England vs Pakistan – Babar and Rizwan Partnership helps Pakistan 10-wickets win

England vs Pakistan 2nd T20, Karachi

Pakistan 203 for 0 (Babar 110*, Rizwan 88*) beat England 199 for 5 (Moeen 55*, Rauf 2-30) by ten wickets

A world record unbeaten 203-run partnership that was devastating in its brutality and yet delectable in its beauty saw Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam chase down 200 against England vs Pakistan with three balls to spare and without the loss of a single wicket. Babar scored his second T20I hundred, taking 62 balls to get there, while Rizwan’s unbeaten 51-ball 88 was a more than adequate supporting act.

The wicket seemed to play especially slow in the first innings, so the 199 England put up looked well above par at the time. That came thanks to two contrasting innings from the England middle order, with Ben Duckett’s pragmatic shot-making setting a platform before Moeen Ali’s furious elegance saw him caress an undefeated 55 off 23. Given Babar had said at the toss that 160 would be the upper limit of what Pakistan wanted to chase, England looked invulnerable.

But for all of Pakistan’s strike rate issues up the order, there has never been any evidence Babar and Rizwan aren’t at their best when chasing a total, no matter what that total might be. They did, after all, gun down 204 against South Africa in April 2021 with a 197-run partnership, and they were more than up for the relentlessly attacking cricket they would have to subject England’s bowling to. Fifty-nine came off the powerplay, and the openers simply continued in the same vein as the visitors ran out of ideas. Alex Hales grassing Rizwan in the powerplay was a sliding doors moment, as a virtually chanceless opening pairing timed the chase to perfection to seal a stunning 10-wicket win in England vs Pakistan match.

Babar-Rizwan Duo in England vs Pakistan

England vs Pakistan: There’s really little point talking about much else. England has the better power hitters, the better middle order, and significantly more batting weapons in their arsenal, and don’t Babar and Rizwan know it? These two put together a solid opening stand in the first game, only to see their teammates crumble under pressure, and so it appeared they recognized solid wasn’t going to cut it. They might have to do it all themselves.

A couple of boundaries on either side of the square from Rizwan in the first over set the tone. Rizwan led the charge early on as the captain took his time bedding in, though a couple of clobbered boundaries off Sam Curran suggested Babar, too, was beginning to whirr back into form. With the pace bowlers seen to, Moeen turned to Liam Dawson’s spin, but 13 runs off the sixth over suggested Pakistan would allow the visitors no hiding place.

A brief quiet spell following the powerplay saw the asking ate creep up, but when Moeen put himself on in the 13th over, the tide turned decisively. Twenty-one from the over, including three muscled sixes, put the openers in a zone few others in world cricket can reach. From thereon, they were unstoppable, England’s bowlers no impediment in the inexorable march to the target. A flurry of boundaries followed and by the time Babar brought up his century, the victory was almost a formality. It was, fittingly, a cover drive that sealed the win, a signature shot from a man who showed an ephemeral dip in form was little more than that.

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