Fakhar Zaman's ton in van as Pakistan lose by 12 runs in thriller in Southampton
Sunday 12 May 2019 10:54, UK
Jos Buttler smashed England's second-fastest ODI century, from just 50 deliveries, as Eoin Morgan's men beat Pakistan by 12 runs in a high-scoring second ODI at The Ageas Bowl.
Buttler's ton is behind only his 46-ball hundred against the same opposition in Dubai in 2015, with his unbeaten 110 from 55 deliveries taking England to 373-3 and his average against Pakistan in ODIs to 77 from nine innings.
The 28-year-old - who moved from 50 to three figures in just 18 balls - nailed nine sixes, with the final one taking him to his eighth ODI century, a feat he celebrated by rocking his bat to toast new-born daughter Georgia Rose.
Buttler's knock, allied with fifties from fit-again Jason Roy (87 off 98), skipper Eoin Morgan (71 no off 48), and Jonny Bairstow (51 off 45), propelled England past 300 for the 35th time since their dismal 2015 World Cup campaign in Australia and New Zealand.
Buttler bossed an unbroken 162-run stand with Morgan from just 89 balls as England racked up 112 from the final 10 overs to post their seventh-highest ODI total and the highest in ODIs at Southampton.
That score looked in real danger of being chased down, with Fakhar Zaman flaying an England attack minus the rested Jofra Archer for 138 from 106 balls to take Pakistan to 227-1 in the 33rd over before he went after a wide delivery from Chris Woakes and was given out caught behind on review.
Pakistan kept swinging, even after the dismissal of Babar Azam (51), who had shared a second-wicket partnership of 135 with Fakhar, with Asif Ali clubbing a rapid 51 but the visitors could make only 361-7 with David Willey (2-57), into the side for Archer, Liam Plunkett (2-64) and Woakes (1-72) bowling accurately at the death.
England lead the five-match series 1-0 ahead of the third fixture at Bristol on Tuesday, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 12.30pm, with the first game at The Oval last Wednesday having been washed out due to rain.
Roy, playing his first game since suffering a back spasm batting for Surrey in the Royal London One-Day Cup last month, settled down from a nervy start to start England's charge with the bat, playing arguably the shot of the day when he uppercut a rising Faheem Ashraf delivery over extra-cover for six.
Bairstow - who enjoyed two scares on 33, firstly when Imad Wasim bungled a run-out attempt and then when Pakistan's lbw review remained with umpire's call - was the first to go, pulling Shaheen Afridi to a juggling Fakhar in the deep with the score on 115.
Roy skied Hasan Ali to mid-on 13 runs shy of an eighth ODI ton, while Joe Root looked in good nick for his 40 before he thumped a half-tracker from the out-of-sorts Yasir Shah to midwicket at the start of the 36th over, bringing Buttler to the crease.
Yasir's wicket was the only bright spot during a damaging seven overs that went for 60 runs, with the leg-spinner bowling three dreadful deliveries in a row to Buttler at the start of his innings which the England man unceremoniously dispatched to the boundary.
Buttler began to motor again in the 43rd over when he launched Afridi for back-to-back sixes en route to a 32-ball fifty and continued apace with stunning sixes either side of the wicket, his century-sealing one in the penultimate over, off seamer Hasan, flying over long-off.
Morgan played second fiddle - contributing just 47 in the unbroken stand - though still recorded a 44th ODI fifty on the day he became England's joint most-capped player in the format, the skipper moving on to 197 games, alongside Paul Collingwood.
Morgan then saw Pakistan make a fine start to the chase, only for Moeen Ali - back into the side after overcoming a rib issue - to make the initial breakthrough on 92 when he caught Imam-ul-Haq (35) off his own bowling.
England's next scalp, though, did not come for another 18 overs, as Fakhar, mixing power with invention, carded his fourth one-day international century and found fine support from Babar before falling to Woakes.
Wickets at regular intervals then made England favourites but Pakistan were right in the game until Willey removed Ali in the 46th over and Imad Wasim (8) in the 48th.
Pakistan required 19 from the final over but Woakes conceded just six to leave visiting skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed (41no) and his team narrowly beaten.
Watch the third ODI between England and Pakistan, at Bristol, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 12.30pm on Tuesday.