England stunned by Rauf | Pakistan Level series 2-2:
Haris Rauf’s brilliant play helped England lose the fourth T20I against Pakistan by just 3 runs, making it a true thriller. Pakistan scored 166/4 in their 20 overs while batting first. Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistan’s top T20I batter, was the top. scorer with 88(67). Pakistan managed to record a competitive score, and Asif Ali gave them a strong finish with a 13(3)*. For England, Reece Topley took two wickets.
The chase did not start off smoothly for England. The top order, which was their main strength, utterly failed. Together, Salt, Hales, and Will Jacks scored 13 runs. Hales and Jacks were both dismissed by Mohammad Hasnain, and Salt was sent back to the pavilion by Mohammad Nawaz. Ben Duckett and Harry Brook continued their strong performance, starting to save England. Mohammad Nawaz broke the 43-run stand. After scoring 20(29), captain Moeen Ali was also removed by Mohammad Nawaz.
Haris Rauf then took the wicket of Harry Brook, which put the onus of responsibility on England’s lower order. When Mohammad Hasnain bowled a terrible 18th Over, 33 runs had to be scored in the final three overs. Since Hasnain gave up 24 runs in that over, the next two overs now only needed to produce 9 runs.
Read Also: https://icasportsplus.com/pakistan-is-a-great-place-to-play-cricket-paul-nixon/
The magic of Haris Rauf took place at this point. Rauf limited England to 163/9 by dismissing Liam Dawson and Olly Stone in consecutive deliveries, allowing only 5 runs to be scored. England was bowled out for 163 after Wasim Jnr’s final over, which began with a dot ball and ended with a run out caused by Shan Masood on the next ball.
The star of this game was, in fact, Haris Rauf. He was named Man of the Match after giving up just 32 runs and taking three wickets in the contest. His second and third wickets in succession in his 19th over gave Pakistan the victory. The final 3 games of the T20I series will now be played in Lahore.
