England continue domination over Pakistan with four-wicket victory

England 252-6 (Stokes 69) beat
Pakistan 247-8 (Azhar 80) by four wickets
Fourth One-Day International, Headingley
Scorecard

After Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali restricted Pakistan to 247, fifties from Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes helped England chase down the target in 48 overs with four wickets in hand in the fourth One-Day International at Headingley to claim a 4-0 lead in the series.

Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first with Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Rizwan, Umar Gul and Imad Wasim making a comeback.

England rested Mark Wood and Chris Woakes with David Willey and Chris Jordan replacing them. A last minute injury before the toss for Jos Buttler allowed Jonny Bairstow to make his first appearance in the series.

After a quiet first three overs, Sharjeel Khan (16) went after Jordan (2-42) smashing him for a four and a six but was caught by Ben Stokes (0-15) in the same over. Azhar Ali (80) and Sami Aslam (24) steadied the innings, taking Pakistan to 40 for one in the powerplay.

However, their 37-run stand which came in 62 deliveries was broken with Liam Plunkett (1-61) dismissing Aslam in the 15th over following which Azhar scored two more boundaries to take Pakistan to 69 for two.

Babar Azam's (12) stay was limited to 21 deliveries after he was caught at backward point off Moeen Ali (2-39).

Despite, wickets falling at one end, Azhar held one end up and reached his fifty off 62 deliveries. After adding 26 runs with Azhar, Sarfraz Ahmed (12) was caught at mid on to give Adil Rashid (3-47) his first wicket. Pakistan were placed 136 for four by the end of the 30-over mark.

Any hopes of Pakistan coming back into the game was dented after Rashid had Rizwan (6) and Azhar dismissed in a span of five overs.

With Moeen having Nawaz (13) stumped in the 41st over, Pakistan were precariously placed at 180 for seven. However, Wasim (57 not out) provided some respite for Pakistan with his unbeaten 41-ball knock to take the total to 247 for eight in the 50 overs.

Jason Roy (14) started the chase aggressively scoring three boundaries but soon became a victim of Irfan (2-26) after edging one to the slips.

Joe Root (30) looked in ominous form as he scored three boundaries and a six in his first 13 deliveries. Irfan, who had received his second official warning for running on the pitch early in the innings, removed Alex Hales (8) as well to leave England at 36 for two.

Eoin Morgan (11) survived a review for a caught behind decision in the ninth over and soon Root brought his 3000th run in ODIs with back-to-back boundaries to take England to 52 for two at the end of 10 overs.

Just when Root was looking dangerous, he was caught at deep fine leg in the 12th over from Hasan Ali (1-53) and three overs later Umar Gul (1-39) dismissed the England captain to restrict the home side to 72 for four.

This is when Stokes (69) and Bairstow (61) joined together and added 103 runs for the fifth wicket to get England out of the woods.

By the 20th over mark, England were 102 for four, needing another 146 runs to win. Stokes had a reprieve when Nawaz dropped him in the 22nd over at deep square leg and the Durham all-rounder responded with a couple of boundaries in the next over to bring the 50-run stand with Bairstow off 52 deliveries.

After reaching his 50, Stokes got struck into Nawaz for hitting him for 11 runs in the 30th over by the end of which England were 163 for four. Just after bringing the 100-run stand with Bairstow, Stokes holed out to deep midwicket in the 35th over.

Pakistan made a brief comeback in the game despite losing Irfan to injury as they conceded just 16 runs in the next five overs. Bairstow brought his fifty with a boundary in the 38th over.

Despite, losing Bairstow in the 45th over, Moeen (45 not out) played a composed innings to help England chase down the target in 48 overs. The four-wicket win allowed England to take a 4-0 lead in the series. Bairstow was awarded the man of the match for his fluent knock.

© Cricket World 2016