Pak vs Eng: Bowlers falter as visitors lose 2nd T20I despite Hafeez heroics

Pak vs Eng live blog updates for 2nd T20I in Manchester, 2020

By Zohaib Ahmed Majeed
August 30, 2020

Live blog updates for 2nd T20I between Pakistan and England at Old Trafford in Manchester appear in this thread. Timestamps are in PST.


England's run chase - Target: 196

199-5 after 19.1 overs. Malan (54 off 36) plays the winning shot as England win by five wickets and five balls to spare to go up 1-0 in the three-match series. 

Looking for someone to blame? Try Amir's untimely injury (bowled only 2 overs), Shaheen Afridi's unexpected waywardness (conceded 44-0 in 3-1 overs) and the think tank that did not use Hafeez when England's twin left-handers were running Pakistan ragged.

184-4 after 18 overs. Moeen Ali pulls Shadab (34-3)and gets caught at midwicket. 12 needed off 12 balls. Is there a late twist in the tale?

178-3 after 17 overs. Dangerman Morgan (66 off 32) gone but surely it's too little too late. Great over by Rauf. 18 needed off 18 balls. Shadab to bowl the 18th. 

173-2 after 16 overs. It's a mere formality now. Game is over folks.

162-2 after 15 overs. Eoin Morgan brings up his 50 and team's 150 with a six off of a Shaheen Afridi yorker that became a full toss. Hits another few boundaries, bleeds Afridi for 20 runs and pretty much wins his side the match. It's a lost cause at this point. 34 needed of 30 balls.

142-2 after 14 overs. 54 needed off last 6 overs. England have the upper hand. Pakistan desperately need a breakthrough. 

Where's Hafeez?

130-2 after 13 overs. Morgan (45) could take the game away from Pakistan if he stays a little longer.

117-2 after 12 overs. Expensive over by Iftikar. Concedes 18.

99-2 after 11 overs. Rauf bowls a neat and tidy over with multiple yorkers. Concedes just 5.

94-2 after 10 overs. England need another 102 from the remaining 10. Morgan (20) and Malan (8) at the crease. T20 specialist Haris Rauf to bowl the 11th.

88-2 after 9 overs. Shadab concedes 14.

74-2 after 8 overs. After a wayward start, Pakistani bowlers are tightening up the screws. Run-rate is going up.

67-2 after 7 overs. Shadab Khan on fire. Traps Banton lbw the very next ball. Pakistan back in the game. He hits Eoin Morgan on the pad too, takes a review but adjudged not out.

66-1 after 6.2 overs. And God did help us. Shadab removes Bairstow (44 off 24). He top-edges a sweep and Imad Wasim catches at square leg.

65-0 after 6 overs. Amir felt his hamstring and is getting treatment. This should explain his Test retirement. Meanwhile, Shadab Khan, who conceded more than others generally, has been introduced at a time when everyone is conceding big. God help us.

53-0 after 5 overs. Apologies for the interruption. Internet problems. Just Karachi things! Anyway, as expected, England are getting their revenge. Jonny Bairstow (33) and Tom Banton (18) are manhandling Pakistan bowlers.


End of Pakistan innings

195-4 after 20 overs. Hafeez out on penultimate ball of the innings. His 36-ball 69 laced with five 4s and four 6s help Pakistan post a sizable total. A tight final over (7 runs) by Tom Curran restricts Pakistan under 200 but until then it was all Pakistan.

The flat track and the super fast outfield though means that the job is far from done. England batters will need some stopping. Let's hope Amir and co are on their game.

188-3 after 19 overs. Hafeez 66 off 33, Iftikhar 4 off 6

177-3 after 18 overs. 26-ball 50 up for Hafeez with a four. 

165-3 after 17 overs. Malik (14 off 11) caught in extra cover. Iftikhar Ahmed, the villain of unfinished opener T20I, is at the crease. Just so you know, he isn't 40, even though his mug tells a different story.

155-2 after 16 overs. Hafeez is on fire and is letting his bat answer his ageist critics. A pair of sixes and a boundary in this over for the Professor as Saqib Mahmood is bled for 23 runs. Pakistan set for a big score.

132-2 after 15 overs. Hafeez 28, Malik 4

119-2 after 14 overs. A pair of nearly 40-year-olds at the crease and no boundaries. 

'Technique' expert spotted:

113-2 after 13 overs. Babar Azam (56 off 44) pulls, hits it a bit too sweetly than intended, deposits a catch at deep midwicket. 

Shoaib Malik is in, which means along with Hafeez he forms probably the oldest T20 batting pair in world cricket.

109-1 after 12 overs. Hafeez pulls, hits a six and brings up his 2,000 runs in T20I cricket in style.

99-1 after 11 overs. Babar Azam hits back to back boundaries to bring up his 37-ball 50. The 14th of his flourishing career. The world's top-ranked T20 batsman living up to expectations.

87-1 after 10 over.

75-1 after 9 overs. Fakhar (36 off 22) goes for his second six of the over, fails and deposits a catch in the hands of Tom Banton who runs in from long-on to grab it. Mohammad Hafeez is next man in.

66-0 after 8 overs. There hasn't been an over without a boundary yet.

58-0 after 7 overs. Adil Rashid finds a crack in the pitch as the ball turns a mile. Still gets dispatched for a four as Pakistan are officially off to a good start. 

51-0 after 6 overs. Babar 23, Fakhar 27

42-0 after 5 overs. This one sees two boundaries. Run rate jumps up. Pattern breaks. 

31-0 after 4 overs. Fakhar ends the over with the solitary boundary. See what we're talking about? 

24-0 after 3 overs. The one boundary an over pattern holds again.

15-0 after 2 overs. Fakhar cuts and finds a boundary on what is a very fast outfield. A four in each of the first two overs mans it's a decent start so far.

5-0 after 1 over. Babar Azam starts innings with a four. Fakhar Zaman on the other hand, gets hit on the pad the first ball he faces. He wastes another two. The stark difference in confidence levels show. Off-spinner Moeen Ali to share the new ball.

0-0 after 0 over. Pakistan innings is about to begin. Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman are at the crease. Saqib Mahmood will bowl the first over. 

6:00:pm Weigh in!

5:45pm England have won the toss and opted to bowl first. Babar says he'd have bowled first as well had he won the toss. No changes made by either side.

Just putting it there:

READShortsighted to prefer 40-year-olds Hafeez, Malik over young blood, says former senator

Line-ups:

Pakistan: 1 Babar Azam (capt), 2 Fakhar Zaman, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Shoaib Malik, 5 Shadab Khan, 6 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 7 Iftikhar Ahmed, 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Mohammad Amir, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Shaheen Afridi

England: 1 Tom Banton, 2 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 3 Dawid Malan, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Moeen Ali, 6 Sam Billings, 7 Lewis Gregory, 8 Tom Curran, 9 Chris Jordan, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Saqib Mahmood

5:30pm First thing first: There is very little chance of rain today. It would oscillate between 0 and 10 percent, according to weather.com. If it rains now, hold them accountable, not us.

More on the weather business here.

Toss is in 15 minutes at 5:45pm. Kick-off at 6:15 so manage your chores accordingly.

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