England beat Pakistan by four wickets in the second ODI at Lord’s on Saturday to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.Joe Root made 89 as England, set 252 to win, finished on 255 for six with 15 balls to spare.
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Imad Wasim added 77 runs for the sixth wicket with Ahmed and stayed unbeaten on 63 before Pakistan were bowled out in 49.5 overs after captain Azhar Ali had won the toss and opted to bat.
For a side whose 50-over cricket was seen as a basket case little more than a year ago such a drama-free victory is a cause for celebration, but a Pakistan side labelled as “behind the times” by their own head coach, Mickey Arthur, merely logged another reminder of their limitations.
To be fair, one also needs to give credit to the English bowlers, primarily Chris Woakes and Mark Wood, who bowled a tight line and length with good pace to stifle the Pakistan batsmen.
Azhar Ali (c), Sarfraz Ahmad (wk), Muhammad Hafeez, Shaoib Malik, Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam, Sami Aslam, Muhammad Rizwan, Umar Gul, Ali Hassan, Wahab Riaz, Muhammad Amir, Muhammad Nawaz, Imad Waseem and Yasir Shah.
Pakistan had been reduced to 3-2 early in their innings but managed to post something vaguely defendable thanks to a fine backs-to-the-wall century from wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed.
Shoaib Malik (28) struck a straight six against Moeen Ali in a fifth-wicket partnership of 59 before Wood’s return saw him caught behind.
Jason Roy and Joe Root were the stars of the first ODI, scoring important runs, and if the duo get their act together in the second ODI, Pakistan will find it hard. “We could have made 300 on this pitch, but after losing those three wickets, we’d have taken 250”.
England were 111 for two at the 23-over mark.
“He’s a great cricketer, a genuine all-rounder and one of the best [in the world]”, said Imad.
Root steadied England nerves with two fours in as many balls off Hasan Ali – a cover-drive followed by a cut. Root was accumulating runs but Ben Stokes arrived to up the tempo, targeting the members’ area with a maximum and forcing a pair of superb on-side fours.
Pakistan reeled through their bowling options with minimal impact but the stand reached had reached 112 before it could be stopped.
But Stokes played down talk of a 5-0 whitewash by saying: “We could spill into unsafe territory if we start to think too far ahead”.
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But in Root and Morgan, England have two players whose temperament is matched by their ability and inventiveness to find run-scoring gaps in the field.
