Almost all of their main players are in isolation. Two other key players were injured. But still the new-look England under the inspiring leadership of Ben Stokes has thrashed Pakistan so far in the 3-match ODI series. Two matches done and dusted and England won both of them quite comfortably. The home team have now taken an unassailable lead of 2-0 in the 3-match series with still a match to go! The second ODI had a delayed start at the beginning and the match was cut short to 47-over aside.
Having opted to first first, Pakistan did all the right things with the ball picking up two early wickets inside 5 overs. Both Dawid Malan and Zak Crawley who scored match-winning half-centuries in the first ODI departed without troubling the scorers in this game! Then Phil Salt (60 off 54) and James Vince (56 off 52) stitched a brilliant 97-run stand for the third wicket to get them on track. However, a middle order implosion had pushed England onto backfoot with scorecard reading 160/7 in 27.4 overs.
At this stage, the 200-run mark seemed to be a big mountain to climb for the home team! However, it is then the 69-run partnership for the 8th wicket between Lewis Gregory (40 off 47) and Brydon Carse (31 off 41) has come to England’s rescue. Overall, England got to 247 in 45.2 overs. Hasan Ali was the pick of Pakistan bowlers with a 5-wicket haul while Haris Rauf bagged two wickets.
Chasing a par total, Pakistan put pressure on themselves losing wickets at regular intervals! The 40-run stand between Saud Shakeel (56 off 77) and Shaheen Shah Afridi (18 off 31) for the 9th wicket is thier highest in this innings! Hasan Ali (31 off 17) scored a quick cameo but it too went in vain as visitors were nowhere near the target! Eventually, Pakistan were bowled out for 195 in 41 overs conceding the match by 52 runs and series by 2-0 to England.
England all-rounder Lewis Gregory has been adjudged as the Player of the Match for his crucial 40 runs with the bat and 3 wickets with the ball. The third and final ODI will be played on Tuesday (July 13) at Edgbaston in Birmingham!
Brief Scores: England – 247 all out in 45.2 overs (Phil Salt – 60, Hasan Ali – 5/51) defeated Paksitan – 195 all out in 41 overs (Saud Shakeel – 56, Lewis Gregory – 3/44) by a margin of 52 runs
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