Jos Buttler’s swashbuckling 84-run knock, followed by a combined bowling effort led England to a comfortable 23-run victory over Pakistan in the second T20I here at Edgbaston on Saturday.
Put into bat first, England had a scratchy start to their innings as opener Phil Salt (13) fell victim to Imad Wasim on the first delivery of the fourth over.
Put into bat first, England had a scratchy start to their innings as opener Phil Salt (13) fell victim to Imad Wasim on the first delivery of the fourth over.
Will Jacks then joined captain Buttler in the middle and the duo recovered England with a solid 71-run partnership for the second wicket.
Their brisk partnership had taken England to 96/1 at the halfway mark. Both the batters were scoring boundaries at will before Haris Rauf got rid of Jacks in the 11th over.
The in-form batter smashed four fours and two sixes on his way to a 23-ball 37.
Buttler was then involved in yet another crucial partnership for England when he added 48 runs for the third wicket with Jonny Bairstow, who scored 21 off 18 deliveries, laced up with one four and two sixes before perishing in the 15th over.
Following his dismissal, England began to lose wickets at an alarming rate and their mainstay Buttler also walked back to the dugout in the 18th over.
Jos Buttler top-scored for England with a 51-ball 84 which featured eight fours and three sixes.
Pakistan bowlers, who were at the receiving end in the middle phase of the innings, bowled tight in the death overs to refrain England from amassing the 200-run mark, which at one stage seemed achievable.
Shaheen Shah Afridi led the bowling charge for Pakistan with three wickets, followed by Imad Wasim and Haris Rauf, who bagged two each.
