Daily Times

LAHORE: Skipper Babar Azam and his charges are looking for a series victory when they take on visiting England in the sixth and penultimate game of the seven-match series at Gaddafi Stadium here on Friday (today). The final game will be played at the same venue on Sunday (October 2). Pakistan moved ahead of the series 3-2 after winning the fifth encounter on Wednesday evening. The first leg of the home series, comprising four matches, was played in Karachi, with each side bagging two wins to level the series. England won the first and third games while the home team won the second and fourth. Pakistan debutant Aamir Jamal displayed experience beyond his years by producing a brilliant final over to help his side take lead and clinch six-run victory over England. Babar entrusted Jamal to bowl the final over of the match in what was his first international appearance and the 26-year-old held his nerve to defend 15 runs against England’s stand-in captain Moeen Ali. Jamal was pinpoint with his wide yorker as Moeen managed just eight runs from the debutant’s final six deliveries as the hosts defended their meagre total of 145 and Jamal’s performance at the death was a major reason behind the victory.

Moeen, who is 67 short of becoming the eighth Englishman to 1000 in T20Is, was full of praise for the bowling all-rounder and believes he has a big future in the game. “It was a very good last over and you can’t take anything away from him,” Moeen said after the match. “I was just hoping he missed the wide yorker … like the one I got hold of (and hit for six on the third delivery of the final over). With the wet ball and the ball probably being out of shape and him on his debut and nervous … he bowled really well and sometimes you have just got to give it to him.” At the same time, England must be feeling bewildered to find themselves trailing despite seemed to be the team in control, only for games to be taken away from their grasp.

On the other hand, Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan is the only batsman who has shown consistency, fighting the stereotypes as well as the conditions. He has scored four half-centuries in five innings. Rizwan’s tally of 315 runs is already a record for a bilateral series. He needs 63 more from the final two games to go past Finland’s Gustav McKeon as the leading run-scorer in any multi-team T20I international series. An underwhelming display from the rest of Pakistan’s top order won’t help their planning in the long run. The Pakistan batsmen need to pull up their socks in the remaining two games. Babar needs 52 more runs to reach 3000 in T20Is. If he does so in this next innings, his 81st in the format, he will equal the record held by India’s Virat Kohli. Fast bowler Naseem Shah won’t be part of the playing eleven. Naseem has been discharged from hospital after being diagnosed with pneumonia but has since tested positive for Covid-19. Two strips had been prepared at the Gaddafi Stadium and it seems likely today’s game will be played on the fresh one. The Lahore leg’s first match suggests that run-scoring will be much harder work than Karachi. Players can expect another hot and humid night.

After the England series, Pakistan travel to New Zealand for four warm-up matches and a further two games in Australia ahead of their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup against archrivals India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on October 23. England are touring Pakistan after 17 years, a lengthy absence brought about by security fears. England last played in Pakistan in 2005 and were due to visit in 2021 until pulling out at short notice after New Zealand also cancelled a tour citing safety concerns. England were only given the green light to tour Pakistan after a security team evaluated the situation on the ground. The series has assumed even more importance for both sides ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia. England will return to Pakistan in December to play three Tests in the second leg of the tour. The long-awaited return of England comes five months after a trouble-free tour by Australia, their first in 24 years, which helped Pakistan’s rehabilitation as a safe place to play cricket. International cricket has gradually returned to Pakistan following years where they were forced to play home matches in neutral venues after a deadly attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in 2009.