153/6 (19.1)
CR : 7.98
152/7 (20.0)
CR : 7.60
England A won by 4 wickets 🏆
Player of the Match
Asa Mark Tribe
64(48)
Just 1 is needed off the last over.
19.1
1
A Minhas to S Currie
Full and around off. Currie drills it to mid on and steals a quick single to seal the deal. DONE AND DUSTED! ENGLAND LIONS HAVE DEFEATED PAKISTAN SHAHEENS BY 4 WICKETS WITH 5 BALLS TO SPARE!!!
Over 20
England A 153/6
Asa Mark Tribe64(48)
Scott Currie16(11)
Arafat Minhas0-24(3.1)
ENG-A won by 4 wickets
6:50 PM IST and 5:20 PM Local Time: England Lions win by 4 wickets! That is a superb bit of cricket from the England Lions. The way the Pakistani batters and bowlers got off to starts, the Lions were playing catch up in both innings. However, they did that pretty well and with a calm mind, pulled the game back on both occasions. They lead the T20I series 1-0.
England Lions won the toss and elected to bowl first. The Shaheens came out with great intent. Captain Shamyl Hussain and Maaz Sadaqat took on the bowling early. The former was the more aggressive one in that. The Shaheens were ruling at 92-1 in 11 overs and their Captain had crossed 50. However, a false shot from him brought about his end at 57.
A procession of wickets followed that. The England Lions kept on chipping at regular intervals. The Shaheens would nail a couple into the ropes and then hit one straight one. That became the norm as then from 92-1 slipped to 146-7. No batter apart from the captain crossed 25. Eventually the Shaheens were restricted to 152-7. The pick of the bowlers for the Lions were James Coles (2-20) and Saqib Mahmood (2-29).
It did look under par at the halfway stage but a good start with the ball could make matters interesting. The Shaheen quicks came out all cylinders firing. Akif Javed was simply looking unplayable in his opening spell. He took two wickets early on and despite some clean hitting from Ben McKinney, the Lions found themselves at 38-3 inside the first 6 overs. The third wicket being of McKInney himself who hit one straight up off Saad Masood.
That is when Asa Tribe and James Coles built a good 29-run partnership to bring calm to the storm. They kept on running singles around the ground and made sure the dots did not pile up. However, a bit of miscommunication led to the downfall of Coles. Lions were 67-4 at that point.
It looked like Shaheens could exert some serious pressure at that point. However, an extremely well articled partnership between Asa Tribe and Dan Mousley killed all hopes for the hosts. Mousley played his part by giving Asa the strike. Asa took the aggressive route from time to time and made sure he removed any pressure of the required run rate.
He reached his 50 and by the time the partnership was broken it was too late. Scott Currie joined Asa Tribe and the pair smoked 32 runs off just 18 balls to chase down the total in 19.1 overs with 4 wickets in hand. The pick of the bowlers for the Shaheens was Akif Javed for his 2-22.
England Lions won the toss and elected to bowl first. The Shaheens came out with great intent. Captain Shamyl Hussain and Maaz Sadaqat took on the bowling early. The former was the more aggressive one in that. The Shaheens were ruling at 92-1 in 11 overs and their Captain had crossed 50. However, a false shot from him brought about his end at 57.
A procession of wickets followed that. The England Lions kept on chipping at regular intervals. The Shaheens would nail a couple into the ropes and then hit one straight one. That became the norm as then from 92-1 slipped to 146-7. No batter apart from the captain crossed 25. Eventually the Shaheens were restricted to 152-7. The pick of the bowlers for the Lions were James Coles (2-20) and Saqib Mahmood (2-29).
It did look under par at the halfway stage but a good start with the ball could make matters interesting. The Shaheen quicks came out all cylinders firing. Akif Javed was simply looking unplayable in his opening spell. He took two wickets early on and despite some clean hitting from Ben McKinney, the Lions found themselves at 38-3 inside the first 6 overs. The third wicket being of McKInney himself who hit one straight up off Saad Masood.
That is when Asa Tribe and James Coles built a good 29-run partnership to bring calm to the storm. They kept on running singles around the ground and made sure the dots did not pile up. However, a bit of miscommunication led to the downfall of Coles. Lions were 67-4 at that point.
It looked like Shaheens could exert some serious pressure at that point. However, an extremely well articled partnership between Asa Tribe and Dan Mousley killed all hopes for the hosts. Mousley played his part by giving Asa the strike. Asa took the aggressive route from time to time and made sure he removed any pressure of the required run rate.
He reached his 50 and by the time the partnership was broken it was too late. Scott Currie joined Asa Tribe and the pair smoked 32 runs off just 18 balls to chase down the total in 19.1 overs with 4 wickets in hand. The pick of the bowlers for the Shaheens was Akif Javed for his 2-22.
Shamyl Hussain (Pakistan Shaheens Captain): (On his reading of the game) “I think it was a really good game overall. With the target we were defending, I thought our bowlers did a very good job. Especially the spinners - they bowled in the right areas and really used the conditions well.
(On the bowling performance) I was particularly pleased with the spinners. They managed to get some purchase from the wicket, which was a bit surprising, but they stayed disciplined. The fast bowlers also put in a solid effort. In T20 cricket, you’re always going to have small areas where things don’t go perfectly, but overall, it was a strong performance from the bowling unit.
(On areas of improvement) I think the main area where we could have done much better was with the bat. The bowling effort was good enough, but as a batting group, we know we can perform better and put ourselves in stronger positions.
(On the conditions in Abu Dhabi) I think the conditions here are really good. Coming from Karachi, where it’s extremely hot, it actually feels quite comfortable here. The pitches are good, it’s a nice place to play cricket, and I’m enjoying the experience a lot.
(On the matches ahead) We’ve got two more games to go, so the focus now is to take the positives, learn from this one, and come back stronger.”
(On the bowling performance) I was particularly pleased with the spinners. They managed to get some purchase from the wicket, which was a bit surprising, but they stayed disciplined. The fast bowlers also put in a solid effort. In T20 cricket, you’re always going to have small areas where things don’t go perfectly, but overall, it was a strong performance from the bowling unit.
(On areas of improvement) I think the main area where we could have done much better was with the bat. The bowling effort was good enough, but as a batting group, we know we can perform better and put ourselves in stronger positions.
(On the conditions in Abu Dhabi) I think the conditions here are really good. Coming from Karachi, where it’s extremely hot, it actually feels quite comfortable here. The pitches are good, it’s a nice place to play cricket, and I’m enjoying the experience a lot.
(On the matches ahead) We’ve got two more games to go, so the focus now is to take the positives, learn from this one, and come back stronger.”
Jordan Cox (England Lions Captain): "(Thoughts on the win) Yeah, to get a win and start the series 1-0 is pretty awesome.
(Pulling back things with the ball) They batted really well on the powerplay. In fact, the 10 overs were very good for them. It looked like 180-90 was on the cards but to restrict them to 152 was awesome.
(A word on the batters) The batters did a great job. McKinney started off in fine fashion. We always needed one person to get to 60 and Asa did that well today.
(Areas of improvement) I mean if you want a perfect game, we could have restricted them to 35-40 in the powerplay. However, in the end a win is a win."
(Pulling back things with the ball) They batted really well on the powerplay. In fact, the 10 overs were very good for them. It looked like 180-90 was on the cards but to restrict them to 152 was awesome.
(A word on the batters) The batters did a great job. McKinney started off in fine fashion. We always needed one person to get to 60 and Asa did that well today.
(Areas of improvement) I mean if you want a perfect game, we could have restricted them to 35-40 in the powerplay. However, in the end a win is a win."
PLAYER OF THE MATCH: ASA TRIBE
Asa Tribe (Player of the Match): (On the team’s performance) “Yes, I’m really happy with the performance. I thought we bowled very nicely and managed to restrict them to what we felt was an under-par score. It was pleasing that we were able to follow that up with a successful chase.
(On finishing the game personally) Winning games for the side is always special, but being there at the end makes it even more satisfying. There’s nothing better than walking off the field with your partner after getting the job done.
(On preparation for the tournament) My preparation was mainly off the back of the SA20 competition in South Africa, which was fantastic for my development. After that, we had a short pre-camp here, which really helped us get used to the conditions. I think that’s been very beneficial coming into the tournament.
(On the start of the campaign) It’s definitely a good start for us here in the UAE. Hopefully, we can carry this momentum forward over the next couple of weeks.”
(On finishing the game personally) Winning games for the side is always special, but being there at the end makes it even more satisfying. There’s nothing better than walking off the field with your partner after getting the job done.
(On preparation for the tournament) My preparation was mainly off the back of the SA20 competition in South Africa, which was fantastic for my development. After that, we had a short pre-camp here, which really helped us get used to the conditions. I think that’s been very beneficial coming into the tournament.
(On the start of the campaign) It’s definitely a good start for us here in the UAE. Hopefully, we can carry this momentum forward over the next couple of weeks.”
That is it from the first T20I between the Pakistan Shaheens and England Lions. The visitors came prepared to play in these foreign conditions. They executed better over the course of the 40 overs. The Shaheens started well with both and ball but could not capitalise on both occasions.
The second T20I will be held in a couple of days' time on the 22nd at the same venue. The start time will be 3:30 PM IST and 2 PM Local Time. Do join us for that.
On this note, I, Manan Mehta would like to sign off on behalf of my colleagues Dev Rajawat and Zeeshan Naiyer. See youuuu!!!
The second T20I will be held in a couple of days' time on the 22nd at the same venue. The start time will be 3:30 PM IST and 2 PM Local Time. Do join us for that.
On this note, I, Manan Mehta would like to sign off on behalf of my colleagues Dev Rajawat and Zeeshan Naiyer. See youuuu!!!