Dubai: England has proved they are now a power to reckon with in Twenty20 cricket after winning the T20 series against Pakistan.
England defeated Pakistan by three runs in a thriller at the Dubai International Stadium on Friday in the second T20 match after registering a 14-run victory in the first match on Thursday giving it an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three match series.
Ranked eighth in the ICC world rankings at the start of the series, England may rise to the fourth position in T20 if they can record a clean 3-0 sweep over Pakistan in the third and final Twenty20 match in Sharjah on Monday.
The boldness with which the England team management tried out new players, resting seniors including the captain Eoin Morgan, has come in for big praise. Pakistan on the other hand is reeling under criticism having lost both the One-day as well as Twenty20 series. Trailing 2-0, Pakistan has already lost their second rank in T20, and if they lose in Sharjah, they may slip to sixth.
Jos Buttler, who led the England team for the first time attributed his team’s victory to playing well at the right time. “I think throughout the game, we didn’t play our best, but showed a lot of character with the bat and ball to do enough at the right times,” he said.
He lauded pacer Chris Woakes superb bowling in the last over when Pakistan needed only 11 runs to win. “For Woakes to have the guts to stand up and do the job in that last over, fair play to him.”
For Buttler, who had very little captaincy experience, having captained only Somerset second XI and England Under-18s team against Scotland, it was special to lead England to a series win in front of a packed stadium. “I loved this experience. I’ve obviously been vice-captain for a while, and it’s a lot easier job when you can give your two-pence and then step back and not be accountable for the decision. But I really enjoyed the responsibility and the pressure of it. It was a really enjoyable start,” he said.
Buttler then hailed Shahid Afridi’s knock of 24 in just eight balls which almost took the match away from them. “We had got into a position where we should have won the game more comfortably. Afridi came in and played as he can, and that put a lot pressure on us.”
The string of defeats resulted in Pakistan’s bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmad coming under scathing attack from the Pakistan media during the post-match press conference. “We were second in the world ranking at the start of the series, but now we are maybe lacking in fitness. It’s a fitness game. There are no excuses — we have to raise our game,” he said
Mushtaq was even asked who will take responsibility for the defeats. “We (team management) have to take responsibility. You have to face the reality that we have to raise our game and as coach we have to improve the performance. If a player is not fit but is skilful, in today’s game it is of no use. You need fitness because if after taking a couple of runs you cannot hit a boundary off a bad ball, then it’s a problem. So we have to hold fitness camps and overall we are all part of it.”
