pak vs eng

Brutal! Mark Wood’s mean, unplayable bouncer to Azam Khan leaves interet wowed. Watch | Cricket News

Danijones5 months ago02 mins

NEW DELHI: England speedster Mark Wood produced an absolute snorter to leave clueless Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Azam Khan taking evasive action during the fourth T20I at the Oval on Thursday.Wood’s 88.4mph rocket stunned Azam along with the commentators and the fans as the dream ball from the paceman left the batter ducking for cover.The jaffa from Wood came in the 11th over of the Pakistan innings as it caught Azam totally by surprise. As Wood dug in a quick, mean bouncer, angled in from back of length, it rose sharply and hurried onto the batter. Azam, who was on zero, could do nothing and tried to get out of the way of the ball coming straight at his face. In doing so, Azam found himself all over the place as the ball kissed his glove and then looped off the shoulder straight to England ‘keeper Jos Buttler. The unplayable delivery from Wood sent Azam packing for a five-ball duck. In the match, after restricting Pakistan to 157 all out, England powered to the target with 27 balls remaining as Buttler & Co head into the defense of its T20 World Cup title on the back of a 2-0 series victory over Pakistan.

‘Best example of nepotism’: Pakistan’s Azam Khan brutally roasted after another flop show | Cricket News

Danijones5 months ago02 mins

NEW DELHI: Pakistan’s keeper-batter Azam Khan was in the line of fire on Thursday after his side succumbed to a crushing seven-wicket defeat in the fourth and final T20I against England at the Oval. Azam, who scored a five-ball duck and then dropped a couple of sitters behind the stumps drew flak on social media as his torrid run with both bat and gloves continued.The 25-year-old has had a string of low scores recently and has been poor behind the stumps as well and after his dull outing in Pakistan’s final T20I game before the T20 World Cup, questions over his selection and spot in the side were raised on social media. With the defeat, Pakistan lost the T20 series 2-0 as the first and third games in Leeds and Cardiff were washed out. England, on the other hand, now will head into the defense of its T20 World Cup title on the back of a series win over Pakistan. In the final game, after restricting Pakistan to 157 all out, England powered to its target with 27 balls remaining largely thanks to Phil Salt’s 45 and captain Jos Buttler’s 39 in their opening stand of 82 off 38 balls. The T20 World Cup staged jointly in the United States and the Caribbean starts Saturday, with England’s opening match against Scotland in Barbados on Tuesday and Pakistan playing for the first time on June 6 against the US.

Pakistan’s Haris Rauf says injury lay-off a ‘blessing in disguise’ | Cricket News

Danijones5 months ago04 mins

NEW DELHI: Pakistan speedster Haris Rauf is optimistic that his three-month absence from cricket due to a shoulder dislocation might turn out to be advantageous as he prepares for the upcoming T20 World Cup.In his comeback match, the second game of Pakistan’s preparatory series against England, the reigning T20 world champions, in Birmingham on Saturday, the 30-year-old pacer displayed a promising performance, claiming a couple of wickets.“I was injured the last few months but if you believe in yourself, then the layoff can be a blessing in disguise,” he told a pre-match press conference in Cardiff on Monday ahead of the third T20.“Because you have time to recover and reassess your game-plans. I felt good coming back to cricket. When you play for your country, it makes you very proud.”As for the mental and physical strain of returning from injury for a fast bowler, Rauf said: “It’s hard. It’s a struggle during your rehab, and it’s difficult when you come back to maintain that pace and accuracy. But if you believe in yourself, it makes things easier. When I wasn’t in the team and rehabbing, I had a lot of time to think about my game and work on myself.“Thankfully I’m back now, and the World Cup is coming up.”Rauf’s return at Edgbaston could not prevent Pakistan suffering a 23-run defeat by England as they fell 1-0 behind in the four-match series with two to play following a washed-out opener.But Rauf insisted Pakistan, the 2009 T20 world champions, remained in optimistic mood ahead of their opening match at this year’s global showpiece against co-hosts the United States in Dallas on June 6.“When you lose a game it hurts, but as a team, we are confident,” he said. “We feel we can beat any opposition on any day. We’ve done it in the past, too. When you make mistakes you learn and try not to repeat those mistakes. We’re looking to play better in the next few games and make a comeback.“The camp is relaxed. We’re enjoying ourselves. We’re trying to follow our game-plans and execute them well. The results haven’t often been in our favour recently but if you stick to your plans they can sometimes follow.” (With inputs from AFP)