England hold nerve to win 2nd T20 despite Afridi fireworks
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DUBAI: Paceman Chris Woakes held his nerve in the final over to give England a hard-fought three-run win in the second Twenty20 international over Pakistan in Dubai on Friday.
Woakes conceded just seven runs in the 20th over to restrict Pakistan to 169-8 and help England defend a 173-run target to give his team an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series at Dubai stadium.
The 24,000 fans, mostly expats from Pakistan, had expected their team to pull off a sensational win after skipper Shahid Afridi smashed a blistering eight-ball 24 with three sixes and a boundary.
But Anwar Ali failed to connect on the last delivery off which Pakistan had needed four for victory.
Afridi took 22 off the 18th over by Woakes but his dismissal on the last ball left Pakistan to score 25 off the last two overs.
Pakistan's batsmen were once again reckless as most of them got good starts but failed to capitalise. Ahmed Shehzad top-scored with an 18-ball 28 with two fours and as many sixes.
Mohammad Hafeez made 25, Raffatullah Mohmand scored 23, Shoaib Malik managed 26 off 21 balls while talented Umar Akmal managed just three and Sohaib Maqsood only two.
England paceman Liam Plunkett bowled with fire and venom to finish with 3-33 while leg-spinner Adil Rashid grabbed 2-18 in his four probing overs.
England won the first match -- also in Dubai -- by 14 runs. The final match is in Sharjah on Monday.
England were lifted to 172-8 by a quickfire 24-ball 38 by James Vince and 22-ball-33 by skipper Jos Buttler as they upped the tempo by notching 58 in the last five overs.
Leg-spinner Shahid Afridi, who took 3-15 in his four overs, derailed the England batting after they looked well-set at 32-0 in the fourth over.
Afridi trapped Alex Hales leg before for 11 and then had Jason Roy caught behind for 22-ball 29 (two sixes and a four) to leave England at 47-2.
Joe Root made 20 before Buttler and Vince lifted England with a 35-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Afridi returned for his last over to have Vince caught in the deep.
Vince hit two sixes and three boundaries.
His wicket was Afridi's 86th in as many matches, beating countryman Saeed Ajmal (85 wickets in 64 matches) as the highest wicket-taker in all Twenty20 cricket.
Buttler smashed three sixes and a boundary to give England a challenging total to defend.
England, who won the first match by 14 runs in Dubai on Thursday, rested skipper Eoin Morgan in one of four changes to their side.
Pakistan brought back Shehzad and Malik in place of Mohammad Rizwan and Imran Khan Junior.
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Comments (67) Closed
Nov 28, 2015 01:08am
What a game of T20 cricket. The better team won. Their is no place for Sohail Tanveer in the team. Bring Irfan back . Afridi has played well and now he will "enjoy " another year of T20 cricket. Most of us criticize Afridi but we should also admit that in the current Pakistan batting there is not a single batsman who can hit the ball like Afridi, Butler, ABD, Finch etc. Pakistan desperately need Amir in the bowling line up or they will be at No 8 in T20 ranking as well.
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Nov 28, 2015 01:17am
We need a new younger captain. Someone needs to be brave enough to say afridis time is over
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Nov 28, 2015 01:32am
Boom boom almost does it again! Nice chase Pakistan, be proud of yourself!
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Nov 28, 2015 01:33am
In the end it was poor shot selection by Afridi and Sarfraz in getting out that handed the game to England.
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Nov 28, 2015 01:34am
Result is not going to change till Amir and Imaad Wasim are not back in team.
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Nov 28, 2015 01:35am
Another one just short of the target. Pakistan is playing without a significant plan in place, it seems. So, it's the captain who's calling the shots here? Or, is it Waqar, the coach? Well, anyway, the results in the two T20s are certainly reflective of poor bowling as well as batting strategies. Giving away a total of 150 or more in 20 overs and then following up with less than convincing batting displays......neither of these shortcomings will help the team in the upcoming World Cup.
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Nov 28, 2015 01:42am
Anwar Ali is not Miandad. Afridi payed one small blistering inning and now dont expect him to score much in at least six more matches.His bowling and batting has fallen apart since a long time.It is tinme for him to be in the commentary box.
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Nov 28, 2015 01:42am
Without Misbah, Pakistan can not win. I wonder what's going to happen when he retires?
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Nov 28, 2015 01:42am
Well played Afridi .where are the haters
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Nov 28, 2015 01:45am
Congratulation T20 Team England !
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Nov 28, 2015 02:04am
afridi Bhai the team is in shambles no body is playing as one fielding and running between wickets are clear show. May be take a team on k2 climbing where they have to work with each other. The survival depends on each others effort. Every wrong step or out of sync step will be deadly. If they survive that than team will form, or take them on ride in Karachi, same thing.
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Nov 28, 2015 02:07am
Just when it looks Afridi will take all the way, he gets a blonde moment. High time he is pushed out. Retiring tu he will not do apne aap.
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Nov 28, 2015 02:09am
Where are all the Afridi haters now.
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Nov 28, 2015 02:34am
Afridi fan but he has his favorites in team. Why do u have sohail tanvir. Afridi is right that he dictates who is in the team as he is captain but i think he is trying to make himself the Kaptaan(ik) which he will never be
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Nov 28, 2015 02:35am
Our One-day and T-20 team are simply just not good enough. Time to bring Mohammed Amir so solve your woes. As for those against him playing in the team, surely you are bringing more grief to our country because of your personality and failures. Learn to live with tolerance, just as we are tolerating you.
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Nov 28, 2015 02:35am
Pakistan batting line always lose it in the middle overs. In overs no. 5 to 9 Pakistan scored at 3,40 runs per over by Hafeez and Shoaib. And that too when they had been given a flying start. Pakistan does not have any big hitters like Razaq and Afridi (in old days) and that makes in necessary to keep the pace up front. there are so many of those with a career strike rate of 110 but non who can blast it away like Buttler and Morgan do for England.
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Nov 28, 2015 02:37am
Umar Akmal was unlucky to given out while he wasn't. Hard days for him as also in the first match he got run out due to his partner.
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Nov 28, 2015 02:41am
Pakistan should have won this match. Fielding took us down. Bowling as well.
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Nov 28, 2015 02:42am
big 3 is back ,in game. all 3 are wining
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Nov 28, 2015 02:43am
one day to another, people will start loving afridi
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Nov 28, 2015 02:45am
The difference was Tanveer,s fielding giving a six instead of a good catch and two other runs with dropped catch. You are supposed to make these catches in international cricket. A genuine spinner would have made some difference rather than part time bowlers. Sorry to say but Raffatullah does not belong in this arena.
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Nov 28, 2015 02:58am
very disappointing
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Nov 28, 2015 03:24am
Pakistan came close but not close enough, full marks for a very thrilling encounter. If Sarfaraz had not played a silly shot or Tanvir had connected instead of attempting to smash the ball out of the ground, the outcome may have been different. Pakistan may have to give youngsters a chance in the final match, perhaps dropping the Pensioner in Riffatullah and fast track Mohammed Amir. Maqsood should certainly be dropped instead a specialist leg spinner be deployed. Both Rasid and Tahir of South Africa have proved their inclusion.
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Nov 28, 2015 03:31am
Hmmmm.. If we look at results, not that much of a difference between the major sub-continental rivals. India closely lost their ODI (3-2) and twenty-20 series (2-0) with the top ranked RSA but won in the test series. Unfortunately for India, their talismanic spinners Ashwin and Jadeja who won them the tests were both absent from the ODI and 20-20.
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Nov 28, 2015 03:36am
winning and loosing is part of game,well played paksitan,guys you tried hard and have shown good fight, i am proud of team pakistan.
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Nov 28, 2015 03:40am
Pakistan will always be a very talented team. However, their mental toughness is lacking to compete in close encounters.
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Nov 28, 2015 04:13am
Well done Shahid Khan Afridi and Team!
Great job both with bat and ball.
win or defeat is the part of the game, but one should leave the field as like you people have done today...Well done the team.
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Nov 28, 2015 04:13am
Pakistan played well......Afridi was brilliant but lost his wicket at the wrong time. The beauty was that match was decided on the last ball till then all three results were possible. Great match.!!
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Nov 28, 2015 04:17am
England team is no doubt superior They played shots on every ball which is the right policy for a twenty/20 game.
Shahid Afridi is in form should be given chance in ODIs.
Opener Farhatulah contributed to the defeat. He looked novice .
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Nov 28, 2015 04:21am
Well fought Pakistan. Its so sad that we have yet to produce another Afridi who has an 'X' factor. Who can change the game in no time.
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Nov 28, 2015 05:37am
Haha! Talented "Umar akmal"! Good one writer. Loved the sarcasm.
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Nov 28, 2015 05:53am
The man of the match award should have gone to Afridi for his bowling and batting.
Instesd it went to an England bowler who took 3 wickets for 33 runs.
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Nov 28, 2015 06:36am
Good Pakistani Team specially Shahid Afridi .
He played like a champion . But other bowlers did not played well & conceded many runs.
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Nov 28, 2015 07:32am
@Salma Shahid He was clearly out.
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Nov 28, 2015 07:50am
Closely fought match. This is cricket. Both matches were interesting till the end. Well played Pakistan and better luck next time. Congratulations to England for winning this series.
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Nov 28, 2015 07:53am
@Salma Shahid Umar Akmal was unlucky to be given out.He has unfortunate experience in both game.Lot has to do with his mental set up.Technically he is good batsman to have and I am sure he can establish.Maqsood has been struggling against spinners.Not sure he is in right form to be in team.Hafeez is falling apart too in ODI and T20.
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Nov 28, 2015 08:00am
I think Afridi should have taken one over instead of giving it to other. Also he should have sent Wahab for batting instead of Anwar Ali.
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Nov 28, 2015 08:39am
@Fahd I fully agree to your comments on Sohail Tanveer but problem is this: as long as Afridi is there, Sohail will be in. Someone has to look into it.
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Nov 28, 2015 08:57am
can we get rid of the player with most horrible technique Mr. Suhaib Maqsood ; idk why our fans get excited by a player who can slog few sixes but is technically and temperamentally poor
Tanvir, Malik/Hafeez, Riaz to make way for Imad Wasim, Umar Gul,
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Nov 28, 2015 09:07am
Afridi you proved AGAIN in bowling, fielding & batting!!!!
Afridi hatters take this to the bank!!!
Well Done AFRIDI; support you all the way - Brother!!!!
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Nov 28, 2015 09:13am
Whatever happened to Fawad Alam? He's no longer even any discussion lately.
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Nov 28, 2015 09:23am
A truely Twenty 20 nonetheless.
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Nov 28, 2015 10:00am
We prefer fire works rather than winning!
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Nov 28, 2015 10:22am
@Fahd ---sorry to say Afridi must go -----give chance to new players--Irfan should be part of the team!!!!!!!
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Nov 28, 2015 10:23am
@Desi Bhai ----Afridi should let new players play he needs to retire!!!!!!
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Nov 28, 2015 10:26am
@Truthspeaks ----no he should retire------as a captain he is responsible for not winning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Nov 28, 2015 10:32am
@Citizen We prefer fire works rather than winning!....than one cannot win then
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Nov 28, 2015 10:45am
Afraidi can creat sensations but see rarely he takes his team to victory. Attacking batsmanship must include sensible batting. He is just reckless and entertains ...that to occasionally. Gets out when needed most.
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Nov 28, 2015 10:51am
The problem is not technical but fundamental and that is also the spirit of this game
Our behavior towards our teammates is the difference
We cannot behave even with negative face expression towards each other
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Nov 28, 2015 10:54am
Well done England, so happy on their win.
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Nov 28, 2015 10:55am
Pakistan having corruption every where producing world class cricketers is quite a surprise.
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Nov 28, 2015 10:56am
The heroes retire at their prime...other wise they are asked to leave with disgrace...
I hope that Afridi feels that he has already become a hero and it is time to retire and increase his respect in the upper form...He should now think on producing players of his cadder for Pakistan...The team will only improve if we honestly do that and first get rid of Waqar Younis and Intikhab Alam and some more hiding behind...
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Nov 28, 2015 10:58am
Despite England experimenting in this game, they still won against the so called tailor made T20 side. Guesss its quite clear, 250 in ODIs and 150 in T20s.
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Nov 28, 2015 11:01am
very good match ..I must say about england team .. Look like england played with A team against pakistan half of team have no idea even dont know the player name .. But still they win T20 series .. For pakistan fan afridi Shots enjoyable..! Gud luck for next match..!!
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Nov 28, 2015 12:18pm
While in every match there is a team that looses and a team that wins, I think we just need to feel convinced that our Team is playing for the country and not for themselves. That is the feeling I have got when I have watched these matches and it saddens me. It is not a question of "why" you lost, Mr Afridi; it is "how" you lost. Your own performance is usually under par -- you only perform in 1 out of 4 or 5 or 6 matches, so we obviously do not have a very good role model in you.
Nonetheless, you are the captain, and I believe the onus is on you to get your team to work as a team and to get them to play for their country rather then for themselves and their super egos -- what a change that will be!!!
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Nov 28, 2015 12:24pm
@Rick_james Did Afridi carry the team over the line??? The answer is : NO....
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Nov 28, 2015 12:34pm
why ..Maksud in the team ? He is a very bad fielder and irresponsible batter ? He dropped catch and waste balls also while batting... None of Pak batter doing good anywhere .. Watch Jamshed here in BPL ( very poor batting though we are giving chance here ). Watch Amir's boweling here and bring him back.
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Nov 28, 2015 12:41pm
@Fahd Pakistanis need good cricket games and no winning combinations at the cost of our own prestige. No, this should not be the Pakistan for Muk-Muka anymore for ulterior motives! Stay steadfast and victory will be ours one day!
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Nov 28, 2015 12:52pm
Bet all your money Pakistan will win the next 20/20.
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Nov 28, 2015 02:48pm
I guess thats boom boom done with a score over 5 for the next ten or twenty matches. The better side won. The poor bowling cost Pakistan the game, how can you not attack the stumps and just bowl wide all the time.
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Nov 28, 2015 03:12pm
I would have Umar Gul in the t20 team every time. The batting has too many sloggers in there, no technique.
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Nov 28, 2015 05:20pm
Umar Akmal's wrong decision was the difference, however, a good match and good cricket to see rather than poor cricket from India and SA
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Nov 29, 2015 06:14am
Get rid of so called talented Umer Akmal and Sohaib Maqsood.
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Nov 29, 2015 04:14pm
Today Umar Akmal will perform. He was unlucky twice, he is good enough to take the game away from England. Wait and watch...
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Nov 29, 2015 10:26pm
cool
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Nov 30, 2015 02:47pm
The reality is majority of Pakistani cricket fans watch cricket because of Afridi (specially in UAE), cricket without afridi cricket is too boring. Afridi haters please have a life and concentrate on your own work specially when you have no knowledge and experience of cricket, Pakistan is playing against worlds best cricket team, you dont realise how much UK invests in cricket. I think Pakistan played very well and hopefully if Aamir plays in the team, we can win the T20 world cup with Afridi as captain.
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Nov 30, 2015 06:35pm
they can't even beat England and then they desire to play a series against india
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