Batsman Jason Roy called on England to seize control of the one-day series with Pakistan in Saturday’s second match at Lord’s after he overcame a bout of illness to spearhead a 44-run win on Wednesday night.
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Batting first, Pakistan made 260-6 off their 50 overs in a rain-interrupted innings.
Pakistan made 260 for six in their 50 overs and England moved on to 194 for three in 34.3 overs, Jason Roy making 65 and Joe Root 61, before rain brought a premature end to the match.
England captain Eoin Morgan was 33 not out and Ben Stokes 15 not out.
Roy sparked England’s chase with three fours in four balls off Umar Gul in the third over of the hosts’ innings.
But there was a worrying moment when Roy, on 20, needed several minutes on-field treatment for what a team spokesman later confirmed was a dizzy spell.
“Just didn’t have enough food in me, a bit of sugar, but I’m all sweet”. “They got the physio and the doctor on, they told me to get some sugar on board …”
“I was able to get my bearings, settle and re-set myself and just go again”, he added.
When you compare his stats to those of Alex Hales in Tests, the Nottinghamshire opener averaging just 18 in the recent 2-2 series draw against Pakistan, there is a case for giving Roy a shot in the longer form of the game.
It has been 10 days since the Investec Test series ended with 2-2 which helped Pakistan to become World No 1 Test team in ICC rankings.
Hales was caught in the slips as he tried to guide a ball to third man and Roy, dropped on 24 when wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed spilled a skier, was eventually held at long-off.
Having lost the No3 Mohammed Hafeez in the 13th over to a loose slog-sweep off Root to deep square leg – Morgan had introduced his vice-captain to earn some wriggle room with the bowlers later in the innings – Azhar found a busy partner in Babar Azam, whose 40 from 42 balls supplied the bulk of a 61-run stand in 11.4 overs.
Roy swept Imad Wasim’s left-arm spin for the first six of the match before completing a 43-ball fifty, also featuring five fours.
Azhar won the toss in the first of this five-match series and elected to bat in what was then bright sunshine.
“300 obviously, we always look to score 300, but definitely 280-290”.
Pakistan finished the ten-over Powerplay on 45 for 1, though Azhar was a touch fortunate to still be at the crease after twice being dropped on 9.
England included Jos Buttler and Mark Wood, both back in the side after injury, and the Durham seamer needed just 19 balls to claim his first wicket, his extra pace beating Sharjeel Khan (16) on the pull and taking the edge – his first global scalp since October 2015.
Babar was given out lbw to Adil Rashid, the legspinner, by Simon Fry, the Australian umpire, even though replays clearly showed an inside edge.
The Pakistan opener let hubris dictate his decision to demand a review, only to be rightly denied a reprieve.
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Azhar pressed on to a relatively sedate 84-ball fifty before upping his tempo.
