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World Cup 2019: Defining moments of Eng-Pak match

When all odds seemed to favour England, Pakistan pulled out their best game.

World Cup 2019: Defining moments of Eng-Pak match

England's Mark Wood (L) and England's Adil Rashid (2L) walk back to the pavilion after England lost the 2019 Cricket World Cup group stage match between England and Pakistan at Trent Bridge in Nottingham, central England, on June 3, 2019. - Pakistan won by 14 runs. (Photo by Lindsey PARNABY / AFP)

A century from Joe Root, another one from his teammate Jos Butler; yet it wasn’t quite England’s day at Trent Bridge on Monday in their second World Cup match.

England were facing an opponent whom they had beaten in their last 5 encounters. Not only that, Pakistan had, in fact, experienced an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the West Indies in their opening World Cup clash.

When all odds seemed to favour England, Pakistan pulled out their best game.

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It was hard to believe that the same bunch of players, wearing the Pakistan jersey, had turned up against the West Indies. Against West Indies, Pakistan struggled to reach the 100-run mark. However, on Monday, they put up a mammoth 348 and then later successfully defended the target.

Here is a look at the defining moments of the match.

1. A solid start

Having been asked to bat first, Pakistan needed a good start from their openers to avoid a collapse like the one against the Windies bowlers. The openers Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq provided a solid foundation for a big Pakistan total.

The duo showed positive intent and put together an opening stand of 82 runs in 14.1 overs before Zaman was dismissed. A solid start meant that Pakistan’s dressing room had long forgotten the horrors of the loss against West Indies.

2. Top 5 pack a punch

Contrary to the scorecard against West Indies, against England, each of the top 5 batsmen contributed significantly to the total. While Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq made 44 of 58 balls and 36 of 40 balls respectively, the next three batsmen  Babar Azam (63), Mohammad Hafeez (84) and Sarfaraz Ahmed (55) made half centuries.

Hafeez, in particular, was in very good form and took that confidence into his bowling as he picked up a wicket and even grabbed a smart catch.

3. Wickets at regular intervals

If there was any team which could have been a little less tensed about chasing a target of 349, it had to be England because of the depth in their batting.

The equation for a win was quite simple then for Pakistan – take wickets at regular intervals, maintain the pressure and choke the opposition.

Pakistan’s bowling attack executed this plan successfully. Five of the six bowlers used picked up at least a wicket, while Wahab Riaz picked 3 for 82.

For only a brief period of time, it felt, that Pakistan were out of the contest – during Joe Root and Jos Butler’s wonderful partnership.

However, both batsmen got out soon after their respective hundreds, leaving too much to do for the bowling all-rounders and that made the difference in the eventual result.

Pakistan will next meet Sri Lanka on June 7 while England will play Bangladesh on the 8th in their World Cup campaigns ahead.

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