Phil Salt smashed a blistering 88 as England won the sixth T20I against Pakistan by eight wickets to set up a fascinating decider on Sunday, with the series now level at 3-3.
After a lean run of form in the preceding five games, Salt showcased his firepower in a brilliant innings that underlines his credentials to partner Jos Buttler at the upcoming T20 World Cup instead of the returning Alex Hales.
His 41-ball 88 ensured England made light work of what was a good total posted by Pakistan. With the rested Mohammad Rizwan leaving a massive gap at the top of the order, captain Babar Azam led from the front as he carried his bat and helped Pakistan reach 169-6.
The hosts struggled in the powerplay, reaching 40-2 after losing Mohammad Haris and Shan Masood cheaply. However, Babar batted smartly, bringing up his half-century off 41 balls before looking to go big at the back end of the innings.
He shared important partnerships worth 47 and 48 with Haider Ali and Iftikhar Ahmed, before both players were dismissed by the impressive Sam Curran - who took 2-26 from his four overs. Pakistan smashed 63 off the final five, with Babar striking five boundaries, Mohammad Nawaz playing a useful cameo and Reece Topley conceding 19 off the last over, spoiling what had been an excellent spell up until that point.
In response, England got off to an absolute flier with Salt and Hales putting on an opening partnership worth 55 off just 23 balls, before Hales was removed for 27 by Shadab Khan. Salt continued to pepper the ball to the boundary, though, fittingly striking the winning runs as England wrapped up victory inside 15 overs.
Babar leads from the front
It was an incredibly smart innings from the Pakistan skipper, who almost single-handedly led his side to a total of 169-6 that would have left them felling confident after England failed to chase down smaller targets in the previous two games.
With Pakistan's other top four batters struggling to find their timing on the Lahore pitch, Babar battled with control and played low-risk shots as he brought up his 27th T20I half-century off 41 balls.
He then looked to cash in at the back end, striking two big sixes off Richard Gleeson and David Willey, equalling Virat Kohli's record as the joint-fastest to 3,000 T20I runs. He ended up scoring an unbeaten 87 off 51, but it was not enough as Salt upstaged him with a stunning knock.
Rizwan's absence
The 30-year-old was rested for this game by Pakistan, having featured in ten T20Is already this month and been prevented from keeping wicket in the previous game due to a back issue.
Rizwan was replaced at the top of the order by Haris, who was handed a T20I debut following a stunning breakout season in the Pakistan Super League. However, despite getting off the mark with a six off Gleeson, Haris perished inside the powerplay for seven.
Rizwan and Babar have formed a brilliant and reliable opening partnership for Pakistan, but their middle order has largely failed to impress. In this series, Rizwan and Babar have scored 315 and 281 runs respectively, while Masood is a distant third with 100 runs.
However, while Babar scored the bulk of the runs, Pakistan's middle order did provide him with some useful support. Babar shared partnerships of almost 50 with both Haider and Iftikhar, while Nawaz played an important cameo at the end.
Curran impresses
With Mark Wood and Chris Woakes rested as they continue to be eased back into action after six-month injury lay-offs, Curran was the pick of England's bowlers as he took impressive figures of 2-26.
The left-arm seamer has enjoyed an impressive series as a whole so far. In five appearances, he has taken six wickets at an average of 24.16 and an economy rate of 7.25 - both of which are better than his career record.
Speaking during the innings break, Curran explained: "We're just trying to be a little but unpredictable in the middle overs, bowling our bouncers and it's worked in this game and on these type of wickets. In Australia it might be different and we might need different plans."
Rashid's form a concern
The leg-spinner has been crucial to England's success in white ball cricket in recent years and they will be hoping he can get back to his best at the World Cup after a disappointing series so far. Rashid did begin well, picking up 2-27 as England won the first T20I by six wickets.
However, four wickets at an average of 49.75 is poor by his high standards and comes off the back of a disappointing summer, where he took two wickets at 44 against South Africa after missing the T20I series against India.
In total, Rashid's bowling average this year is 31, his worst for five years, and in ending this game with figures of 0-38 from his four overs, he has now gone three games in a row without picking up a wicket for the first time in T20Is.
Salt stuns
With Buttler still absent, Salt was handed another opportunity to impress ahead of the World Cup and took it with both hands. He struck a brilliant 88 not out off just 41 balls, getting his side off to a flier alongside Hales before bringing up England's third-fastest T20I fifty.
His innings featured 13 fours and three sixes and, despite Hales' experience, reputation and record in Australia, Salt surely has a strong chance of partnering Buttler at the World Cup having formed an impressive partnership with him for Manchester Originals in The Hundred and his ability to keep wicket allowing Buttler to focus on his captaincy.
"We've seen him pull in the air and get caught in the deep, but he's very quick to pick up on that short ball and that combination of being strong when bowlers overpitch and then punishing when they drop short makes him very difficult to bowl to," former England captain Michael Atherton told Sky Sports.
