Pakistan thump England in one-off T20 to end tour on winning note

Pakistan completed a crushing nine-wicket win over England in the one-off T20 to end their tour in winning fashion at Old Trafford. Openers Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif made light work of the target of 136 with respective half centuries as Eoin Morgan's side turned in a woeful display in their final match of the summer.

Alex Hales had earlier made 37 from 26 balls but England failed to hit the heights of their one-day displays as they were unable to register a boundary in the final 10 overs of the innings; finishing on just 135 for 7 from their 20 overs. Wahab Riaz proved to be the chief tormentor with three wickets as Pakistan honed in on a morale-boosting victory.

Sharjeel [59] and Latif [59 not out] took the England attack apart with some breathtaking hitting, with Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali being torn apart; as Pakistan put on 107 for the first wicket as they cruised towards the win. A late cameo from Babar Azam [15 not out] saw the tourists home with 31 balls remaining as both sides ended the tour in contrasting fashion.

The hosts may have lost their unbeaten record in white ball cricket this summer after failing to complete their first home one-day whitewash, but Morgan's team wanted to lay down another marker in limited overs cricket after their rapid improvement in recent months. England named the same team which lost the T20 World Cup final in April, while Sarfraz captained Pakistan for the first time in the shortest form of the game.

The momentum appeared to all be with Pakistan as a combination of pace off the ball and deliveries bowled into the hard surface meant England were frustrated as they attempted to set another daunting total. Roy [21] and Hales guided them to a solid 53 for 0 in the six-over powerplay, but from that moment on Pakistan took a grip of the contest.

Both openers were dismissed, along with Joe Root [6], before the end of the 10<sup>th over as Imad Wasim's wicket-to-wicket deliveries proved difficult to hit off the square. Jos Buttler [16] was unable to repeat his heroics from the one-day series as he was dismissed by Wahab, before Ben Stokes' [4] return to T20 cricket ended prematurely as he found Babar in the deep.

The late onslaught that was required to take England to a credible total failure to materialise as no boundaries came in the second half of the innings, with Moeen Ali and David Willey both dismissed cheaply as Riaz finished with three for 18. Pakistan required just 136 to end the tour in winning fashion, and they quickly set about making a mockery of England's sub-par total.

England's bowlers' attempted the same tactics with the ball which had proved fruitful for Pakistan, but their execution was lacking. Sharjeel and Latif teed off from the very first over and attacked England's short pitched bowling with a flurry of boundaries both sides of the wicket.

The result appeared beyond doubt as Pakistan put on a century for the first wicket inside 10 overs, leaving themselves needing a paltry 36 from the second half of the innings. Shajeel did eventually depart via Adil Rashid, and a second should have followed but Buttler was unable to stump new man Babar.

The home side would live to regret the near-miss as Latif continued on the offensive, going to his half century with a fine six over mid-wicket before Babar slashes for four to confirm the crushing result. Though England take the Super Series 16-12, the win sees Pakistan end the tour with a T20 win to add to their draw in the four-match Test series.