HomeCricketPak left to rue their luck again as rain...

Pak left to rue their luck again as rain washes out 1st T20

- Advertisement -

Pakistan tour of England 2020; England vs Pakistan 1st T20I; England 131 for 6 (Banton 71, Imad 2-31) v Pakistan – Match abandoned

Pakistan’s tryst with bad weather continued at the Emirates Old Trafford on Friday as persistent showers forced the 1st T20I against England to be called off.

Babar Azam’s men were largely successful in containing the run flow and seemed to be on the way to keeping Eoin Morgan’s England down to a manageable total when rain returned to play spoiler. England were 131/6 with five balls left to bowl in the 17th over when the covers were wheeled out.

- Advertisement -

Pakistan opened the bowling with slow left-armer Imad Wasim after asking England to bat first. The gambit came off in the first over itself as explosive England wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow offered a return catch to the 31-year-old. 

However, his opening partner Tom Banton took on the Pakistan attack and, in the company of southpaw Dawid Malan, took England to 74 in the 10th over before the latter was run out for 23.

Banton hit a Shadab Khan delivery towards point and Malan set off for a single without waiting for a call from the striker’s end. It was a clear case of misjudgment as the ball was hit straight to the fielder and there was no run in it.

Malan was too far gone when Mohammad Hafeez lobbed the ball to the leg-spinning all-rounder who whipped the bails off.

Tom Banton- England vs Pakistan 1st T20I
Tom Banton stroked a fluent 71 off 42 balls, striking 4 fours and 5 sixes. (Credits: Twitter/ ICC)

Skipper Morgan joined Banton at the crease and the pair pushed England along to 109 before Banton fell to Shadab. However, that wasn’t before the Somerset right-hander stroked a fluent 71 off 42 balls, striking 4 fours and 5 sixes.

England suffered a mid-innings collapse thereafter as Morgan and all-rounder Moeen Ali were sent packing within four balls of each other. While the skipper fell leg-before to part-timer Iftikhar Ahmed for 14, the off-spinning all-rounder fell to Shadab for 8.

Moeen edged a Shadab delivery while trying to run it down to the third man boundary. The catch lobbed off Mohammad Rizwan’s palm and popped out in front before the stumper lunged forward and pouched it at the second attempt.

Somerset all-rounder Lewis Gregory, who joined Sam Billings in the middle at the fall of the England skipper and Moeen, was soon undone by Imad. He ran down the pitch to the slow left-armer, who fired it wide outside off-stump.

Gregory missed it and Rizwan effected a smart piece of stumping to send him on his way.

Shadab Khan- England vs Pakistan 1st T20I
Moeen Ali edged a Shadab Khan delivery while trying to run it down to the third man boundary (Credits: Twitter/ ICC)

Billings, who was England’s only hope at that stage to push the score beyond 170, looked to open out in the company of fast bowling all-rounder Chris Jordan when showers brought a halt to the proceedings.

Pakistan were left to curse their luck as, with six wickets in their kitty, they were in with a good chance to keep England down to 150. Though England has enough variety in its bowling arsenal to defend modest scores, Pakistan would have fancied chasing down any target under 150 on a flat deck.

England, too, would have fancied opening the series with a win as any score around 160 or more would have been enough to give their bowlers some scoreboard comfort and Pakistan batters worries.

Follow us on facebook for more sports news & updates

- Advertisement -

15 Highly Educated Cricketers Of All Time

Cricket is a game of passion and dedication. A sport in which one involves themselves in camps and practice since early childhood. Due to...

Do we often under-appreciate Andy Flower? What’s his legacy?

There's a hint of sadness in noting that Zimbabwe has never been a dominant power in world cricket. But nothing could be sadder than...

Why are more and more MotoGP riders using the Noson nasal dilator?

Introduction MotoGP riders or athletes are physically fit and healthy individuals and their muscles are continuously functioning and used during the performance. As a fan...

How Come UFC Fighters Have Cauliflower Ears But Boxers Don’t?

The UFC has come a long way since its early days, wherein the fights seemed like modern-day gladiators due to its brutality and inconsistent...

5 spinners who can be India’s potential finger-spinners

The Indian cricket team has always been proud of its ability to produce world-class batsmen and similarly potent spinners. Though in recent times, the...

IPL 2018: The beautiful Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur

Being seated in the Sawai Mansingh stadium brings a different world, a world of difference away from the palpable excitement of watching truly India’s...

The astonishing decline of Mario Balotelli

There was a time when Mario Balotelli was on top of the world.  The Italian talisman had scored two goals in the Euro 2012 semi-finals,...

Top 5 Left Wingers In The World, Based On 2019-20 Season

Owing to the fact that football has evolved a lot since its inception and the tactics have changed a lot, the role of wingers...

What can be expected from the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix?

Heat in the air and heat inside the car- that's been the story of the Azerbaijan Grand prix. As F1 parks itself at Baku...

How Suresh Raina Batted India Into The Finals of 2011 World Cup

Its been 9 years, since India won the Cricket World Cup defeating Sri Lanka on 2 April, 2011. The images and visuals of...

IPL 2018: The best from the West Indies

When one of nature's treacherous attacks on mankind- earthquakes- strike, their impact is measured on Richter's scale. When West Indians strike in a tournament...

Big change for India Women’s cricket as BCCI looks to finalise bowling coach soon

We are not even at the halfway stage of the 2018 cricketing season. It clearly seems there's no stopping India's women's cricket team. The...

Age Fraud in Indian Cricket: Are players really to be blamed?

There have been times while watching a cricket match when we tend to hear commentators comment on cricketers’ age. We as fans have many...

Ajax XI if they didn’t sell their star players

Based in Amsterdam, AFC Ajax, who incidentally draw their name from the legendary Greek hero of the same name, are the most successful club...

5 famous players to play for both Leeds United and Liverpool

Leeds United are back in the Premier League after 16 years and will play Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday in their very first match...

- Advertisement -

- Advertisement -