‘Unstoppable’ Babar, Rizwan help Pakistan thrash England in 2nd T20

Pakistan mounted a great comeback on the back of a stunning century from skipper Babar Azam along with a brilliant 88* from Mohammad Rizwan in the second T20I against England at the National Stadium in Karachi on Thursday.

Alex Hales and Phil Salt put on a quickfire 42-run partnership in the first five overs. Salt got England up and running with a six against Mohammad Nawaz and Hales followed it up with a four and six in the next over.

Shahnawaz Dahani turned it around for Pakistan in the final over of the power-play and was on a hat-trick with the wicket of Hales and Dawid Malan. England, however, did not go into a shell with Ben Duckett counter-attacking with the bat.

Just when England were once again looking dangerous, the hosts struck back with two wickets in two overs with both set batters heading back to the pavilion. Once again, the visitors fought fire with fire and took the attack to Pakistan.

Harry Brook and Moeen Ali added 59 runs in just 27 balls in a partnership laced with three fours and five sixes. The captain made Pakistan pay for the dropped catch in the 18th over and finished with a flurry. With two sixes off the last two balls, Ali got to his fifty and set Pakistan a daunting target of 200.

Needing to chase at 10 runs an over, Mohammad Rizwan hit two boundaries in the very first over. Babar Azam too got in on the act with two boundaries of his own in the third over against Sam Curran. The carnage continued in the remaining overs of the power-play as the two took Pakistan to 59/0 at the end of six overs. The boundaries continued to flow even after the fielding restrictions ended as both Rizwan and Babar got to their fifties in 30 and 39 balls, respectively.

The Pakistan captain became even more dangerous once he got to his half-century. After reaching his fifty in 39 balls, he only needed 23 more balls to reach his three-figure milestone. With his 62-ball century, he became the first Pakistani batter to score two T20I centuries.

The hosts managed to reach the target in the final over.