Eoin Morgan and Kevin Pietersen put on a record fourth wicket century partnership as England beat World Twenty20 champions Pakistan by seven wickets in Dubai on Friday in the first of their two-match Twenty20 series.
At Dubai Sports City, England were in trouble at 18-3 chasing Pakistan’s modest total of 129-8, but Morgan (67 in 51 balls) and Pietersen (43 in 43 balls) put together an unbroken stand of 112 as England reached 130-3 in 18.3 overs.
It was Pakistan’s first Twenty20 loss at the Dubai Sports City stadium where they had already beaten Australia and New Zealand in three wins.
A delighted England skipper Paul Collingwood said: “We had them under pressure and never really let them off the hook. When we came into bat they had the measure of us initially but hats off to KP and Morgan.”
Pakistan captain ShoaibMalik said: “We were at least 20-25 runs short. The wicket was slow. We were expecting a bit of bounce. But the England bowlers bowled very well under the circumstances. With Shahid [Afridi] back in the team, I am hopeful that we will bounce back tomorrow.”
Regular Pakistan Twenty20 captain Afridi, who was serving a two-match suspension for tampering the ball, was set to return to the team as a player yesterday.
Malik was to continue to lead the side in the second and final match of the series yesterday.
Malik won the toss and elected to bat first, but Pakistan never got going as they lost wickets at regular interval.
Imran Nazir fell in the very first over from Stuart Broad, the fourth of the innings when he top-edged a simple catch to Joe Denly. Imran Farhat hit two lovely boundaries off Tim Bresnan, then survived a mix-up and was eventually run out the very next ball for 14 thanks to some smart fielding from Pietersen.
The bowling changes worked for Collingwood every time. After Broad removed Nazir, Luke Wright struck in his first over, inducing an edge from Khalid Latif to wicketkeeper Matt Prior. Then Graeme Swann came in and was rewarded with the wicket of the dangerous Umar Akmal, who was caught brilliantly by Broad.
At the halfway stage of their innings, Pakistan were just 48-4.
Malik top-scored for his team with 33, but just when he seemed to be settling in with two successive boundaries off Wright, he lobbed a simple catch to his counterpart at midwicket off Swann.
In reply, England were 18-3 in just the fourth over after losing Denly, Jonathan Trott and Collingwood, but Pietersen and the impressive Morgan saw their team through with some sensible batting.
Morgan was 13 not out after 25 balls, but then powered ahead and made 54 runs in the next 26 balls.
■STRAUSS DOWN UNDER
AFP, SYDNEY
Andrew Strauss is taking a break from the pressures of the England cricket team captaincy in an isolated village in the state of Victoria, Australian media reported.
Strauss has been criticized for showing a lack of respect for Test cricket following his decision to opt out of this month’s tour of Bangladesh, saying he wants to be fresh for England’s Ashes tour to Australia later this year.
The England opening batsman has been spotted in the township of Buninyong, near Ballarat, west of Melbourne, according to the Age newspaper.
The newspaper said members of the Buninyong Cricket Club have been sworn to secrecy over his whereabouts.
“Andrew was quite adamant that he didn’t want them to tell anyone he was in town,” a local source told the Age on Thursday.
The newspaper said the cricketer’s cover was blown when a “well-spoken Englishman bearing a striking resemblance to the England captain” attended the cricket club’s fundraising night last week.
Buninyong Cricket Club said Strauss had stayed briefly to speak to its junior cricketers and sign autographs but they were unsure whether he was still in town, the Age said.
Strauss and his Australian wife, Ruth, who grew up in Ballarat, have bought a house in the area in recent years and he was enjoying some peace and quiet, it said.
Ballarat councillor Ben Taylor said Buninyong, population 1,800, was the perfect place to escape the spotlight of international cricket.
“Even if they knew he was there they wouldn’t tell anyone,” he said. “The good thing is it’s more of a village atmosphere so he could go there and not be interfered with.”
Strauss’ decision to miss the two-Test, three ODI tour of Bangladesh has been criticized by Australian Test great Shane Warne.
“It’s disappointing that the captain of England decides to have a rest from a Test series. I can’t comprehend that,” Warne said earlier this month. “Any time you represent your country it’s special and I cannot understand how you can rest your captain.”
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