Match Summary: A second-string England side, led by Ben Stokes, hammered down a 142-run target in just 21.5 overs. The damage by Saqib Mahmood’s 4-wicket haul resulted in Pakistan’s 9-wicket defeat in Cardiff on Thursday.
Pakistan was the favorite before the start of the three-match series as England was playing their ‘C’ team due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Pakistan lost the toss and were asked to bat first. They were off to a demolishing start and collapsed to 26 for 4 in just the seventh over. Barring opener Fakhar Zaman (47 off 67) and all-rounder Shadab Khan (30 off 43), none of the other batsmen managed to put pressure on the England bowlers. They were bundled out for 141.
The English side dominated the proceedings throughout their innings. In reply, riding on the half-centuries from Dawid Malan and Zak Crawley, England reached the target in 21.5 overs with nine wickets in the shed.
Following Pakistan’s disastrous performance, former England captain Michael Vaughan took some pot shots at team Pakistan.
Love watching Pakistan play Cricket … A team that can beat any team in the world on any given day but also lose to any team on any given day … #ENGvPAK
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) July 8, 2021
For England to rock up only yesterday as a team & perform like they did tells us so much about the culture of the white ball team .. very very impressive .. for Pakistan they were PATHETIC .. Its the only way to describe a performance like that .. #ENGvPAK
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) July 8, 2021
For the unversed, here’s the schedule of the series
ODI Series
1st ODI – July 8, Thursday at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff: 12:00 noon GMT
2nd ODI – July 10, Saturday at Lord’s, London: 10:30 AM GMT
3rd ODI – July 13, Tuesday at Edgbaston, Birmingham: 12:00 noon GMT
T20I Series
1st T20I – July 16, Friday at Trent Bridge, Nottingham: 5:30 PM GMT
2nd T20I – July 18, Sunday at Headingley, Leeds: 1:30 PM GMT
3rd T20I – July 20, Tuesday at Old Trafford, Manchester: 5:30 PM GMT
Squads
Pakistan ODI Squad: Babar Azam (c), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Sohaib Maqsood, Haris Sohail, Agha Salman, Saud Shakeel, Usman Qadir, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Sarfaraz Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Hasnain, Shaheen Afridi
England ODI Squad: Zak Crawley, James Vince, Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes(c), Daniel Lawrence, Ben Duckett(w), Lewis Gregory, Craig Overton, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Parkinson, Jake Ball, Danny Briggs, John Simpson, Philip Salt, Brydon Carse, Will Jacks, Tom Helm, David Payne
Pakistan T20I Squad: Babar Azam (c), Fakhar Zaman, Sohaib Maqsood, Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Usman Qadir, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Azam Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Sarfaraz Ahmed, Arshad Iqbal, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Hasnain, Shaheen Afridi
England T20I Squad: To be announced
