Pakistan beat England by three runs in fourth men’s T20 to level series – as it happened | Pakistan v England 2022

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Daniel Gallan

I’m outta here. What a game of cricket. A few of us on these pages have wondered if we’ll be able to distinguish one T20 from the next. I tell you what. If you watched that you won’t forget it in a hurry.

Another Rizwan masterclass worth 88 dragged Pakistan to something they might defend. But 164 never looked like it would be enough.

That is until Nawaz and Hasnain snared England’s top three with just 14 on the board. Duckett and Brook again impressed but fell for 33 and 34 respectively. Ali tonked a few sixes before he was bowled for 29.

The game looked over when Brook was caught at fine leg but Dawson bludgeoned 24 off a Hasnain over and looked to have turned the game. Rauf bowled the penultimate over and had Dawson caught at midwicket. He then bowled Stone for a golden duck and almost had a hat-trick.

That left Rashid and Topley with too much to do and a run-out at the non-striker’s end (a more conventional one, mind) sealed the 3 run win and squared the seven game series at 2-2.

Andy Bull’s report should be on it’s way soon but I’ll sign off now. Thanks for keeping me company and for the parsnip recipes. Til next time, D.

Olly Stone, who made his T20 debut, is speaking to Sky.

It’s his first taste of cricket in Pakistan and naturally he’s gushing. Wouldn’t you have loved to be there as well? What a game!

I loved being out there. It makes all the hard work worthwhile.

It obviously didn’t go to plan [that’s in reference to getting bowled first ball to Rauf with the game on the line]

I felt like it went well [that’s with the ball]. All the hard work I put in makes it all worthwhile. When I came off the lads said that I hit [90moh]. Which is great.

Babar Azam looks relieved. He’s speaking in Urdu as well but I did catch a bit of English “A few runs short”. I thought that at the time. Those two Asif Ali sixes in Pakistan’s last over proved to be the difference after all.

Moeen Ali is up next and he starts with an understatement:

An amazing game of cricket. It went both ways. It kept swinging.

I feel that we should have chased that down. We kept losing wickets but hung in there. Brook again played well and Daws [Liam Dawson], the way he batted tonight was outstanding. I’m sad he couldnt get us over the line. But these things happen.

With runs nine and three wickets we felt we should have won the game. Both teams bowled well and they managed to get over the line.

Haris Rauf is player of the match. His post match chat is in Urdu which, unfortunately, I don’t understand. But he spoke a universal language with the ball, claiming 3-32 including two crucial wickets in the penultimate over which turned the game after Dawson’s heroics.

“Hi Daniel”

Hi Colum Fordham. Have you caught your breath yet?

“I seem to recall a recent quip by Gary Naylor saying T20s are like London buses – they all look alike bar the numbers, Today’s match confirms that these matches can be fascinating topsy turvy nailbiters with more twists and turns than a coastal road in Cornwall. What a match this has been. And I speak as a Test match fan.”

To be fair to Gary, he’s mostly right. But then they go and put on a show like that. If you love cricket you’ll love what just happened. If only they could all be like that.

Sorry. I thought Rashid was on strike. It was madness keeping pace with all of that. Absolutely bonkers end to that game. I’m going to touch my toes and do a downward dog and gather myself.

Pakistan were cruising and then Liam Dawson, a forgotten man of English cricket, clattered 24 from an over to drag his team to the edge of victory. But Haris Rauf snared two wickets in two balls to leave Adil Rashid and Reece Topley needing 4 from an over. They couldn’t get there. A run-out to win the match and square the series. I’ll be back with the post match chat as soon as.

You said it

Scenes…

This is an outrageous game of cricket 😬

— England’s Barmy Army (@TheBarmyArmy) September 25, 2022 Pakistan win by 3 wickets!

What a game of cricket. A run-out at the non-striker’s end but no controversy with this one. With four runs needed Topley knew he’d have to steal one somewhere. After dabbing it he ran immediately but couldn’t make his ground. A direct hit has him well short and Pakistan square the series.

England bowled out for 163. Fantastic theater.

Shan Masood of Pakistan celebrates running out Reece Topley of England to win the match. Photograph: Alex Davidson/Getty Images

Updated at 19.12 BSTE

19th over: England 163-9 (Rashid 3, Topley 0) Rauf, take a bow. The over started with a dot but was then spanked by Dawson for a four in front of square. What was Rauf going to do? Well, he nabbed Dawson with through a catch on the leg side and then bowled Stone first ball. He almost had a hat-trick but the yorker hit Topley on the toe with the ball going down leg. They scampered for a leg-bye. Crazy penultimate over.

Updated at 19.03 BSTE

WICKET! Stone b Rauf 0 (England 162-8)

Two in two! Rauf has a golden arm. Top of off for Rauf and Stone has to go! Pakistan doing Pakistan things!

Updated at 18.58 BSTE

WICKET! Dawson c sub (Haris) b Rauf 34 (England 162-8)

OH WOW!!! Dawson started the over with a dot ball and a boundary but then dinks one towards midwicket and has to go. What a topsy turvy game. Brilliant advert for the game. Have Pakistan taken back control?

18th over: England 158-7 (Dawson 30, Rashid 3) 6-5nb-4-4-4-0-1. 24 off the over. Liam Dawson has taken turned the game on its head. Wonderful batting coupled with poor bowling from Hasnain. The first ball is sent sailing over long-off. The second is dabbed to the deep third boundary and is a no ball. The third is helped for four towards cow corner. Another four follows to deep third off a slower ball. He then whips another one behind square on the leg side. He steals the strike from the ball. What a performance!

Dawson takes 19 from three balls!

Six, four off a no-ball, and two more fours! Liam Dawson has changed the face of the game. His hammering Hasnain. They now need 14 off 15 balls. Unbelievable!

17th over: England 134-7 (Dawson 7, Rashid 1) Willey had the right idea. he recognised that he wasn’t going to tonk Rauf down the ground so went for the scoop. Twice in fact, and bagged boundaries behind square off the first two balls of the over. Rauf responded as he should. Full, straight and BANG! The middle stump is pegged back. Adil Rashid takes three from his first two balls. England need 33 off 18.

WICKET! Willey b Rauf 11 (England 130-7)

You miss, I hit. That’s the mantra from Harris Rauf who responds to being hit back to back boundaries byt bowling a quick yorker that evades a backtracking Willey and knocks back the middle stump.

16th over: England 122-6 (Willey 3, Dawson 6) Brilliant bowling from Hasnain. He can seemingly hit a york at will. It’s so hard for the batter to free his arms and generate enough power to find a boundary. Dawsone starts the over with back to back twos but a leg-bye and a single to Willey, dug out from another searing yorker, is all they have from that set.

Someone backs Liam here.

15th over: England 116-6 (Willey 2, Dawson 2) They’re both classed as all-rounders but this is surely a step too far for Willey and Dawson. Brook started the over with a boundary. His fast hands whipping a pull shot towards the leg side. He couldn’t replicate the result two balls later and picked out fine leg. Three singles from four balls after that. Pakistan in the driver’s seat thanks to that wicket from Wasim.

He makes my team. No doubt.

I know he’s just got out, but Harry Brook is surely a starter now in England’s World Cup XI. Duckett having a good crack too.

— Lawrence Booth (@the_topspin) September 25, 2022 WICKET! Brook c Hasnain b Wasim 34 (England 113-6)

And that could be that. Harry Brook gets down to lift Wasim up and over the leg side. He steers it a lot finer than he intended, possibly a result of the extra pace off the surface. Hasnain at fine leg doesn’t have to move and holds on to a sharp catch above his head. A tasty knock comes to an end and with it England’s best hopes of winning this game.

Updated at 18.32 BSTE

14th over: England 108-5 (Brook 30, Willey 1) This is a tough ask for the new man David Willey. He’s batted just four times in his last 11 matches for England. Now he’s got a tricky chase. This Nawaz over goes for a measly three runs. His job is done. Figures of 3-35 for the beguiling tweaker.

WICKET Alo b Nawaz 29 (England 106-5)

Moeen Ali has been bowled! It’s a third scalp of Mohammad Nawaz and that’s another critical moment in this see-sawing game. Beaten the flight, the advancing Ali has to rush his slog towards a wide mid-on but catches nothing but air as the ball crashes into his stumps. That’s brave bowling from Nawaz who was whacked for two sixes the last time he turned his arm over.

13th over: England 105-4 (Brook 28, Ali 29) Gorgeous from Moeen. He times the ball so well. Does anyone in world cricket hit it as hard without looking like they’re hitting it hard? This latest in the catalog is from a lofted cover drive that hurtles to the fence and brings up three figures for his team. Five singles from the five other balls. England starting to close down that required rate, which is hovering around 8.8. 62 needed from 42.

Iftikhar Ahmed closes with 0-23. He bowled well without reward.

12th over: England 96-4 (Brook 25, Ali 23) I’m not surprised to see Nawaz yanked out of the attack. On comes Rauf who finds a full length for the first five balls, conceding a relatively miserly five runs with four singles and a two down to deep square. He strays in line and length from the final ball and Ali whips it behind square for a two-bounce four.

Ali bats. Photograph: Alex Davidson/Getty Images

Updated at 18.22 BSTE

“In Brook, are we witnessing the emergence of the complete player prospering from playing with Root?”

I wouldn’t use that sort of language just yet, Mike Galvin, but he’s tracking well.

Ah, you know what… let’s get hyperbolic. That’s what sports banter is for, right? He’s a genius in the making. I really could watch him bat all day.

11th over: England 87-4 (Brook 23, Ali 16) Another good over from Iftikhar. This one’s worth just five runs. Tight lines, variation in the flight. Just five singles.

England need 85 from 60 balls. Pakistan had the same amount of runs as England at this stage but they hadn’t lost a wicket yet. Not that wickets ever bother England. They treat them a toddler treats a spoonful of broccoli. (I don’t want to know if your toddler likes broccoli. Mine can’t stand it so the analogy holds).

Anyway, game on here. Brook is the key wicket.

10th over: 82-4 (Brook 20, Ali 14) My goodness. What a shot that is. Never mind the shot of the night, that is honestly one of the best shots I’ve seen this summer. Harry Brook has skipped down the track to Nawaz and deposited him for a monstrous six over cover with an inside out drive. Just delicious.

That’s injected some adrenalin in England’s chase. Moeen gets on strike and firmly sweeps a four and then clobbers a gigantic six down the ground. How does he time it so well?

So much for my theory on bowling the spinners out. These two have sized Nawaz up and rinsed him.

Ali congratulates Brook. Photograph: Alex Davidson/Getty Images

Updated at 18.21 BSTE

9th over: England 63-4 (Brook 12, Ali 3) Pakistan are tightening the screws. If I was captaining I’d bowl these two spinners right the way through. Four runs from Iftikhar. Sumptuous flight and grip. The batters have no choice but to show it respect.

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