After Pakistan being whitewashed by a B-grade England team in the ODI series. Many criticisms were going around the current Pakistan team. So, it was important to start the T20I series well. The first T20 was happening in Trent Bridge. The pitch being batting-friendly we can expect high scores from both sides. England won the toss and choose to bowl first.
Both Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were the opening batsman in the Pakistan innings. Pakistan got off to a good start in the powerplay scoring 49 runs without losing any wicket. The opening pair went on to build a very big partnership for Pakistan and also made sure the runs were coming at a very good pace. Both openers scored more than half- centuries. The opening pair together put 150 runs for the loss of the first wicket. This put Pakistan in a very strong position.
Babar Azam was looking really good to make a century but got dismissed for 85 runs by David Willey. The middle-order batsman Sohaib Maqsood, Fakhar Zaman, and Mohammad Hafeez individually played very good cameos that helped Pakistan post to a massive total of 232/6 in their 20 overs. None of the England bowlers looked threatening to Pakistan batsmen.
With a massive total of 232 to chase in their 20 overs, England opened with Dawid Malan and Jason Roy. It was a good start for Pakistan as Dawid Malan was dismissed cheaply by Shaheen Shah Afridi. But Jason Roy on the other hand looked impressive as he scored 32 runs off just 13 balls. He eventually got dismissed by Shadab Khan. England managed 69 runs in the powerplay despite losing 3 wickets. The middle-order batsman Moeen Ali and Jonny Bairstow were dismissed cheaply by Pakistan bowlers.
Just when Pakistan was in a strong position, Liam Livingstone scored a very quick half-century off just 17 balls. He changed the momentum back to England way. He didn’t get much help from another batsman. Despite Livingstone scored a very good century his side was bowled out for 201. In the end, Pakistan won the match by 31 runs and lead the T20I series 1-0.
