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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Matthew Cooper

5 talking points as Pakistan win tight T20 by five runs despite Moeen Ali's fifty

Pakistan have taken a 3-2 lead over England after winning a low scoring fifth T20I in Lahore by five runs thanks to a brilliant team effort with the ball and an excellent 63 from Mohammad Rizwan.

Pakistan needed their bowlers to step up after nobody other than Rizwan managed to score more than 15 runs as they were bowled out for 145. Mark Wood was once again brilliant for England in just his second appearance in six months after being forced to undergo two shoulder operations.

He consistently hit speeds of 90mph+ as he picked up figures of 3-20. His average speed across his two appearances has been 148.24kph (92mph) and according to CricViz only New Zealand's Adam Milne has ever bowled quicker in a T20I series.

Left-arm seamers David Willey and Sam Curran both recorded figures of 2-23, while Chris Woakes took 1-30 in his first professional game since March. Rizwan, meanwhile, stood alone for the hosts as he struck his fourth half-century of the series.

Despite only needing 146 to win, England made a real mess of their chase in as they lost three wickets inside the powerplay and were unable to recover, with Alex Hales falling to Mohammad Nawaz for one, Haris Rauf bouncing out Phil Salt for three and Mohammad Wasim dismissing Duckett for ten.

The in-form Harry Brook was the next to go, with leg spinner Shadab Khan trapping him lbw for four. Dawid Malan struggled to find his timing, but battled hard before falling lbw to Iftikhar for 36 off 35 to leave England in serious trouble at 65-5.

Stand-in skipper Moeen Ali was able to take the game deep, striking an excellent unbeaten 51 off 37 balls, but with 15 needed to win off the final over debutant Aamer Jamal conceded nine to wrap up a dramatic five run win for his side.

Here are five talking points...

Chris Woakes made his first appearance for England since March (Alex Davidson/Getty Images)

Woakes returns

Having not played a professional game since in six months, it was great to see Woakes back in action for England and getting through his full quota without any problems. England will be hoping Woakes can star with the new ball at the upcoming T20 World Cup so it was important that he was able to start getting some match practice before the tournament.

He ended with figures of 1-40 from his four overs, wrapping up the Pakistan innings when Rauf holed out in the 19th over. "He is a big player for England," Moeen said before the game.

"Woakesy is a great guy, great for the team. I have known him from such a young age and I definitely feel for him. I felt sad for him in the summer when he came back in the second team and got injured because we were looking forward to having him then. I'm sure the bad days over."

Mark Wood picked his second-best figures in T20I cricket (AAMIR QURESHI/AFP via Getty Images)

Wood stars again

Back in the side having been rested following his stunning return to action in the third T20I, Wood once again proved just how important his ability to bowl express pace is to England's T20 side.

In his first over, Wood removed Babar for just nine with a 93mph bouncer that he pulled straight to Duckett at deep square leg. It is the second time Wood has dismissed the Pakistan skipper this series, with his pace proving a potent weapon against Babar who has passed 30 in all the games Wood has not played.

He also dismissed Haider for four with a 92mph short ball, taking the catch himself after it was top edged straight up in the air, before bowling Ali for five with a brilliant 93mph yorker as he finished with figures of 3-20 - his second best in T20Is.

"It's nice to see Mark Wood come back from injury and perform straight away," England seamer Saqib Mahmood said on commentary for the BBC. "Encouraging for someone like myself who is on that road to recovery."

Rizwan stands alone

Rizwan is a remarkably consistent T20 performer, with his career average in T20Is of 53.76 the highest of any player in history and he is enjoying an excellent series against England.

In five games so far, he has struck four half-centuries and is currently the leading run scorer, having made 315 runs at 78.75. And he stood alone with the bat in this match for Pakistan, scoring 63 of their 145 runs in an innings where extras was their third-highest scorer.

His innings came to an end in the 18th over when he inexplicably flicked a full-toss from Curran straight to the fielder at backward square, but Pakistan would not have been in with a chance of winning the game had it not been for Rizwan.

Moeen Ali struck an unbeaten 51 to almost win the game for England (Alex Davidson/Getty Images)

Moeen almost wins it

After England made a mess of the powerplay, losing the three early wickets of Hales, Salt and Duckett, Moeen played brilliantly to take the game to the final over. On a pitch where England's second-highest scorer Malan really struggled to find his timing in a 35-ball 36, Moeen batted with real fluency.

He struck all four of England's sixes and came very close to snatching victory, but it was the second time in the series they have failed to win a game they really should have won. And ex-England batter Mark Butcher slammed their approach in the powerplay as "daft".

"I have no problem with players going gung-ho in the powerplay but when you lose two wickets you are perhaps best building a partnership and playing the situation," Butcher said on Sky Sports. 'Their approach seemed daft to me. Twice on the trot the batting has [stuttered] in run chases. It's not alarm bells but it might be worth having a chat."

Jamal stars on debut

Having been one of just three Pakistan batters to reach double figures after coming in at number nine, Jamal held his nerve admirably with the ball when tasked with defending 15 off the final over against an in-form Moeen.

And the 26-year-old, who played his first professional T20 game less than a year ago, rose to the occasion to guide Pakistan to victory. Jamal largely executed his plan to bowl wide yorkers to perfection, conceding just one boundary and bowling one wide.

"Jamal was brilliant, absolutely brilliant with the pressure he was under," former England captain Nasser Hussain said on Sky Sports. "You can't rely on the Pakistan batting line-up but you can on the bowlers."

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