Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer were the stars of the show for England as they defeated Pakistan by 23 runs at Edgbaston on May 25, Saturday to take a 1-0 lead in the series. Archer, who had made his England return on the day, picked up 2 wickets for 28 runs in his 4 overs as England defended 183 on the day. Captain Buttler was the top scorer for the hosts on the day as he scored 84 off just 51 balls.
Pakistan had won the toss on the day and opted to bowl first. It was a slow start for the hosts as Phil Salt did find it tough against the Pakistan left-arm pacers, Mohammad Amir and Shaheen Shah Afridi. Salt would depart with the score at 25 and this brought Will Jacks into the mix. Jacks and Buttler forged a 71-run partnership, with the former scoring 37 off 23 balls. Jonny Bairstow formed another strong stand with Buttler, who continued to take the attack to the Pakistan bowlers.
England’s middle-order collapses
After Bairstow and Buttler got England to 144 within 15 overs, it seemed like they were set for a big total. However, the England middle-order collapsed as Pakistan clawed their way back into the contest. Afridi rocked the batting order as the likes of Harry Brook, Moeen Ali and Chris Jordan couldn’t get to double-digits. A cameo from Jofra Archer would help them get to 183 in the end. Afridi picked up 3 wickets for 36 and was the pick of the Pakistan bowlers on the day.
Pakistan batting struggles
The Pakistan chase were jolted early on as they lost Mohammad Rizwan for a duck and Reece Topley dismissed Saim Ayub for 2 off 7 balls. Skipper Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman steadied things with a 53-run stand as Babar scored 32 off 26 and was trapped in front of the stumps by Moeen.
This started a collapse for the visitors as they went from 67 for 3 to 100 for 6 in 4.2 overs. Iftikhar Ahmed and Imad Wasim would get things on track with a 40-run stand, but they ran out of steam in the end as Jordan, Archer and Topley cleaned up the tale for just 20 runs.
Both teams will now head to Cardiff on May 28, Tuesday.
Source Agencies
