Top 5 T20I matches between England and Pakistan

Top 5 T20I matches between England and Pakistan

England vs Pakistan: Best T20I Matches

England and Pakistan have been the most competitive sides in the shorter format of cricket. Both sides are the one time winner of the T20 World Cup. Pakistan’s T20 performance has been excellent as they retained their number one rankings for two years under Sarfaraz Ahmed. In 2006, both sides played each other for the first time in the T20 international and after the revolution of the cricket in T20, both have played each other in 14 T20 matches and England won 10 matches including a win in super-over. Both sides will now face each other in the 3-matches T20I series to start the first T20 international series after the COVID-19 pandemic.

From the T20 rivalry of England and Pakistan, we have picked 5 nail-biting matches:

 

#1 Cardiff, 2019 (ENG won in the last-over)

Before the ICC ODI World Cup 2019, Pakistan was on tour to England and played one T20 match at Cardiff. While batting first, Pakistan lost Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq in the powerplay but their main batsmen Babar Azam (65 off 42) and Haris Sohail (50 off 36) put a 103-runs stand to post an imposing total of 173 in 20-overs. In the reply, England lost Duckett in 3rd over but Joe Root and Vince took England ahead in the game by adding 45.

In 9th over, Imad got Vince on 36 to bought Pakistan in the game but captain Morgan came in the middle and added 65 runs off just 39 balls to make this chase easier. In the last 4 overs, England needed 37 runs. The game went into the last over and Pakistan had 7 runs to defend but Joe Denly hit six on the second ball to clinch this tense chase. Eoin Morgan was declared Man of the Match for his 29-balls 57.

#2 Dubai, 2012 (PAK won by 8 runs)

In the first T20 of the series, England opted to field first. On a slow and dry track, Pakistan looked dull from the start. Their top-order struggled against Graeme Swann as the English spinner conceded just 13 runs in his 4-overs spell and claimed 3 wickets. With Shoaib Malik’s 39 and Misbah’s slow 26, Pakistan managed to post a good total of 144 which was not easy against the good bowling unit of Pakistan.

England got a perfect start as they added 48 for the opening wicket off 34 balls. Both openers got in two successive overs and Hosts came back into the game. In 13th over, Hafeez trapped Morgan to give England a big blow. Ravi Bopara was fighting but he couldn’t handle the pressure and got out on 39. England lost Joss Buttler and Samit Patel in the next 9 balls but the equation was still in favor of England as they needed 23 runs from 15 balls. In 19th over, Saeed Ajmal conceded just 4 overs to take this game in the final over. In last over, visitors needed 18 runs but Junaid Khan didn’t give any opportunity to Jonny Bairstow to get those runs and Pakistan clinched this thriller by 8 runs.

 
#3 Abu Dhabi, 2012 (ENG won by 5 runs)

 

It was the series decider game and both teams rushed to Abu Dhabi. On a tough batting track, England won the toss and got a good start. English batting unit was led by Kevin Pietersen who was scoring most of England runs as the other batsmen were struggling against Pakistan’s spinners. Peterson’s crucial 62 helped England to post an imposing total of 129.

Pakistan was confident to chase this total but England got Mohammad Hafeez in the 2nd over on golden duck. Awais Zia and Asad Shafiq guided the chase but the run-rate pressure was pushing Pakistani batsmen to make mistakes. Pakistan lost its 3rd wicket on 76 and they needed 54 more runs from 47 balls. The Swann and Samit Patel put England in command with their economical spell. The duo conceded just 38 runs in 8 overs. Misbah scored only 2 boundaries and his poor strike rate took this game to a tight finish.

In the last 2-overs, Pakistan needed 17 runs and their two set batsmen Umar Akmal and Misbah ul Haq were batting. This equation looked possible but Stuart Broad delivered the best over with conceding just four runs and the wicket of Umar Akmal. In final over, Pakistan needed 13 runs and Dernbach got Afridi on 2nd ball to make this equation 4-balls 11. Misbah tried but Pakistan couldn’t cross the line and lost the match by 5 runs.

 

#4 Dubai, 2015 (ENG won by 3 runs)

For Pakistan, the series was on the stake after losing the first game. On a batting-friendly track, England opted to bat first. With the collective efforts from top-order and a good finish from middle-order helped Buttler-led England to post 172. In the reply, Pakistan got a fluent start by their openers, scoring 51 in first 5-overs. Pakistan couldn’t capitalize on this start and lost the rhythm in middle-overs. With losing Shoaib Malik on 26, Pakistan was in trouble as they required 53 off 20 balls with 4 wickets in hand.

The hosts were completely out of the contest but Shahid Afridi smashed 3 sixes against Chris Woakes in 18th over but got out on the last ball. He made this equation more interesting and Pakistan now needed 25 runs in the last 2-overs. It was Sarfraz Ahmed who repeated Afridi in 19th over, smashing one four and a six to David Willey. After getting 36 runs from last 2-overs, Pakistan changed the momentum and give Chris Woakes 11 runs to defend in the last over. On the first ball, England got the big wicket of Sarfraz but on the next ball, Sohail Tanvir hit Woakes a boundary over square leg. The game was going towards a thrilling finish and Pakistan required 7 runs from 4 balls. It was England who held the nerve in the end and won the match by 3 runs.

 

#5 Sharjah, 2015 (ENG won in the Super-Over)

After losing both T20s, Pakistan reached Sharjah for the final T20. England opted to bat first but lost Jason Roy on the first ball. In the last over of the powerplay, England lost Root and Moeen Ali on two successive balls following the 48 runs stand with Root and Vince. Middle-order’s slow effort and Pakistan’s tight bowling changed this game for England. Woakes hit some maximum in the end to post 154.

In the reply, Pakistan lost three wickets on 11 to give England a commanding position in the game. Shoaib Malik added a short partnership with Mohammed Rizwan and Shahid Afridi. After the wicket of Afridi, Pak required 18 runs from 12 balls and Malik was all set but this game had a different twist. In 19th over, Jordan conceded 8 runs to take this game into the final over with 10 runs to defend.

Dubai’s final over hero Woakes bowled the last over and Tanvir hit a six on the 2nd ball. It was now Pakistan’s game with 4 runs from 4 balls but Malik got out on 5th ball. Tanvir needed 2 runs on the last ball but he got a single through a bye and the match went into the super-over. Jordan delivered the super-over and conceded only 3 runs against Afridi and Akmal. Afridi tried to add some twist after giving two singles on first four balls but on 5th ball, Morgan glanced the ball for the couple to win this match for England.