Jos Buttler and Phil Salt led England to a commanding seven-wicket win over Pakistan in the fourth and final T20I, giving the hosts a 2-0 series win at Kear Oval just days before the start of their T20 World Cup defence.
Captain Buttler (39), who returned to the England team after the birth of her third child, hit seven fours and one six and led the attack with an opening stand of 82 runs along with Salt (45) in just 6.2 overs.
Pakistan could not cope with England’s ferocious batting and Buttler’s team dismissed their opponents for 157 before progressing to 158 for 3 with four and a half overs remaining to seal a stunning victory a day before they depart for Barbados for the T20 World Cup. Staying Alive Sky Sports.
Earlier, Pakistan captain Babar Azam (36) and Mohammed Rizwan (23) made the most of pairing again at the top of the batting order, putting together a quick combination of 59 runs off 36 balls after coming to bat, before Jofra Archer (1-31) and Adil Rashid (2-27) helped England fight back.
Sloppy batting in the middle saw Pakistan slip to 86-5 with Shadab Khan and Azam Khan ducked out before Liam Livingstone (2-17) completed a double-wicket haul in the 15th over, getting out Usman Khan (38) and Shaheen Shah Afridi (0).
With just a week to go until their World Cup opener against the USA at Grande Prairie Stadium, Pakistan’s batting line-up was under pressure as Adil Rashid (2-27) and Mark Wood (2-35) took two wickets apiece.
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England captain Jos Buttler and Pakistan captain Babar Azam reflect on the hosts’ victory in the fourth T20I.
Pakistan pay the price for sloppy batting
Babar and Rizwan got the team off to a flying start and the Pakistan captain produced a brilliant performance in the fourth over, smashing Chris Jordan through the covers for consecutive boundaries to reach 4,000 T20I runs.
Archer continued to show England what they had been missing and provided the breakthrough with a vital run off Babar, who gave Archer four through points off successive deliveries, but was hit with a slow ball off the penultimate ball of the powerplay and caught behind square by Rashid, giving Archer a run.
In the next over, leg-spinner Rashid’s delivery hit Rizwan on the top of middle stump to score as the home team regained control.
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Adil Rashid took two wickets for England against Pakistan.
The dismissals of Pakistan’s openers sparked a further collapse as Babar’s team slumped from 65-2 to 86-5 inside four overs.
Iftikhar Ahmed (21) and Usman Khan (38) gave the middle order a spark and a combined 40-run combo saw Pakistan recover to a modest 145 for 8 by the 18th over, but Jordan took a superb catch off Livingstone, who got Afridi (0) out in the same over.
Wood’s death bowling helped sweep the backline with fastballs at 95mph, which Naseem Shah (16) drove in a leading edge past Buttler.
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Chris Jordan takes an incredible catch for England
Haris Rauf (8) was run out by Livingstone in the final over, smashing a wide ball into deep third, attempting two runs but never achieving it, while Mohammed Amir (0) was left stranded at the other end.
England in great touch heading into World Cup
England showed exactly what they are capable of with some impressive batting to give Pakistan’s bowlers a tough time just days before their World Cup defence begins.
Rauf (3-38) finished with three hits and was the only Pakistani bowler to make an impact among the five who played.
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Pakistan’s Haris Rauf shows off his football skills
Salt was dropped by Pakistan wicketkeeper Azam for 34 in the sixth over, but the mistake ultimately proved costly, and the England opener was dismissed soon afterwards, caught by Rizwan at deep midwicket to give Pakistan a rest.
Rauf hit Buttler back in the next over, who passed Azam behind before smashing a 90mph york ball into the off stump of Will Jacks (20) to put England ahead at 112 for 3 at the halfway stage.
However, Jonny Bairstow (28) and Harry Brook (17) scored 46 to guide the home team to victory, with the latter smashing a short ball from Rauf into the stands in extra time for a six to seal the series victory.
Babar: Pakistan is doing well at times
Pakistan captain Babar Azam:
“We were doing well for the first five or six overs but then we got out. Our batting in the middle order needs to step up.”
“We need to sort those things out heading into the World Cup. We have a few injuries but we have a lot of positives. We’ve played well at times.”
Butler: I just want to keep improving
Jos Buttler, England captain and player of the series:
“I have goals to continue to improve and am working on some different things in my game that I haven’t done before.
“It gives me new energy and motivation. We are working hard in training and there is a good atmosphere throughout the team. All the players are stepping up and performing.”
“It would have been nice to have two more games to expose a few players to different conditions but we have really good experience in this group and a lot of players have played in the IPL so there’s no shortage of cricket.”
You can watch all the T20 World Cup matches live Sky Sports The season runs from 1 to 29 June, with England’s first match being against Scotland in Barbados on Tuesday 4 June (3.30pm UK & Irish time).
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