ENG vs PAK: Five most memorable England-Pakistan T20I encounters
Pakistan’s history against England in T20Is dates way back to August 2006 when they first locked horns. The format was a new-born baby as it was only the eighth overall T20I to be played. Ever since then, they have faced each other in 15 matches with England winning as many as 11 times. The two teams will be crossing swords in a three-match series, starting August 28 at the Old Trafford in Manchester. Let’s take a look at five epic T20I battles between England and Pakistan.
February 2012, Abu Dhabi
With the three-match series at 1-1, the decider at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium turned out to be a humdinger. It was a low-scoring affair but went right down to the wire. Pakistan pulled things back, restricting England to 129 for six after opener Kevin Pietersen blasted 62 with six fours and a six.
In the run-chase, the hosts’ batters found it tough. Most of the batters got into the 20s and then perished. Among the ones who got into double figures, Asad Shafiq had the highest strike-rate of 106.25. In the end, Pakistan played out their entire 20 overs and fell short by a mere five runs.
November 2015, Sharjah
It was a roller-coaster ride for both teams. But in the end, after the 40 mandatory overs, nothing could separate England and Pakistan as the scores were tied at 154. James Vince, Joe Root and Chris Woakes combined to take the Three Lions to a respectable 154 for eight wickets in their 20 overs.
Pakistan lost three wickets for 11 runs, but Shoaib Malik’s 75 kept them in the hunt. Afridi’s 20-ball 29 upped the scoring rate as well. Eventually, the match went into the Super Over In the one-over eliminator, the hosts got three runs and England got the target of four with one delivery remaining.
November 2015, Dubai
After winning the opening T20I by 14 runs, England took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. But the victory didn’t come easy as Pakistan made them run for their money. For the Brits, a collective effort from their top and middle-order helped them score 172 in their 20 overs.
In the run-chase, Ahmed Shehzad, Rafatullah Momand, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik and Shahid Afridi got into the 20s, but none could carry on. The hosts were in the game throughout, but regular fall of wickets halted them. In the end, Pakistan fell short of the target by a mere three runs.
September 2016, Manchester
At the Old Trafford, England wouldn’t have expected to face the dominance they did on that day. After electing to bat first, the home could only get 135. Alex Hales was the only batter, who looked at ease with a 26-ball 37. Imad Wasim, Hasan Ali and Wahab Riaz shared the wickets among them.
The run-chase turned out to be one-way traffic in Pakistan’s direction. In the powerplay, Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif got 73. In the end, their 107-run stand turned out to be too hot to handle for the hosts. Pakistan won by nine wickets with 32 balls left with both Sharjeel and Rashid scoring 59.
May 2019, Cardiff
England could easily have faltered at the Sophia Gardens, bearing in Pakistan’s bowling firepower. Choosing to bat first, the Men in Green amassed 173 for six courtesy Babar Azam’s 65 and Haris Sohail’s 50. Imad Wasim and Faheem Ashraf also played useful cameos to propel Pakistan’s score.
In the run-chase, though England lost Ben Duckett cheaply to Shaheen Shah Afridi, James Vince’s 36 and Joe Root’s 47 got the Brits back into the game. But it was Eoin Morgan, who smacked 57 runs off 29, helping England win by seven wickets. Joe Denly also came to the part with a handy 12-ball 20.
