Jonny Bairstow's 128 runs powers England to comprehensive win over Pakistan

Jonny Bairstow’s 128 off 93 and Jason Roy’s 76 off 55 overshadowed Imam-ul-Haq’s effort of 151 runs as England team upstage men-in-green comprehensively at County Ground in Bristol. With this win, England has taken a 2-0 lead in five-match ODI series.

Putting into bat, Pakistan lost the centurion of the previous game, Fakhar Zaman in the very first over itself. Chris Woakes bowled a short of a length delivery to Zaman and he tried to play on the leg side but got a thick outside edge. In his short stay at the wicket, he could only add 2 runs.

Babar Azam was the second to be dismissed. He was looking good for his 15 runs, having struck three classy boundaries. However, he couldn’t continue as Woakes crashed into his off-stump. Post this, Haris Sohail and Imam ul Haq played maturely and strung a crucial partnership of 68 runs for the third wicket to help the visitors gain some momentum.

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Imam completed a brilliant fifty and kept roaring on after reaching the landmark. After Sohail’s dismissal, Imam took charge of the innings with Sarfraz chipping in with a decent second fiddle knock. Pakistan’s innings took off when Asif Ali and Imam got together, who smashed the English bowlers to all parts.

Imam completed a brilliant hundred and Asif completed a quickfire fifty as the duo added 125 runs for the fifth wicket. Imam got out after scoring 151 off 131 balls as the Pakistani tail gave a proper finish to the innings. They registered 358 runs on the board, which happens to be their 8th highest total registered in ODIs. Woakes chipped in with 4/67 for the hosts while other batsmen got hammered apart.

Pakistan were pretty poor on the field, having dropped Jason Roy very early in the innings. Shaheen Afridi was the culprit, who dropped an absolute dolly and the English openers capitalized on it big time. Roy and Bairstow went onto the carnage mode very quickly and after the 13th over, their scoring rate was above 9.

Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow competed toe-to-toe for runs and completed half-centuries around the same time. After adding 159 runs in just 17.3 overs, Roy was dismissed for a 55-ball 76, but Bairstow continued the onslaught alongside the calm presence of Joe Root. These two added 75 runs for the second wicket and Bairstow managed to complete his 7th ODI hundred in the process.

Pakistan got blown away well before Bairstow was dismissed for a 93-ball 128. They did get another wicket soon of Joe Root, but Moeen Ali and Ben Stokes played some street-smart cricket to get them close the finish line. Morgan had to come in when Stokes ran himself out with the target just a few runs away, but there were no further jitters thanks to Moeen Ali’s 36-ball 46.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Jonny Bairstow registered his seventh ODI ton in third ODI. 
• Imam Ul Haq was the highest scorer among two team on Tuesday. 
• England Team has now taken a 2-0 lead in five-match ODI series.