A spectacular bowling spell by Saqib Mahmood and breezy half centuries from Dawid Malan and Zak Crawley helped England win the first ODI of the three-match series by 9 wickets at Cardiff on Thursday, July 8.
The three-match ODI series between England and Pakistan didn’t get off to a competitive start as the hosts made light work of Pakistan. England were playing with their third-string eleven in this series, with the main squad placed into isolation amidst Covid-19 chaos. However, Ben Stokes-led side looked as formidable on the field in the first match as the first choice eleven.
Mahmood was the star for England, who bowled incredibly well with accuracy and movement to rattle Pakistan’s top order. Playing only his fifth ODI, Saqib returned with figures of 4/33 in his quota of 10 overs. Later, Dawid Malan and Zak Crawley put on an unbroken partnership to take England home by 9 wickets and go 1-0 up in the series.
As it happened, England’s makeshift captain Ben Stokes won the toss and put the visitors in to bat first. Pakistan got off to the worst of starts as opener Imam-ul-Haq was trapped LBW on the very first delivery of the match by Mahmood. Initially given not-out by the on-field umpire, England took an excellent review to overturn the decision. Two deliveries later, the visitors took the biggest blow as their captain and batting mainstay Babar Azam nicked behind without scoring a run. Pakistan were pushed on the backfoot inside the first over.
Lewis Gregory, who surprisingly shared the new ball with Saqib, joined in the act with one of his brutes of delivery to get rid of in-form Mohammad Rizwan on 13. Saqib continued to breathe fire from the other end as he went onto pick his third wicket, trapping Saud Shakeel on 5 from round the wicket. The visitors were reduced to 26/4 in 7 overs.
Pakistan were in desperate need of a partnership, and Fakhar Zaman and Sohaib Maqsood obliged. The duo played some delightful strokes to put on a 53-run partnership for the fifth wicket. It looked like they were on their way to making a competitive score. A misunderstanding between the two led to Maqsood losing his wicket on 19 at the non-striker’s end. Soon after that, Zaman’s good looking knock of 47 came to an end as he cut a short and wide delivery by leg-spinner Matt Parkinson straight to Crawley at backward point. Pakistan were six wickets down for 90, and the 200-run mark looked distant.
Saqib returned into the attack to get rid of Faheem Ashraf (5). Shadab Khan played a handy knock of 30 at the back end to take Pakistan past 130. Parkinson (2/28) and Craig Overton (2/23) wrapped things up with the remaining three wickets to bowl Pakistan out on 141.
In response, chasing a low total, England didn’t have to sweat as they brisked through the innings. The hosts lost an early wicket of Phil Salt (7) as he tried to smack a delivery off Shaheen Afridi, which was angled across.
Malan and Crawley joined hands, playing some breathtaking shots all around the ground. The duo brought up their respective half centuries in their unbroken stand. Malan scored 68* off 69 while Crawley smashed 58* off 50 on his ODI debut.
Saqib Mahmood was named ‘Player of the Match’ for his sensational spell of 4/33. England have taken a 1-0 lead in the series and 10 important points towards the ICC World Cup Super League for a direct qualification in the 2023 ODI World Cup.
England and Pakistan will next take on each other in the second match of the series at the Lord’s Cricket Ground in London on July 10.
Brief Scores
Pakistan 141 in 35.2 overs (Fakhar Zaman 47, Shadab Khan 30; Saqib Mahmood 4/33)
England 142/1 in 21.5 overs (Dawid Malan 68*, Zak Crawley 58*; Shaheen Afridi 1/22) won by 9 wickets.
