England beat Pakistan by 2 wickets in the Super 8 match at Pallekele. It was Pakistan who opted to bat first. It was a good surface for batting as per both the captains. Pakistan made a change to the team with Shaheen Afridi back in the side and England went unchanged. Jofra Archer bowled with good pace and accuracy to start off the innings. He regularly clocked speeds of more than 140 in the opening over and kept it tight as he gave away just five runs in the first over. Saim Ayub fell cheaply again and so did Salman Agha as Pakistan struggled. Babar Azam came into bat and started well, scoring 10 runs off his first six balls. He scored two consecutive boundaries against Archer and looked to be positive.
But as soon as the powerplay finished, Babar Azam struggled to rotate strike and played too many dots again and failed to accelerate. Babar Azam once again failed as he got out for 25 runs off 24 balls and struggled out in the middle. Farhan played a terrific knock as he completed his half century. Pakistan had a poor finish in the back half of the innings as they ended with 164/9 at the end of the first innings. Dawson was excellent, picking up three wickets.
England lost Phil Salt in the first ball as Shaheen Shah Afridi struck early. Pakistan roared back in the game as Shaheen picked up Jos Buttler and Jacob Bethell in quick time. England captain Harry Brook who promoted himself to Number 3 batted with a lot of intent and single handely took the game away from Pakistan. Brook completed his half century in just 28 balls and built a great partnership with Sam Curran. Usman Tariq picked up the wicket of Sam Curran. But Will Jacks and Harry Brook stitched up another partnership as England went close.
They lost three wickets but in the end managed to win by two wickets. Harry Brook was the player of the match for his terrific knock century. England won their previous fixture against Sri Lanka and now with a win over Pakistan they have a very good NRR. They are currently top of the table with four points in the Super 8 stage and have sealed their semi final berth.
