mohammad Nawaz was run out from a direct hit from Jonny Bairstow. Pakistan still needed 37 off 46 at that stage with four wickets in hand.
Imad Wasim then walked in, not having been dismissed in his previous three innings in the series so far. He needed to do it with the bat again. Just like Ben Stokes was earlier in his innings Rizwan too was hit in the “box” off wood in the 46th over. There was rain around the corner, but with just over three overs to play, umpires decided to carry on.
Imad and Rizwan played a calm innings to ensure that Pakistan won the match and registered their first win of the series, much to the relief of the players and the fans.
Earlier England rode on fifties from Jason Roy and Ben Stokes to make 302 for 9 in their 50 overs. The pick of their Pakistan bowlers were Hasan Ali and Mohammad Aamer, who finished with figures of 4 for 60 and 3 for 50 in their 10 overs respectively. There were a couple of good partnerships during the England innings. Roy and Stokes put on 72 for the fourth wicket. Then, Bairstow and Stokes joined hands – just like they did in the fourth ODI – and put on 55 for the fifth wicket.
Pakistan were excellent in the final 10 overs, where they picked up four wickets and gave away just 58 runs. That was perhaps the turning point in the match. That gave Pakistan the momentum going into the break.
It was Pakistan, who had won the toss and elected to bowl first. Both teams have made a change in their side. England have decided to hand an ODI debut t spinner Liam Dawson and also Mark Wood finds returns to the playing XI as well along with Chris Woakes. They have taken the places of Moeen Ali ,Adil Rashid and Liam Plunkett. Pakistan on the other hand have roped in experienced all-rounder Shoaib Malik in place of Sami Aslam and as a result, we could see Azhar Ali open the innings with Sharjeel Khan. England already had an unassailable 4-0 lead in the five-match series, going into this match. They will play a one-off T20I against Pakistan in a few days.
Pakistan’s series loss against England leaves them with a lot of work to do in the upcoming series if they are to qualify for the ICC World Cup 2019. They are currently ranked ninth in the ICC ODI rankings and with the series against West Indies and Australia coming up, they will have to win the series by as big a margin as possible.
Brief Scores:
England 302 for 9 in 50 overs (Jason Roy 87, Ben Stokes, 75; Mohammad Aamer 3 for 50, Hasan Ali 4 for 60) lost to Pakistan 304 for 6 in 48.2 Overs (Shoaib Malik 77, Sarfraz Ahmed 90; Mark Wood 2 for 56, Liam Dawson 2 for 70) by 4 wickets
Man of the match: Sarfraz Ahmed
Man of the series: Joe Root
