A second-string England handed Pakistan a 3-0 thrashing in the ODIs, but Babar Azam's side hit back with 31-run in the first T20I, only to see the hosts wrest back the initiative with a 45-run win in the second match. More Cricket News | ENG-PAK 3rd T20 Live Blog
Now, after five matches, the two teams meet in Manchester for a finale. The series has so far proved to be a high-scoring affair. In the first match, Pakistan set a 233-run target then dismissed England for 201 in 19.2 overs as the encounter resulted in 433 runs.
Azam scored a fluent 85 off 49, and added 150 for the first wicket in 14.4 overs with his opening partner Mohammad Rizwan, who scores a 41-ball 63. But they were trumped by Liam Livingstone, who scored a 43-103 in a losing cause. And more surprisingly, Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi took home the man of the match award for his three wickets.
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In the second match, England set a target of 201 runs, with stand-in skipper Jos Buttler scoring 59 off 39. Livingstone once again played a crucial knock, hitting 38 off 23 balls. But it was Moeen Ali, who stole the show with an all-round show. He first scored 36 off 16, then claimed a couple of wickets as England restricted Pakistan to 155/9.
Head-to-head
In their previous 20 meetings, England have won 13 times, while Pakistan six. One match was no result (Old Trafford, August 28, 2020).
England also led the series head-to-head record, 4-2. In the last series, they played out 1-1 in England.
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England are looking for back-to-back series wins following their 3-0 win against Sri Lanka, while Pakistan are chasing a fourth win on the trot. They beat South Africa 2-1 at home, then beat the Proteas 3-1 away. And beat Zimbabwe 2-1, also away.
Match and telecast details
Match: England vs Pakistan, 3rd T20I cricket match
Date: July 20 (Tuesday), 2021
Time: 11:00 PM IST/ 06:30 PM Local
Venue: Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester, England
TV Channels: Sony Sports Network
Live Streaming: SonyLIV
Playing XIs in the second T20I
England: Jason Roy, Jos Buttler (c & wk), Dawid Malan, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Jonny Bairstow, Tom Curran, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Parkinson.
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (c), Sohaib Maqsood, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Azam Khan, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain.
Squads
England: Dawid Malan, Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Eoin Morgan (c), Lewis Gregory, David Willey, Tom Curran, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Parkinson, Adil Rashid, Jos Buttler (wk), Chris Jordan, Jake Ball, Tom Banton.
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (c), Sohaib Maqsood, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Azam Khan, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Usman Qadir, Sharjeel Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Arshad Iqbal, Mohammad Wasim Jr.
