Jos Buttler and Phil Salt led England to a dominant seven-wicket victory over Pakistan in the fourth and final T20I as the hosts wrapped up a 2-0 series win at The Kia Oval days before their T20 World Cup defence begins.
Captain Buttler (39), who returned to the England set-up following the birth of his third child, smashed seven fours and one six during his innings as he led the charge alongside Salt (45) in an opening stand of 82 in just 6.2 overs.
Pakistan had no answer to England’s brutal batting as Buttler’s side raced to 158-3 – after dismissing the tourists for 157 – to secure a clinical victory with four-and-a-half overs to spare, a day before they fly out to Barbados for the T20 World Cup – live on Sky Sports.
Earlier, Pakistan captain Babar Azam (36) and Mohammad Rizwan (23) made the most of being reunited at the top of the order, sharing a speedy 59-run partnership (36 balls) after being put into bat, before Jofra Archer (1-31) and Adil Rashid (2-27) helped England fight back.
Some sloppy middle-order batting saw Pakistan slip to 86-5, losing Shadab Khan and Azam Khan for ducks, with Liam Livingstone (2-17) then completing a double-wicket maiden in the 15th over as he dismissed Usman Khan (38) and Shaheen Shah Afridi (0).
Adil Rashid (2-27) and Mark Wood (2-35) both took two wickets apiece as Pakistan’s batting crumbled under the pressure a week before they play their first game at the World Cup against USA at Grand Prairie Stadium.
Pakistan pay price for sloppy batting
Babar and Rizwan helped their side make a solid start with the Pakistan captain reaching 4,000 T20I runs in style as he smoked Chris Jordan through the covers for back-to-back boundaries in the fourth over.
Archer continued to show England what they have been missing as he made the breakthrough, taking the crucial scalp of Babar, who hit him for four through point from consecutive deliveries before he was undone by the penultimate ball of the powerplay with a slower delivery that saw him caught behind square by Rashid.
Leg-spinner Rashid struck in the following over when his delivery hit the top of Rizwan’s middle stump as the hosts wrestled back control.
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Adil Rashid claimed two wickets for England against Pakistan
The departure of Pakistan’s openers triggered a further collapse that saw Babar’s side fall from 65-2 to 86-5 in the space of four overs.
Iftikhar Ahmed (21) and Usman Khan (38) added some middle-order impetus with a 40-run partnership that saw Pakistan recover to a modest 145-8 by the 18th over, but a terrific catch from Jordan broke the stand off the bowling of Livingstone, who then removed Afridi (0) in the same over.
Wood’s death bowling came in handy as he mopped up the tail with his 95mph-pace, Naseem Shah (16) getting a leading edge behind to Buttler.
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Chris Jordan makes an unbelievable catch for England
Haris Rauf (8) was run out by Livingstone in the final over as he smashed a wide delivery to deep third and attempted to run for a two that was never possible, leaving Mohammad Amir (0) stranded at the other end.
England head to World Cup in sublime touch
England showed just what they are capable of days before their World Cup defence begins with a batting masterclass that forced Pakistan’s bowlers to toil hard.
Rauf (3-38) finished with a three-for and was the only Pakistani bowler to make an impact in the game out of the five used.
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Pakistan’s Haris Rauf shows off his football skills
Salt was dropped on 34 by Pakistan wicketkeeper Azam in the sixth over, but the mistake was not too costly in the end as the England opener departed shortly afterwards when he was caught by Rizwan at deep mid-wicket to offer Pakistan some respite.
Rauf struck again in his following over to take the scalp of Buttler, who nicked behind to Azam, before firing in a 90mph yorker that crashed into Will Jacks’ (20) off-stump, leaving England on 112-3 just after the halfway stage.
Jonny Bairstow (28no) and Harry Brook (17no), however, put on a 46-run stand to guide the hosts to victory, with the latter smashing a short ball from Rauf into the stands for six over extra cover to seal the series win.
Babar: Pakistan playing well in patches
Pakistan captain Babar Azam:
“It went well for five or six overs but then I got out. The middle order needs to step up.
“We need to sort out those things for the World Cup. We have a few injuries but there are a lot of positives. Our play is good in patches.”
Buttler: I just want to keep improving
England captain and player of the series Jos Buttler:
“I have a quest to keep improving, trying to work on a few different things in my game that I haven’t been doing.
“That is giving me fresh energy and motivation. We have worked hard in training and there is a good feeling around the squad. Guys are all stepping up and performing.
“It would have been nice to get two more games in to expose a few guys to different situations but we have really good experience in the group and a lot of guys have been playing in the IPL, so we are not short of cricket.”
Every match from the T20 World Cup is live on Sky Sports between June 1-29, with England’s first match is against Scotland in Barbados on Tuesday June 4 (3.30pm UK and Ireland time).
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