Babar Azam and Saad Baig rebuild as Pakistan sit 54/2 against England in Rawalpindi ODI tri-series
Babar Azam and Saad Baig rebuild as Pakistan sit 54/2 against England in Rawalpindi ODI tri-series
Hello and welcome to the LIVE coverage of the ODI tri-series match between Pakistan and England in Rawalpindi. At the 13.1-over mark, Pakistan stood at 54/2, with Babar Azam and Saad Baig at the crease attempting to steady the innings after the loss of two early wickets.
Powerplay and the rebuild
The second powerplay came into effect, allowing a maximum of four fielders outside the inner circle. England's spin-bowling option Will Jacks and seamer Jamie Overton probed away, while Gus Atkinson and debutant Sonny Baker also shared the new-ball workload.
Saad Baig produced some eye-catching strokeplay against Atkinson, including a glorious cover drive that raced to the boundary. "FOUR! That's a glorious cover drive! Full and outside off, Saad Baig leans onto and drives it magnificently through covers for a boundary," the commentary noted. He later flicked a down-leg delivery fine for another boundary: "FOUR! That's a poor delivery! Gus Atkinson errs his line down leg, Saad Baig picks it well and tickles it through fine leg for a boundary."
Babar Azam, meanwhile, brought up the team's fifty with an edged single to third man: "50 comes up for Pakistan! Quicker, outside off, Babar Azam looks to drive it but edges it to third man for a single." He also pulled Jamie Overton over backward square leg for a single as the pair looked to keep the scoreboard ticking.
Playing XIs
Pakistan kept the same playing XI, featuring four fast bowlers and two spin-bowling all-rounders in Arafat Minhas and Saim Ayub:
- Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Saad Baig, Hasan Nawaz, Salman Ali Agha, Arafat Minhas, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi (captain), Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf.
England, under captain Harry Brook, named four seamers and specialist spinner Adil Rashid:
- England: Ben Duckett, Tom Banton, Joe Root, Harry Brook (captain), Jordan Cox, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson, Adil Rashid, Sonny Baker.
England's changes
England were without Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer for the tri-series. Buttler is out with a hamstring injury, while Archer has been rested. Jordan Cox replaced Buttler as wicketkeeper, while Sonny Baker came into the side in place of Archer.
Context and conditions
Pakistan came into the match after beating Sri Lanka by 37 runs on Sunday. Salman Ali Agha led their batting effort with a comeback century, while heavy dew made bowling difficult under lights at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
Brook, who has scored 1,126 runs in 16 international matches across formats in Pakistan, said dew could play an important role in the match. He hopes England can restrict Pakistan's batting first.
Tournament schedule
Rawalpindi will host one more match on Thursday, when England face Sri Lanka. The tournament will then move to Lahore, which will also host the final on October 31.