Pakistan VS England T20I: Mohammad Rizwan ensures that the hosts retake the series lead

The match saw Pakistan beat England by six runs in yet another closely contested encounter on Wednesday (September 28). And it also saw the hosts retake the lead in the series.

This was the kind of low-scoring thriller that genuinely could have gone either way. But in the end, Pakistan snuck away with the win, and they had an unlikely hero in Aamer Jamal to thank for that.

The debutant, who had bowled only one over until the end of the game, was tasked with defending 15 runs off the final.

England was seven wickets down but had Moeen Ali at the crease alongside David Willey. Any result was still possible at that point.

Jamal, showing the composure of a seasoned veteran, started with two straight dot balls. Both were similar deliveries – complete and comprehensive outside off and not the easiest to slam over the ropes.

But he followed it up with a wide and then bowled a length ball which Moeen dispatched for a six – and brought up his half-century in the process.

Yet Jamal came back strong. He nailed a wide yorker outside off stump, which Moeen dug out but couldn’t get a run. The penultimate ball saw Ali take a single, meaning Willey was on strike for the final ball.

Seven runs are needed. 6 for a Super Over. To say that tension was running high would be an understatement. But Jamal nailed a skiddy length ball which Willey couldn’t dispatch, bowling his 4th dot ball of the over to give Pakistan the win.

In truth, the match had been lost well before that. England needed only 146 for the win, but Haris Rauf and Mohammad Nawaz got rid of Phil Salt (3) and Alex Hales (1) by the fourth over.

Ben Duckett would fall for just ten, whereas the in-form Harry Brook was out for a 9-ball 4. Dawid Malan scored a 35-ball 36, but his scoring rate put plenty of pressure on Ali and Sam Curran.

Curran succumbed to the pressure, scoring an 11-ball 17 before becoming Jamal’s first scalp. And while Moeen got a half-century, he received little support when it mattered most.

But, to be fair, Pakistan were in no position to get a win either. Their shaky middle-order suffered yet another collapse, and were it not for another Mohammad Rizwan half-century, they might not have had too many runs to defend.

His 63 off 46 balls made a critical difference, as only two other batters, Iftikar Ahmed (15) and Jamal (10), managed scores in double digits.

To make things worse, Pakistan were bundled out by the 19th over itself. At that time, a competitive match seemed their best hope. They ran away with a second close victory in as many games.