Hafeez, Babar power Pakistan to 195-4 against England in 2nd T20

MANCHESTER: Mohammad Hafeez and Babar Azam both hit fifties as Pakistan piled up an imposing 195-4 against England in the second Twenty20 international at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Hafeez top-scored with 69 after Pakistan captain and opener Babar, the world’s number one-ranked T20 batsman, launched the innings with 56.
Leg-spinner Adil Rashid briefly checked Pakistan’s progress with 2-32 from his maximum four overs.
But the rest of 50-over world champions England’s attack lacked penetration, with seamer Tom Curran conceding 46 runs — including 23 off one over.
In a fixture where both sides were unchanged after Friday’s opener in a three-match series ended as a no result washout, the tourists were sent into bat by Eoin Morgan, the England captain.
But Babar, who pulled the first ball of the match from fast bowler Saqib Mahmood for four, was unconcerned as he struck boundaries off spinners and seamers alike.
Fellow opener Fakhar Zaman saw his brisk 36 end when he skyed Rashid to long-on to leave his side 72.
Babar completed a fine fifty with a superb extra-cover drive off Rashid — his seventh four in 37 balls faced.
But Rashid had his revenge when Babar miscued a pull to deep midwicket.
Hafeez, whose pulled six off Mahmood kept the runs coming when he pulled a careless Curran no-ball, an above waist-high full toss, for six.
Hafeez’s scooped four off Mahmood to long leg which saw him to a 26-ball fifty including four fours and three sixes before he was dismissed off the penultimate ball of the innings when he drove Curran to Morgan at extra-cover.

Earlier, England captain Eoin Morgan won the toss and elected to field in the second Twenty20 international against Pakistan at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Both teams were unchanged from the sides that played out a no result in Friday’s first of a three-match series in Manchester, where rain ended the match with England 131-6 off 16.1 overs and Pakistan yet to bat.
England’s total featured opener Tom Banton’s dashing 71, with the 21-year-old Somerset batsman given another chance to impress on Saturday following his maiden Twenty20 international fifty.
Teams
England: Jonny Bairstow (wkt), Tom Banton, Dawid Malan, Eoin Morgan (capt), Sam Billings, Moeen Ali, Lewis Gregory, Tom Curran, Adil Rashid, Chris Jordan, Saqib Mahmood
Pakistan: Babar Azam (capt), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Rizwan (wkt), Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf
Umpires: Martin Saggers (ENG), David Millns (ENG)
TV Umpire: Mike Burns (ENG)
Match Referee: Wayne Noon (ENG).

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M M Alam

M. M. Alam is a Pakistan-based working journalist since 1981. Karachi University faculty gold medalist Alam began his career four decades ago by writing for Dawn, Pakistan’s highest circulating English daily. He has worked for region’s leading publications, global aviation periodicals including Rotors (of USA) and vetted New York Times as permanent employee of daily Express Tribune. Alam regularly covers international aviation and defense-related events including Salon Du Bourget (France), Farnborough (United Kingdom), Dubai (UAE). Alam has reported thousands of events and interviewed hundreds of people in Pakistan, UAE, EU, UK and USA. Being Francophone Alam also coordinates with a number of French publications.