In a five-match ODI series, England registered 4-0 win over Pakistan in a five-match ODI series and it was the kind of momentum the hosts would’ve been expecting ahead of the upcoming ICC World Cup 2019. Despite the fact that the English batsmen were expected to perform well, this time, a couple of English bowlers too showed their class and helped their team get over the line.
In the final game, while batting first, the English openers started all guns blazing, which is quite a constant thing for the Brits, even this time James Vince opened with Jonny Bairstow. They added 63 runs for the first wicket in no time before both got dismissed in quick succession.
Joe Root and Eoin Morgan came together to teach a lesson to the Pakistani bowlers. Just the way they did right throughout the series. The duo added 117 runs for the third wicket, with Root scoring a 73-ball 84 and Morgan amassing 76 runs off 64 balls. Their partnership promised another 400+ total in the series, but things changed dramatically in the slog overs.
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Pakistan pulled back things very well with Imad Wasim bowling a brilliant spell. The duo of Imad and Shaheen Afridi managed to tear the backbone of England’s innings, still, the hosts scored 351/9, which was a relatively lesser total than what they should’ve scored. Afridi returned with figures of 4/82 whilst Imad Wasim managed to come up with 3/53.
During the chase, nothing changed for the visitors as the English bowlers restricted them initially to 6/3 with Abid Ali, Fakhar Zaman, and Mohammad Hafeez getting dismissed early. But Babar Azam and their skipper, Sarfaraz Ahmed stitched a fantastic partnership for the fourth wicket to get their side back on track. The duo was on the verge of chasing the total down as they were in a commanding position at one point. But a silly run out of Babar changed the course of the game and triggered the collapse of Pakistan.
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Sarfaraz then decided to go berserk along with some lower order contribution as well, but it was evident they were going to fall short after a point. The visitors were later on bundled out for 297 in 46.5 overs with Chris Woakes registering a five-fer. Jason Roy was awarded the player of the series for his three outstanding knocks in the series.
Here’s how Twitter reacted:
Since 1 Jan 2018 in ODIs..
Most victories
24 – Eng
22 – Ind
17 – SAf/Ban
15 – NZ/Afg
12 – WI
11 – Aus/Ire
10 – Pak
9 – Zim
6 – SL#ENGvPAK— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) May 19, 2019
Yes lads!
We take the ODI series 4-0!
Scorecard & clips from Headingley:https://t.co/TgzW6Qbz11#EngvPak pic.twitter.com/UtW4KlvvPW
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) May 19, 2019
That is a really good knock by @SarfarazA_54! Scoring at a decent strike rate,another reminder why he needs to bat in the top order.. 👏🏽 #EngvPak
— zainab abbas (@ZAbbasOfficial) May 19, 2019
Lowest score at the start of a 4th wicket century stand in ODIs:
4/3 – Dravid-Laxman (133) vs ZIM, 2004
4/3 – Rohit-Dhoni (137) vs AUS, 2019
5/3 – Kaluwitharana-Ranatunga (127) vs NZ, 1998
6/3 – BABAR-SARFARAZ (146) vs ENG, 2019#ENGvPAK— Sampath Bandarupalli (@SampathStats) May 19, 2019
Hasnain and Shaheen are as talented as any other 19 yo cricketer in this world but at times their bowling seems directionless. Really wish someone like Waqar Younis could work with them. For example, Wahab Riaz with and without Waqar was a completely different bowler. #EngvPak
— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) May 19, 2019
Geoffrey Boycott "I'm 78 years old and I reckon I could still field better than some of the Pakistani players out there" #ENGvPAK
— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) May 19, 2019
You can’t tell me 2 new white balls with no seam and pitches so flat is good for the game … No sport is good when it isn’t a fair contest … My Sunday morning rant over … #OnOn #ENGvPAK
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) May 19, 2019
In the interest of player welfare, perhaps the ICC should establish a Bowlers' Support Group ahead of the Men's World Cup. #ENGvPAK
— Melinda Farrell (@melindafarrell) May 19, 2019
Bizarre fact. Pakistan have lost 10 completed ODIs in a row on two occasions. In 1988 when Imran Khan was captain and now in 2019 when he is Prime Minister. #EngvPak
— Abid Sher Ali (@AbidSherAli) May 20, 2019
https://twitter.com/PakistaniDilSey/status/1130163780984418304
