KARACHI: Pakistan speedster Haris Rauf bowled a game-changing 19th over as he struck twice before left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz shone with three 3/35 and bolstered Pakistan to defend 167 and seal the fourth T20I of the seven-match series.
Set to chase 167, England fell just three runs short in the final over, courtesy of a brilliant 19th over from Haris, who struck twice to remove the danger man Liam Dawson and Olly Stone to bring the hosts back in the game after an expensive 18th over from Mohammad Hasnain.
Earlier, Dawson had charged on young pacer Hasnain and scored 24 runs in the 18th over to bring England back into the game after the touring side lost quick wickets in the middle overs.
The touring side had a dismal start to their run chase as they lost three wickets for a mere 14 runs in two overs with Hasnain striking twice in his first, to give Pakistan an upper hand over England.
England’s dependable pair of Ben Duckett and Harry Brook attempted to anchor the run chase with a gritty 43-run partnership for the fourth wicket but Nawaz dampened their hopes in the eighth over as he trapped Duckett in his legs for 33.
The touring skipper Moeen Ali then joined Brook in the middle and put on a crucial 49-run partnership to keep their side in the hunt but Nawaz struck again to provide another vital breakthrough to Pakistan and castled Moeen for 29 and England, as a result, slipped to 106/5 in the 14th over.
Mohammad Wasim Jr then further added to the misery of the English side as he outclassed Brook with a slower delivery in the 15th over, who walked back after scoring 34 off 29 deliveries, laced with two boundaries and a six.
Wasim Jr then bowled the final over after Haris’ brilliant 19 over. England’s tailender Reece Topley looked to steal a run on the second delivery of the over but a direct hit from Shan Masood led the men in green to a thrilling victory over England in the fourth T20I.
Nawaz and Haris bagged three wickets each for Pakistan, while Hasnain claimed two. Wasim Jr, on the other hand, made one scalp.
The home side were off to a decent start batting first on the invitation of England captain Moeen Ali as the pair of captain Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan amassed 97 runs for the first wicket.
The pair was majorly dominated by wicketkeeper batter Rizwan, who had amassed his 19th T20I half-century at a rapid pace while Babar, on the other hand, struggled to emulate his partner and as a result, fell victim to Dawson in the 12th over.
The second match centurion Babar could score 36 off 28 deliveries with the help of three boundaries.
Rizwan then joined hands with Shan Masood, who was promoted to number three and added 52 runs for the second wicket. The touring side’s bowlers, however, dominated the batting pair as they barred them from scoring freely in the middle overs.
Shan, who was struggling to find the rhythm fell in the 19th over after scoring a snail-paced 21. He faced 19 deliveries in the course of his knock and could hit a boundary.
Rizwan, who was eyeing his second T20I century, fell 12 runs short of it as Reece Topley struck twice in the final over to remove the former. He top-scored for Pakistan with 88 off 67 deliveries, laced with nine boundaries and a six.
Right-handed hard-hitting batter Asif Ali then scored a quickfire 13 runs off just three deliveries in the final over and powered the hosts to 166/4 in 20 Overs.
Topley led the way for England with two wickets, while David Willey and Dawson made one scalp each.
