Daily Times

LAHORE: Pakistan and England are aiming for series victory when the sides clash in the seventh and last Twenty20 International at Gaddafi Stadium here on Sunday evening. The seven-match T20I series is level at 3-3 after the visitors won the sixth encounter by eight wickets on Friday with Phil Salt smashing a career-best 41-ball 88 runs not out. No doubt, the series has provided the fans with not only quality cricket but also a high-octane stuff. The England opener Salt played a blistering innings laced with three sixes and 13 fours — the third fastest half-century by an England batter in the shorter format. Thanks to his daredevil showmanship, England accomplished a fast-track chase of a target of 170 in just 14.3 overs. Salt’s tour to Pakistan started with a grim run of form: 59 runs in five innings, including scores of 8 and 3 in England’s two most recent defeats to go 3-2 down in the series. In the circumstances, and chasing a middling total of 170 on Friday evening, it would have been easy to put himself first, giving himself a few balls to find his rhythm — not least with a T20 World Cup looming. “We killed the game off straightaway,” England stand-in skipper Moeen Ali said after the match. It was T20 cricket stripped back to its simplest form. “They just attacked us,” Shaun Tait, Pakistan’s bowling coach, said. “Every ball, they tried to hit a boundary.”

Salt’s fireworks overshadowed Babar Azam’s undefeated 59-ball 87 that took the home team to 169-6 and saw Pakistan captain equal India star Virat Kohli’s record of the fastest man to 3,000 runs in cricket’s shortest format. All and sundry are eagerly looking forward to the intriguing match that concludes the high octane series today. 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 won the fifth contest.

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 World Cup to be held in Australia next month. England will be returning 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.

Pakistan batsman Haider Ali was taken to a hospital immediately following the sixth game on Friday, according to a statement from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). “Haider Ali is feeling unwell. He has a viral illness and is being taken to the hospital for further check-ups. He will stay overnight in the hospital,” said the PCB. Haider is the second player to fall ill after Naseem Shah, who is in isolation at his house. On September 29, the pacer contracted Coronavirus hours after the PCB confirmed that he had been diagnosed with pneumonia.