England got off to a winning start in the seven-match T20I series against Pakistan as they won the first match by six wickets at the National Stadium, Karachi on Tuesday. England skipper Moeen Ali feels his bowlers were excellent and did well to pull things back after Pakistan got off to a good start in their batting innings.
Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam added 85 runs for the opening alliance in 9.3 overs but the visitors were able to turn the tables. The hosts kept losing wickets at regular intervals and could only manage 158 runs on the board in the end.
On the other hand, Alex Hales, who was making a return to International cricket after three years scored a match-winning knock of 53 runs.
Moeen Ali said in the post-match presentation, “Brilliant performance, they got off to a great start, but we pulled things back in the middle overs, the bowlers were excellent. On a tough surface, I thought the batters did well. Rashid and Wood’s debut was outstanding, and was a good all-round performance from the bowling unit. We were smart with the chase, Alex Hales, batting after such a long time, he was nervous but showed why he’s one of the best in the country. Brook showed why he’s rated so highly back home, their partnership was wonderful to watch.”
Luka Wood, who was making his debut for the Three Lions, scalped three wickets and conceded only 24 runs in his quota of four overs. Thus, the debutant was awarded the Player of the Match.
He said after the game, “It was an enjoyable debut. It’s different to England, it was a team performance and great to start with a win. They were off to a good start, so it was important to restrict them at the back end with wickets and the batters then did a good job.”
Furthermore, Harry Brook scored 42 runs off just 25 balls to help his team get over the line in the run-chase of 159 runs. It was a collective effort from the tourists and thus they were able to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
The second T20I between these two teams will be played on Thursday at the same venue.
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