England seal series with thrilling 3-wicket win over Pakistan
England defeated Pakistan by 3 wickets in the 4th ODI played at Trent Bridge, Nottingham on Friday.
England's stand-in captain Jos Buttler won the toss and decided to field first. Pakistan suffered a blow early on as Imam-ul-Haq had to retire hurt after being hit by a bouncer from Mark Wood.
Babar Azam then came to the crease and looked positive right from the word go. Fakhar Zaman also played with positive intent, putting the pressure on the England bowlers. At the end of 10 overs, Pakistan had raced away to 63 for 0.
After the power play, Babar and Fakhar showed their class with some delightful strokeplay. Babar Azam reached his half-century off 49 balls, following which Fakhar too reached the milestone off 44 balls.
Tom Curran got England back in the game, dismissing Fakhar Zaman for 57. Mohammed Hafeez, playing his first match of the tour, looked in good nick, reaching his half-century off 49 balls. However, he was soon dismissed by Mark Wood for 59.
At the other end, Babar Azam reached his 9th ODI century, off 104 balls. England's bowlers hit back at the death though, restricting the flow of runs by picking wickets regularly.
In the last 10 overs, Pakistan managed only 88 runs for the loss of 4 wickets, ending their innings with 340 runs on the board.
Chasing 341, England's openers Jason Roy and James Vince provided a solid foundation, racing off to 68 for 0 at the end of 10 overs.
Vince soon departed for 43, while Roy reached his fifty off just 43 balls. The explosive right handed-batsman continued to make batting look easy, reaching his century off 75 balls.
Joe Root and Roy added 107 runs for the 2nd wicket. However, Roy's dismissal triggered a collapse as Root, Jos Buttler, and Moeen Ali were also dismissed in double quick time, leaving the hosts reeling at 216 for 5.
Ben Stokes and Joe Denly steadied the England innings, adding 42 runs for the 6th wicket. Stokes then took charge and put pressure on the Pakistani bowling line-up along with Tom Curran. Stokes reached his fifty off 52 balls and batted extremely well alongside first Curran and then Adil Rashid to lead England to victory with 3 balls to spare.