KARACHI: Pakistan speedster Haris Rauf bowled a game-changing 19th over as he struck twice before left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz shone with three 3/35 and bolstered Pakistan to defend 167 and seal the fourth T20I of the seven-match series.

The home side were off to a decent start batting first on the invitation of England captain Moeen Ali as the pair of captain Babar Azam and Rizwan amassed 97 runs for the first wicket. The pair was majorly dominated by wicketkeeper batter Rizwan, who had amassed his 19th T20I half-century at a rapid pace while Babar, on the other hand, struggled to emulate his partner and as a result, fell victim to Liam Dawson in the 12th over. The second match centurion Babar could score 36 off 28 deliveries with the help of three boundaries. Rizwan then joined hands with Shan Masood, who was promoted to number three and added 52 runs for the second wicket.

The touring side’s bowlers, however, dominated the batting pair as they barred them from scoring freely in the middle overs. Shan, who was struggling to find the rhythm fell in the 19th over after scoring a snail-paced 21. He faced 19 deliveries in the course of his knock and could hit a boundary.

Rizwan, who was eyeing his second T20I century, fell 12 runs short of it as Reece Topley struck twice in the final over to remove the former. He top-scored for Pakistan with 88 off 67 deliveries, laced with nine boundaries and a six. Right-handed hard-hitting batter Asif Ali then scored a quickfire 13 runs off just three deliveries in the final over and powered the hosts to 166/4 in 20 Overs. Topley led the way for England with two wickets, while David Willey and Dawson made one scalp each.

Published in The Daily National Courier, September, 26 2022

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