Second Twenty20 international, Dubai:
Pakistan 149-6 (19 ovs) bt England 148-8 (20 ovs) by four wkts
Match scorecard
By Jamie Lillywhite
**Abdul Razzaq fired 46 from 18 balls as Pakistan beat England by four wickets to tie the Twenty20 series at 1-1.**Kevin Pietersen made an imperious 62 from 40 balls with four fours and three sixes as England compiled 148-8.
Debutant seamer Amjal Shahzad then took two wickets in the first over of the Pakistan reply and Graeme Swann claimed 3-14 as Pakistan slipped to 78-5.
But Razzaq smashed five sixes and finished the match with a maximum as Pakistan won with six deliveries left.
England looked certain to seal a 2-0 whitewash when the confident Swann removed Umar Akmal from the final ball of the 13th over.
But that brought in the mercurial Razzaq, the 30-year-old all-rounder who made his international debut back in 1996 and has three Test centuries and 22 one-day fifties, yet averages below 30 in both other forms of the game.
He made no contact with his first ball, a wild swipe at Paul Collingwood, but the next two went for six and he scored runs from each of the 15 other deliveries he faced as another thrilling Twenty20 encounter fluctuated dramatically.
The pitch used for England’s impressive seven-wicket success on Friday was chosen again, but several batsmen struggled with it and Joe Denly again looked unsure how to approach matters after Shoaib Malik changed tactics and this time decided to field first.
After one ungainly march down and swipe across the line from Denly, a repeat performance next ball at one from Yasir Arafat that nipped back a shade rattled into the timbers.
Pietersen boldly came down the wicket first ball which resulted in four wides for his team, before using the same tactic and thumping the first boundary in the fifth over.
He rode his luck, flicking one into the legside that landed fractionally short of the onrushing deep mid-wicket fielder, but at the six-over stage England were well placed at 39-1.
Shoaib Malik bowled seamer Razzaq right through his four overs and Yasir Arafat through three of his before introducing spin at both ends.
Pietersen launched Saeed Amjal for an imperious straight six deep into the top tier, then fizzed an off-drive at Shahid Afridi that raced for four.
His eye was so good that when Afridi sneaked up to bowl with Pietersen still tapping at the crease and looking at the ground, the England batsman was able to swing freely in a millisecond and slice to the boundary.
Jonathan Trott was content to play the anchor role but kept the scoreboard moving with an authoritative sweep off Amjal although in the light of what followed his 39 from 51 balls may be regarded as pedestrian.
Pietersen was masterful throughout and when he drove Afridi down the ground, the ball moved from left to right like a Nick Faldo tee shot in the early 1990’s and disappeared for six more.
Senior fast bowler Umar Gul was not brought on until the 13th over and might have had Pietersen on 45, the ball travelling like a tracer bullet to cover where Afridi could not hold on, and understandably he spent the next few minutes making sure he had the full compliment of fingers.
England’s premier batsman soon registered his third Twenty20 fifty, however, clipping a well-placed two from only his 28th ball faced.
Trott admirably sacrificed his wicket when Pietersen, in his determined pursuit of the strike ignored his refusal of a single and stormed to the batsman’s end.
That allowed Eoin Morgan, match-winner on Friday with a stunning unbeaten 67 in partnership with Pietersen, a little under four overs to make a contribution.
He flicked his third ball for six over mid-wicket as Gul suffered again, but lost Pietersen who was given out lbw after missing a sweep at a much quicker ball from spinner Amjal.
That was to be Morgan’s only boundary as a drive came off the bottom of bat and was taken at deep mid-on, but Collingwood hooked his first ball for six and Luke Wright thumped a massive maximum into the top tier at mid-wicket as Gul finished with 1-43 from four overs, his most expensive Twenty20 figures.
Arafat picked up two wickets in two balls as England were denied 150, but Shahzad soon had two wickets of his own to celebrate as Pakistan made an atrocious start to their reply.
Having seen a perfectly respectable opening ball in international cricket unceremoniously thumped back down the ground for four by Imran Nazir, he tempted the opener to slash off balance at one that flew straight to third man.
Inexplicably Imran Farhat tried a similarly foolish swing of the bat when not properly balanced and the ball spooned to mid-on.
Umar struck successive boundaries off Shahzad and rebuilt the innings with Malik, who played one extraordinary tennis style smash down the ground as the score reached 39-3 after six overs, before Swann began to wrestle control.
606: DEBATE
“Tremendous fightback from Pakistan, they looked out of it but never write off the world champions”
eirebilly
His first ball was a wide down the legside but Matt Prior took the bails off and though Malik had got back, TV umpire Kumar Dharmasena decided that when the stumps were disturbed the Pakistan captain’s foot was in the air.
That heralded the hugely awaited arrival of Afridi, who was full of instruction to his team throughout the match though not actually in charge on his return from suspension for biting the ball.
In any case a captain’s innings was needed with 109 required from 14 overs and Afridi opened his account third ball with a cut for four as Shahzad dropped short.
Swann varied his pace and flight superbly to restrict the scoring in the ninth over to just a leg-bye, during which Umar edged a cut into then immediately out of Prior’s gloves.
But the shrewd off-spinner was soon rewarded with the wicket of Afridi, much to the dismay of the crowd, as an attempted launch out of the ground came off the inside edge and was well caught by Morgan running across at deep mid-wicket.
After Razzaq’s dramatic arrival he brought up the 100 with another six soaring down the ground this time off Wright but with 23 needed from the final 18 balls Fawad Alam hooked straight to Morgan at deep square-leg, having shared in a stunning partnership of 48 in barely four overs.
Shahzad returned with 17 needed from the final 12 balls and had the nerve to try a slower ball, but Razzaq was quick to spot it and dispatched it high into the crowd over long-off.
The charismatic all-rounder nonchalantly drove another straight down the ground to finish the match in style.
It did not seem possible that Pietersen’s intoxicating innings could be overshadowed, but Razzaq managed it with his highest Twenty20 score.