(Getty Images)
England have no room for manoeuvre if they want to be triumphant in their seven-match T20I series against Pakistan. The hosts won the fifth game on Wednesday evening in a low scoring contest and now lead the series 3-2 with two matches to play.
Batting first, Pakistan set England a reachable target of 147 from their 20 overs but a collapse in the powerplay saw them fall to 31-3 with Alex Hales, Phil Salt and Ben Duckett all going cheaply. England managed to recover thanks to Moeen Ali’s 51 not out but they required 15 runs from the final over and some brilliant death bowling from debutant Aamir Jamal saw them fall eight runs short of victory.
This defeat comes on the back of another failed chase in the fourth T20I where England lost by four runs after Reece Topley ran himself out with five balls left in the innings. The tourists should have won both games and the consequence of these losses mean England must win the final two matches in Lahore to be victorious in the series. Can they get the job done this evening?
Follow all the action from the sixth T20I between Pakistan and England in Lahore:
Moeen Ali heroics in vain as Pakistan take series lead over England
Stand-in skipper Moeen Ali came close to hitting England out of trouble at the death only to be bested by a debutant as Pakistan took control of the Twenty20 series for the first time.
Moeen took them within one blow of victory, hitting 51 not out in 37 balls, but newcomer Aamer Jamal sent down some superb wide yorkers after being trusted with the final over of the match and closed out a five-run win.
Having failed to make 167 last time out they finished on 139 for seven, slipping 3-2 behind with two to play.
The tourists failed to chase 146 in Lahore
England arrive in Lahore
England have arrived at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore ahead of today’s sixth T20I, who will line-up for the visitors later today?
Will Jos Buttler return to lead the team (unlikely)? Will England risk Mark Wood and Chris Woakes in back-to-back games? Will spinner Liam Dawson be recalled or is Olly Stone going to get another game?
We will find out soon enough. Start of play today is scheduled for 3.30pm with the toss and team news expected at 3pm.
Pakistan vs England
Hello and welcome to The Independent’s coverage of the penultimate T20 of England’s seven-match series against Pakistan.
Moeen Ali continues to deputise for captain Jos Buttler - whose fitness will not be risked ahead of the World Cup next month - but faces a difficult task as England have entered the last chance saloon. They trail Pakistan 3-2 after throwing away the two most recent matches from strong positions and need to win both remaining games to clinch the series.
Last time out Pakistan batted first and were restricted to just 146 from their 20 overs leaving England as favourites to win the game. However an early collapse saw them stumble to 31-3 before Moeen himself led the comeback. He ended on 51 not out but England failed to knock off the 15 runs required from the last over and gave the hosts the lead in the series.
On a positive note Mark Wood seems to be fit and firing ahead of the major tournament in Australia and should play a key role in today’s proceedings. England have been getting themselves in positions where they should win more games and if they can get over the line today it’ll set up a series decider on Sunday.
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