163/8 (19.3)
CR : 8.36
162/6 (20.0)
CR : 8.10
England A won by 2 wickets 🏆
Player of the Match
J Cox
75(37)
Over 20
England A 163/8
Mitchell Stanley1(1)
Nathan Sowter7(4)
Shahid Aziz1-33(3.3)
ENG-A won by 2 wickets
12:23 AM IST and 10:53 PM Local Time: England A have won the third and final T20I of the three match series against Pakistan A. Both the sides fought well in this game and it went down the wire but it was the English side that took the game away from the hosts by a margin of 2 wickets.
Winning the toss, Pakistan A elected to bat first. But they were jolted early as their skipper Shamyl Hussain got dismissed in the second ball of the innings. Maaz Sadaqat then decided to take the charge and got a very little support from Sameer Minhas before the latter got out for 10. Abdul Samad also got dismissed cheaply for a run-a-ball 11 but Maaz Sadaqat completed his fifty in 33 balls. Sadaqat hit 4 fours and 2 sixes on his way to score 53 runs from 36 balls.
England dented Pakistan's progress in the 13th over as Scott Currie removed Sadaqat and Rohail Nazir and in the next over, James Coles removed Hasan Nawaz for 16. Pakistan were reduced to 103/6 and then Shahid Aziz got a promotion early in the order. He joined Saad Masood. The duo added 59 unbeaten runs for the 7th wicket and that propelled Pakistan to 162/6 in their 20 overs.
Scott Currie starred for England with the ball taking three wickets for 27 runs. James Coles took two wickets for 28 runs. Saqib Mahmood chipped in with a wicket.
England A came in pursuit of the 163-run target and they lost Will Smeed who had been in some rusty form in this series. Jordan Cox, the skipper then joined Ben McKinney and together they took on the Pakistani pace attack. Cox and McKinney added 54 from 25 balls before Sadaqat removed McKinney for 20. Cox hit three maximums and a couple of boundaries inside the powerplay but after that, he decided to anchor the innings.
Pakistan A thwarted the pressure back to England as they fed a lot of dot balls to Asa Tribe (5 off 12) and dismissed James Coles for just 6. Jordan Cox then got the company from Dan Mousley. They decided to respect the good balls and go after the bad deliveries. They batted 27 balls together and added 35 runs before Saad Masood removed the well set Jordan Cox. Cox hit 5 boundaries and 6 maximums on his way to score 75.
Saad Masood is the only silver lining of Pakistan A bowling. He bowled a few economical overs and gave just a single off the 16th over to reduce the equation to 31 from the final 4 overs. Sufyan Muqeem came and conceded 11 after that. Masood conceded a maximum but removed Dan Mousley in the 18th over. But Nathan Sowter took a three and hit a boundary of the fourth and fifth ball of that over and brought the equation down to 2 from the final over. Shahid Aziz dismissed Tom Moores in the final over but Mitchell Stanley took the winning single to take his team home with three balls remaining.
Saad Masood and Maaz Sadaqat took a couple of wickets each for Pakistan A. Sufyan Muqeem took a wicket but the pacers went for runs. Shahid Aziz conceded 33 runs from 3.3 overs taking a wicket. Mohammad Salman conceded 34 from his 3 overs. Akif Javed bowled only one over and conceded 13 runs.
Winning the toss, Pakistan A elected to bat first. But they were jolted early as their skipper Shamyl Hussain got dismissed in the second ball of the innings. Maaz Sadaqat then decided to take the charge and got a very little support from Sameer Minhas before the latter got out for 10. Abdul Samad also got dismissed cheaply for a run-a-ball 11 but Maaz Sadaqat completed his fifty in 33 balls. Sadaqat hit 4 fours and 2 sixes on his way to score 53 runs from 36 balls.
England dented Pakistan's progress in the 13th over as Scott Currie removed Sadaqat and Rohail Nazir and in the next over, James Coles removed Hasan Nawaz for 16. Pakistan were reduced to 103/6 and then Shahid Aziz got a promotion early in the order. He joined Saad Masood. The duo added 59 unbeaten runs for the 7th wicket and that propelled Pakistan to 162/6 in their 20 overs.
Scott Currie starred for England with the ball taking three wickets for 27 runs. James Coles took two wickets for 28 runs. Saqib Mahmood chipped in with a wicket.
England A came in pursuit of the 163-run target and they lost Will Smeed who had been in some rusty form in this series. Jordan Cox, the skipper then joined Ben McKinney and together they took on the Pakistani pace attack. Cox and McKinney added 54 from 25 balls before Sadaqat removed McKinney for 20. Cox hit three maximums and a couple of boundaries inside the powerplay but after that, he decided to anchor the innings.
Pakistan A thwarted the pressure back to England as they fed a lot of dot balls to Asa Tribe (5 off 12) and dismissed James Coles for just 6. Jordan Cox then got the company from Dan Mousley. They decided to respect the good balls and go after the bad deliveries. They batted 27 balls together and added 35 runs before Saad Masood removed the well set Jordan Cox. Cox hit 5 boundaries and 6 maximums on his way to score 75.
Saad Masood is the only silver lining of Pakistan A bowling. He bowled a few economical overs and gave just a single off the 16th over to reduce the equation to 31 from the final 4 overs. Sufyan Muqeem came and conceded 11 after that. Masood conceded a maximum but removed Dan Mousley in the 18th over. But Nathan Sowter took a three and hit a boundary of the fourth and fifth ball of that over and brought the equation down to 2 from the final over. Shahid Aziz dismissed Tom Moores in the final over but Mitchell Stanley took the winning single to take his team home with three balls remaining.
Saad Masood and Maaz Sadaqat took a couple of wickets each for Pakistan A. Sufyan Muqeem took a wicket but the pacers went for runs. Shahid Aziz conceded 33 runs from 3.3 overs taking a wicket. Mohammad Salman conceded 34 from his 3 overs. Akif Javed bowled only one over and conceded 13 runs.
Time for the post-match and post-series presentations.
Shamyl Hussain (Pakistan A Captain): "(On the team's performances) This series has been a good exposure for us. This game, we showed a lot of fight. But we should have been more consistent.
(Whether he would have liked to bowl first) The toss decision was completely fine, the ball was coming onto the bat nicely. (On Maaz Sadaqat) He is a star player, it is good to have him back in the runs."
(Whether he would have liked to bowl first) The toss decision was completely fine, the ball was coming onto the bat nicely. (On Maaz Sadaqat) He is a star player, it is good to have him back in the runs."
Player of the Match: Jordan Cox
Jordan Cox (England A Captain and Player of the Match): "Thank you. To restrict them to 160-odd was good. It was definitely chase-able. The wicket gets better here. When they decided to bat first, we were surprised. They got a decent total to the board.
(On different batters performing in different games) Yeah it is a good thing. A lot of talent in the dressing room. I hope they do better in the fifty over series. I hope it will be a good series.
(On personal form ahead of the IPL coming up) I was lucky enough to get picked in the IPL. Got myself two weeks off for some rest and to recuperate as much as I can. Then a busy IPL stint is coming up."
(On different batters performing in different games) Yeah it is a good thing. A lot of talent in the dressing room. I hope they do better in the fifty over series. I hope it will be a good series.
(On personal form ahead of the IPL coming up) I was lucky enough to get picked in the IPL. Got myself two weeks off for some rest and to recuperate as much as I can. Then a busy IPL stint is coming up."
The England A side have been given the series trophy. They will now lift it and pose for the photos. It has been a deserving win for the England side.
That's it from our coverage of the three-match T20 series between Pakistan A and England A. England A has played better cricket than their opponents and have won all the three games to complete a whitewash. Now, a five-match One-Day series is lined up next. These two teams will lock horns again on Friday, 27th of February for the first one-day game at the Tolerance Oval, Abu Dhabi.
For now, this is Saptak Sanyal signing off on behalf of my co-commentator Karthik Raj and the scorer/analyst of this match Asraj Khan. Good night.
For now, this is Saptak Sanyal signing off on behalf of my co-commentator Karthik Raj and the scorer/analyst of this match Asraj Khan. Good night.