Pakistan fell eight runs short of a par score in Pallekele and, in Shaheen Shah Afridi’s words, that was “probably the difference” as England sneaked home by two wickets with five balls in hand. 164 for 9 never felt quite enough on a fresh, shiny surface – unlike the slow Colombo strips Pakistan had just left – and although Afridi’s 4 for 30 put England under real pressure, Harry Brook’s measured 77 tipped the scales.
“It was a wicket where you need a partnership and you need a set batsman who can bat throughout the middle overs,” Afridi said afterwards. “But unfortunately we lost wickets back to back, which is why we did not go for that 180-190 score.”
Key facts first, then: Phil Salt nicked off first ball, Jonny Bairstow hacked one to deep square, Liam Livingstone walked across too far, and Brook’s dismissal – a fast, full ball tailing in – came just a shade too late. Adil Rashid earlier pinched 3 for 22 and, more importantly, strangled Pakistan’s tempo in the seventh-to-thirteenth-over bracket. Only Mohammad Rizwan looked settled, yet his 44 took 38 balls, a touch sedentary on a night that asked for eight or nine an over.
“If you see, when England batted, Harry Brook stayed at the crease and he was rotating the strike and he was just building partnerships. I think we missed this opportunity to build partnerships,” Afridi noted. He was pointed, though not prickly, when pressed on Pakistan’s running between the wickets: “A partnership means you have to have somebody in the crease who can go for single and twos. Throughout a T20 innings you need those eight or nine runs an over, if you want to build a partnership as well. I think that middle phase Adil Rashid bowled really well, so I think the credit goes to him as well.”
Analyst-turned-selector Urooj Mumtaz echoed that viewpoint on television, counting “several lost scoring opportunities” in overs 10-15. Faf du Plessis, on the same panel, praised England’s calm: “They kept feeding Brook the strike and trusted the depth.” No headline-grabbing wisdom there, just the simple stuff executed properly.
For Afridi there was, at least, a personal return to rhythm after a quiet fortnight. “Whenever I play, my job is to take wickets early. That’s why I’m bowling first over. Today I’d been planning how I’d take that first wicket.” The plan worked; the overall result did not. Pakistan now need to win both remaining Super Eight fixtures and also hope other equations fall kindly – never the position you want, but not fatal either.
Next stop is Bangalore, another batting-friendly venue. The bowlers, Afridi included, can do only so much if the batters don’t give them something sturdier to defend.
