James Vince’s maiden ODI hundred overshadowed Babar Azam’s magnificent 158-run knock as England defeated Pakistan by 3 wickets in the third and the final ODI to clinch the series 3-0.
Chasing a mammoth 332-run target, England were 165-5 in the 24th before Vince shared a 129-run stand with Lewis Gregory, who scored a 69-ball 77. Vince’s 102 off 95 deliveries, laced with 11 boundaries, led a makeshift England team to victory after the entire first-choice ODI squad had to isolate following a Covid-19 outbreak.
Before the duo could finish the chase, Haris Rauf broke the partnership by dismissing Vince in the 43rd over and then Gregory in the 45th. Craig Overton (18*) and Brydon Carse (12*) finished the things off in England’s favour.
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Earlier, England had won the toss and chose to bowl. Pakistan’s innings was built on the 179-run partnership between captain Babar and wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammed Rizwan, who scored 74 from 58 balls. Babar notched the three figures in 104 balls, reaching the milestone with two boundaries in three balls by pulling Brydon Carse with authority and then middling a compact cut shot.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier, England had won the toss and chose to bowl. Pakistan’s innings was built on the 179-run partnership between captain Babar and wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammed Rizwan, who scored 74 from 58 balls. Babar notched the three figures in 104 balls, reaching the milestone with two boundaries in three balls by pulling Brydon Carse with authority and then middling a compact cut shot.
{{/usCountry}}England got the long-awaited third wicket when Rizwan went after a leg-side bouncer from Carse but feathered a nick through to John Simpson. Carse picked up two more late wickets as the visitors moved to 309-5.
On the other end, Babar was on a career-best 150 not out and survived a runout attempt in the 48th over. Carse finally ended Babar's entertaining stay, producing a rare mis-hit to Dawid Malan. Youngster Brydon Carse returned with the magical figures of 5/61 as Pakistan innings ended at 331-9, with six wickets falling in the last three overs.
(With PTI Inputs)