England defeated Pakistan by 67 runs in Lahore on Sunday to win the seven-match T20 international series 4-3. Dawid Malan hit a brilliant half-century and pace bowler Chris Woakes took three wickets.
Malan scored 78 off 47 balls and was well supported by Harry Brook (46 not out) and Ben Duckett (30) to help England to 209-3 in 20 overs.
The visitors then held the home team to 142-8 to win the series on their first visit to Pakistan in 17 years.
The first, third, sixth, and seventh games were won by England, while the second, fourth, and fifth were won by Pakistan.
Pakistan never recovered after losing the in-form Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, the series’ top run-scorer, in the first two overs.
Woakes caught Azam at short cover for four, and Reece Topley bowled Rizwan for one with his second delivery.
Shan Masood’s 43-ball 56 was in vain, as Pakistan were never in contention to set a new record for successful chases.
Pakistan’s best T20I chase was 208 runs against the West Indies in Karachi last year.
Khushdil Shah scored 27 off 25 balls and added 53 for the fourth wicket with Masood, but Adil Rashid broke the stand.
Woakes (3-26) dismissed Asif Ali (seven) and had Masood brilliantly caught by Adil Rashid in the 19th over to put an end to Pakistan’s hopes.
England skipper Moeen Ali, who took over for tour captain Jos Buttler, who missed all three games due to a calf injury, called it a “brilliant game.”
“We played really well from the start, and the batters scored very well, while I thought our bowling was outstanding in wet conditions,” he added.
Azam bemoaned the early wickets lost.
“We were chasing a 200-plus total and we lost two important wickets early on, which made our chase difficult, and credit to England for playing better,” said Pakistan captain Asif Ali.
Earlier, Malan and Brook led England’s recovery from a jittery 39-2, with openers Alex Hales (18) and
Phil Salt (20) both falling in the fifth over after a quick 39-run start.
Malan hit eight fours and three sixes in his 13th T20I half-century, despite being dropped twice by Azam on 29 and Mohammad Wasim on 62.
Malan and Duckett added 62 for the third wicket to get the innings back on track.
Brook, who was dropped by Azam off Haris Rauf on 24, hit four sixes and a four in his 29-ball innings and added 108 for the fourth wicket with Malan in 10.1 overs.
Fast bowler Mohammad Hasnain took 1-32 for Pakistan, while fellow paceman Wasim went for 61 runs in four wicketless overs.
England took the attack to Pakistan, scoring 60 runs in their final five overs.
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