Pakistan eye series win against England in second T20I

Overview

England vs Pakistan, second T20I
Headingly, Leeds
18 July, 02:30 PM local

After being whitewashed in the ODI series, Pakistan came roaring back in the first match of the T20I series with a thrilling 31-run win. The visitors looked the better side in all three departments, with Babar Azam leading from the front with the bat. With not long left for the ICC T20 World Cup, Pakistan will want to get into the groove for the big tournament and what better way to do that than bagging a series win against the top-ranked T20I team at their home.

Eoin Morgan has already said that England would be using this series to assess fringe players ahead of the World Cup and it seems he has found a gem in Liam Livingstone. With an abundance of T20 resources at their disposal, expect the home side to make a couple of changes in the bid to keep the series alive going into the decider.

Remember the last time

Records tumbled when the two sides faced off in the first T20I at Trent Bridge.

Put in to bat first, Pakistan recorded their highest score in T20Is, thanks to the foundation laid by Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan's 150-run opening stand. Sohaib Maqsood, Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Hafeez played handy cameos to propel the visitors to 232/6 in 20 overs. It was a nightmare in Nottingham for the English bowlers, with almost every single bowler bar David Willey going for more than 10 runs an over.

England's chase got off to a less-than-ideal start as they lost Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali in the Powerplay. Jason Roy took the attack to Pakistan with a 13-ball 32 but fell to Shadab Khan in the seventh over. Liam Livingstone hit the ground running and got to his fifty in just 17 balls, the fastest by an English batter. He then raced to his hundred in just 42 balls, breaking the English record for the fastest hundred.

Unfortunately, he found no support from the rest of the pack as Morgan (16) and Gregory (10) never really looked at ease. Once Livingstone fell the very next ball after getting his hundred, Pakistan ripped through the tail to bundle out the hosts for 201, thus registering a 31-run win. Shaheen Afridi was awarded the Player of the Match for his fiery spell of 3/30.

What they said

Eoin Morgan (England captain): "Moeen and Liam will be in the middle-order to try and score runs. Liam has taken full advantage of it today, opportunity will continue over the next two games. We don't have a lot of time between now and the T20 World Cup, so it's all about establishing the guys before the World Cup selection."

Babar Azam (Pakistan captain):"You need to change your mindset a bit. In the T20s, you need to take quick decisions, you have to remain positive and enjoy your game. We gave our 100% in all departments. We'll look to build on the momentum."