Pakistan’s hopes of automatic World Cup qualification toughened as they plummeted to their lowest-ever rating of 86 after losing the five-match ODI series 1-4 against England. Despite handy contributions from Jason Roy (87 off 89 balls) and Ben Stokes (75 off 76 balls), the hosts lost momentum at regular intervals as they finished at 302/9.
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Mark Wood’s twin strike in one over had pegged back Pakistan to 77-3 before Ahmed and Malik’s fourth-wicket partnership led the strong recovery.
“Today, we just weren’t good enough”, Morgan told BBC Sport.
Earlier, Jason Roy and Ben Stokes both struck quickfire fifties as England made 302 for nine in the fifth and final one-day global against Pakistan in Cardiff on Sunday.
While the two sides shared the spoils in an exhilarating Test series that ended 2-2, the One-Day Internationals were a one-sided affair.
ODI cricket has become a problem for Pakistan, with the Asian nation recording only their second win of 2016 in Cardiff on Sunday, Azhar conceded the team has a lot of work to do to get out of the hole they find themselves in.
The series result against Pakistan has seen England move from 106 points to 107 points in fifth position – three behind India and South Africa, who are at 110 points each with India ranked ahead of South Africa on decimal points.
Mohammad Rizwan was 34 not out and left-hander Wasim 16 not out against an England attack missing the rested trio of first-choice spinners Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid, as well as fast bowler Liam Plunkett.
Despite a first limited-overs defeat of the summer, England captain Eoin Morgan was pleased with the team’s progress.
Stokes’ scratchy start contained a let-off too, on one, when Imad spun one back through the gate as he over-balanced but Sarfraz could not gather for the stumping chance.
Pakistan’s run chase then got off to a shaky start when Chris Woakes had Sharjeel Khan caught at mid-on for 10.
All-rounder Chris Jordan is one of the key bowlers for England in the T20 side, and considers this T20 match to be an important one, especially with the competition for places in the squad.
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However, if the Bangladeshis can sweep their upcoming three-match series against minnows Afghanistan and then beat England in a similar three-match rubber following, they will move up to an unprecedented sixth spot in the rankings.
