England rout Pakistan to win T20I series 2-0
England won the second T20I against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 at Cardiff by beating them by six wickets. England achieved their target of 90 in only 14 overs to take the series 2-0. Tim Bresnan was the star of the English bowling and his three-wicket haul ensured that the English side came out trumps. Bresnan won the man of the match award.
Pakistan won the toss and batted first again. In the previous game, the Pakistani side had not lost too many wickets, but they had failed to accelerate against the English spinners. The Pakistan side seemed to have come out with a strategy in this game to take on the English pace bowlers, and they tried to go after the pair of Ryan Sidebottom and Bresnan.
However, Kamran Akmal was dismissed in the very first over from Bresnan, as he tried to pull the ball to the mid-wicket fence. Mohammad Yousu followed him soon after as he tried the same stroke, and when Shahzaid http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Hasan-c61990 was caught down the leg-side off the bowing of Stuart Broad, the Pakistani side were 20/3.
In walked captain http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482, but he lasted all of four deliveries and at 22/4 the Pakistani side looked like in big trouble. Umar Akmal looked like he could take on the English spinners, as he lofted Graeme Swan for two sixes. However, the smart bowler that Swann is, he tossed the next ball a tad wider and slower and spun it sharply to clean bowl the batsman.
With Akmal gone for 17, the rest of the side could barely get a move on and capitulated to 89 all out in the 19th over. Bresnan ended with figures of 3/10 off 3.4 overs, while Stuart Broad, Swann and Sidebottom, all had a couple of wickets each.
A target of 90 was never going to be too difficult for the English batsmen. Steven Davies and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Craig-Kieswetter-c51708 added 26 off 14 balls, before they were out off successive deliveries. Ravi Bopara struggled a bit against the Pakistani bowling, but Paul Collingwood came out and hit a six off Shoaib Akhtar to take the side closer.
England did lose another couple of wickets at 57 and 63 respectively, but the two who had seen England through in the previous game, Eoin Morgan and Michael Yardy, got together and ensured that the game was theirs. Morgan remained unbeaten on 18, while Bresnan was declared the man of the match for his bowling.
Pakistan and England play in a five-match ODI series starting from 10 September. The Pakistani team is currently reeling from a media storm surrounding their alleged spot-fixing.
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