England had no answer for the quality of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan as Pakistan levelled the series with a record-breaking ten-wicket win in Karachi.
The visitors were delighted with the way they batted after making 199-5, with stand-in captain Moeen Ali, Ben Duckett and Harry Brook all starring. However, Babar and Rizwan proceeded to put England's bowlers to the sword, sharing the highest ever partnership in a T20I chase and inflicting a first ever ten-wicket defeat on England.
After winning the toss and opting to bat first, openers Phil Salt and Alex Hales got England off to a good start, striking 42 runs from the first five overs, before Shahnawaz Dahani picked up two massive wickets.
First, he bowled Hales for 26 with the first ball of his second over, before repeating the trick to dismiss Dawid Malan with his next delivery for a golden duck. Ben Duckett survived the subsequent hat trick ball and began rebuilding alongside Salt.
And it was Duckett who led the charge, scoring an excellent 43 off 22 balls, while Salt was ultimately bowled by Haris Rauf for 30 off 27. Duckett fell in the following over to spinner Mohammad Nawaz, with Harry Brook and Moeen Ali and finishing off the innings with aplomb.
Brook followed up his impressive unbeaten 42 in the first game with 31 off 19, while Moeen blasted an outstanding 23-ball half-century which included two sixes to end the innings and push England up to an imposing total of 199-5. However, they had no answer to the skills of Babar and Rizwan, who showed exactly why they are two of the best T20 batters in world cricket.
Here are five talking points...
Hales vs Salt
With the pair involved in a direct shoot-out for the chance to open alongside captain Jos Buttler at the World Cup, it was Hales who made the early first impression with his brilliant half-century in the first game while Salt managed a run a ball ten.
This time around, both players made impressive starts as they put on a 42-run opening partnership, but ultimately failed to capitalise. Hales fell for a 21-ball 26 in the powerplay, while Salt batted more sedately after England lost two quick wickets, before getting bowled in the 12th over for a 27-ball 30.
It will be interesting to see who England choose as Buttler's partner in Australia, with both players able to make convincing arguments. Hales has more international pedigree than Salt and an excellent record in Australia's Big Bash, while Salt established an excellent partnership with Buttler in The Hundred and could take the gloves to allow him to focus on his captaincy.
Dahani's stunning start
The 24-year-old made an immediate impact in just his sixth T20I appearance for Pakistan, picking up two massive wickets in his second over. Dahani bowled both Hales and Malan in consecutive deliveries, with Hales getting deceived by an excellent cutter and Malan getting bowled behind his legs.
Although Duckett survived the hat-trick ball, it was a crucial intervention from Dahani as Salt and Hales had made a strong start in the powerplay. "England were well ahead of the game but those two Pakistan wickets have brought them right back into the game," former batter James Taylor said on BBC Test Match Special.
Dahani also celebrated both wickets wildly, ending with figures of 2-37, and he is yet another Pakistan seamer capable of hitting speeds of 90mph+. His success in Karachi further underlines the strength of Pakistan's fast bowling stocks, with quicks Dahani, Hasnain, Rauf and Naseem Shah all featuring against England even with star man Shaheen Afridi currently injured.
Duckett impresses
As the only batter not in England's World Cup squad to have been given an opportunity against Pakistan so far, Duckett was very impressive in the second T20I. A consistent performer in domestic T20 cricket and a regular in franchise cricket all over the world in recent years, the 27-year-old struck an excellent 43 off just 22 balls.
His strike rate of 195.45 dwarfed that of his fellow top four batters, with Duckett particularly productive on the sweep. According to CricViz, he is the second most prolific reverse sweeper in the world, playing the shot against 12% of the deliveries he faces from spinners in T20 cricket and he looks a particularly impressive middle order option for England.
"An excellent innings by Ben Duckett," former England bowler Steven Finn told BBC Test Match Special. "He manipulated the field beautifully."
Brook and Moeen's explosive finish
After Duckett's innings helped lay the platform, Brook and Moeen finished off the innings in style with Brook blasting three sixes and Moeen striking eight boundaries. Brook ultimately fell for 31 off 19, while Moeen finished unbeaten with 55 off just 23.
Brook has been given an opportunity to bat at number five with Liam Livingstone missing this series due to injury and he has made the most of his chance to impress. While Livingstone will surely come straight back into the side for the World Cup, provided he is fully fit, Brook could still force his way into the starting XI.
England have tended to play an extra frontline bowler in T20Is but, with Ben Stokes set to return and provide another bowling option alongside Moeen and Livingstone, they could afford to play an extra batter at the World Cup. And if Brook continues to impress during this series, he will have made a truly compelling argument.
Babar and Rizwan show their quality
Despite England falling just one run short of 200, it was not enough to negate the quality of Babar and Rizwan. They are two of the best T20 batters in the world and looked in control from ball one as they shared the highest ever partnership in a T20I chase and guided Pakistan to victory.
It was a truly remarkable display of batting, with Rizwan the early aggressor before Babar took centre stage and scored his second T20I hundred. "Wow, just wow," Finn told BBC Test Match Special. "Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have really showed why they're the number one and number two batters in the world in this format.
"They really are majestic players aren't they? They have not really given England a sniff here. There was one chance Rizwan gave to Hales which he dropped. Since then it's been majestic."
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