Despite Kohli's flowing form ahead of the T20 World Cup in June, pundits have raised concerns over his strike-rate
cricket2 hours ago
England scraped home to a three-run victory over Pakistan in the second Twenty20 (T20) tussle at Dubai International Stadium to seal the series win.
It looked as though the tourists hadn't quite done enough with the bat first up for the second night in a row here, with captain Shahid Afridi (3-15) and Anwar Ali (2-27) returning economical figures to take five wickets between them.
They had, in fairness, managed to add 12 runs to their score from before to get up to 172-8, yet that tally still looked vulnerable to against a pumped-up Pakistan XI in front of a capacity crowd.
Just two England batsmen, James Vince (38) and stand-in skipper Jos Buttler (33), made it past 30 and only one other name on the teamsheet - opener Jason Roy (29) - progressed beyond 20. England's innings contained nine fours and as many sixes, so 90 of their 172 runs were not really - theoretically - 'runs' at all.
Pakistan's reply was characterised by solid starts from their top four batsmen, with Ahmed Shehzad (28), Rafatullah Mohmand (23), Mohammad Hafeez (25) and Shoaib Malik (26) all making sturdy contributions.
Shoaib Maqsood (2) and Umar Akmal (3) failed to fire though between the dismissals of Hafeez and Malik, thereby leaving it to that man Afridi to get his side to within sight of a series-levelling success.
Coming in somewhat surprisingly as the eighth man to bat, it was a typical case of 'Boom Boom' by nickname, 'Boom Boom' by nature.
His characteristically belligerent knock of 24 off just eight balls, including three sixes and one four, resulted in Pakistan needing 23 off the final two overs.
Sarfraz Ahmed (19) got the equation down to 11 off five and Ali (3) and Tanvir (6) chipped away at it incrementally to set up a nerve-jangling finale.
One boundary off the very last ball would have meant there was something riding on the result in Sharjah on Monday night (Start: 8am).
Nonetheless, Ali could only manage a complete air shot at a Chris Woakes delivery that carried on through to the gloves of Buttler, who thus marked his first taste of international captaincy at the highest level with a slender triumph.
"I loved the experience," the Lancashire wicketkeeper-batsman said. "I've obviously been vice captain for a while and it's a lot easier when you can give your two pennies' worth and then step back and not be accountable for the decision.
"But, I really enjoyed it. That extra responsibility - and the pressure of it - certainly makes the game a bit more emotional and to come out on the right side in the end made it a really enjoyable start."
Reflecting on the match and result overall as opposed to the whole occasion, the 25-year-old added: "We got into a position where we should have won the game more comfortably. Afridi came in though and played as he can and that put a lot of pressure on us.
"We didn't play our best throughout the game. But, we showed a lot of character with the bat and the ball to do just enough at the right times and fair play to Chris Woakes for having the guts to stand up in that last over and do the job."
alex@khaleejtimes.com
Despite Kohli's flowing form ahead of the T20 World Cup in June, pundits have raised concerns over his strike-rate
cricket2 hours ago
Saudi Arabia has begun to explore extracting lithium from sea water
business2 hours ago
Speaking after meeting Lebanese leaders, French foreign minister says there had been "a lot of progress" over the French proposals
mena2 hours ago
The three-shot winner from Japan says he is aiming to become a member of the PGA Tour in the future
sports2 hours ago
Big-hitting Nienaber falters at the finish to settle for secondwhile former Abu Dhabi resident David Horsey takes the third spot at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club
sports3 hours ago
The UAE is India's second-largest export destination after the US
economy3 hours ago
Islamabad is seeking a larger long-term agreement with the fund after a current $3 billion standby arrangement expires this month
economy3 hours ago
Prior to halting operations, WCK had distributed more than 43 million meals in Gaza since October
world4 hours ago