Joe Root leads England to 2-0 lead over Pakistan

England 255-6 (Root 89) beat
Pakistan 251 (Ahmed 105) by four wickets
Second One-Day International, Lord's
Scorecard

Joe Root scored his fourth consecutive half-century in One-Day Internationals while Mark Wood and Chris Woakes picked three wickets apiece as England went on to defeat Pakistan in the second game by four wickets at Lord's.

England went with an unchanged line-up while Pakistan replaced Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Gul and Mohammad Nawaz with Sami Aslam, Hasan Ali and Yasir Shah.

After winning the toss and opting to bat first, Pakistan got off to a torrid start losing Sharjeel Khan (0), Aslam (1) and Azhar Ali (0) inside the first four overs. Sarfraz Ahmed (105) and Babar Azam (30) steadied the innings and scored seven boundaries to take Pakistan to 46 for three at the end of the powerplay.

The 64-run stand finally came to an end when Liam Plunkett (2-50) castled Azam. Shoaib Malik (28) went severe on Moeen Ali (0-54) bringing the 50-run stand with Ahmed in the process. At the halfway mark, Pakistan were placed at 123 for four.

Ahmed reached his fifty off 61 deliveries but Malik was caught behind off the bowling of Wood (3-46) ending the 59-run stand for the fifth wicket.

Just when Pakistan looked in deep trouble, Ahmed stitched a vital 77-run stand with Imad Wasim (63 not out) and in the process brought his century in the 42nd over at the end of which the visitors reached 198 for five.

Despite, losing Ahmed, Wasim smashed Plunkett for 15 runs in the 46th over, reaching his half-century off 57 deliveries. Pakistan were bowled out for 251 in their 50 overs with Wood and Woakes (3-42) being the pick of the bowlers.

In the chase, England lost Jason Roy (0) in the second delivery, castled by Mohammad Amir (1-39). However, Root (89) scored four boundaries in the first five overs to keep the chase going.

After, a 35-run stand for the second wicket, Alex Hales (14) was castled by Wasim (2-38) and England ended the powerplay at 39 for two.

Just when England were in trouble, Root and skipper Eoin Morgan (68) batted with caution mixed with aggression to take England past the 100-run mark in the 22nd over. Root brought his fifty off 56 deliveries while Morgan scored his first half-century in 12 innings.

The pair were cruising to victory with their 112-run stand but Wasim castled Morgan in the 31st over to bring Pakistan back into the game. Pakistan's hopes were dashed when Root added another 56-run stand with Ben Stokes (42) to bring the 200-run mark for England.

Despite, losing Stokes, Root and Jos Buttler (4), England reached the target in 47.3 overs with four wickets in hand which gave them a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. Root was awarded the man of the match for his fluent 89.

© Cricket World 2016