Sports Desk
Nottingham: 150-run stand between Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam has led Pakistan to 232/6 in 20 overs in T20I series opener at Trent Bridge.
England’s captain Eoin Morgan put Pakistan into bat first at a batting friendly pitch. The reliable duo of Rizwan and Babar put 49 in the powerplay.
Rizwan started slow, however, he gained momemntum in the middle-overs. The batters took on leg-spinner Mark Pattinson and part-timer Liam Livingstone. In the process, Babar registered his 19th fifty while Rizwan posted his seventh half-century.
The hosts had a sigh of relief in the 15th over as Lewis Gregory dismissed Rizwan. The wicketkeeper-batter scored 63 off 41, powered by eight fours and a six.
The 34-year-old Sohaib Maqsood walked in the middle and joined the party, scoring 7 off 19 balls. He was caught at the fence by David Willey off Tom Curran.
Babar (85) was the next man to depart in the 17th over. In his 49-ball innings, he stroked eight fours and three sixes
Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Hafeez carried the platform as they scored 46 off 16 balls for fourth wickets. Hafeez made 10-ball 24 while Fakhar made 8-ball 26.
Pakistan reached to their highest-ever total in the format, previous best was 205/3 against West Indies in Karachi in 2018.
For England, all bowlers were expensive. Curran bagged two while Saqib Mehmood, Willey and Gregory took one each.
Teams
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (capt), Sohaib Maqsood, Mohammad Hafeez, Fakhar Zaman, Azam Khan, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain.
England: Jason Roy, Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Eoin Morgan, Lewis Gregory, Tom Curran, David Willey, Saqib Mahmood, Matt Parkinson.
