Shadab Khan bowled his career’s most expensive spell during the second T20I between Pakistan and England which was played at Edgbaston Stadium, Birmingham, on Saturday.
England recorded a comfortable 23-run win over the Babar Azam-led unit as the visitors were all out for 160 in 19.2 overs during their chase.
A 23-run loss is surely a wakeup call for Pakistan but even more so for Shadab, who was the Green Shirts’ worst performer with the ball as the all-rounder conceded 55 runs in four overs without taking a single wicket.
This was Shadab’s worst bowling figures in T20I cricket. In the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2021, Shadab bowled the exact same figures during the match against Peshawar Zalmi.
Today was just the third time Shadab conceded 50+ runs in T20I cricket while two of them came in May 2024. He conceded 54 runs in four overs during the first T20I against Ireland which was held in Dublin on May 10.
With the T20 World Cup 2024 around the corner, Shadab needs to find his form with the ball as he is one of the most important members of the team and is named in the squad that will travel to the United States.
Remember, this was England's eighth win in the last 11 T20Is against Pakistan.
Fakhar Zaman starred for Pakistan in a losing cause as the left-handed batter played an explosive knock of 45 runs off 21 balls with the help of three fours and five sixes. Skipper Babar Azam scored 32 runs on 26 balls as he was the second-highest run-getter.
Meanwhile, down the order, Iftikhar Ahmed (23 off 17) and Imad Wasim (22 off 13) provided crucial runs but they weren’t enough to propel Pakistan to victory.
For England, Reece Topley picked three wickets. Moeen Ali and Jofra Archer bagged two each while Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid and Liam Livingstone picked one.
Earlier, Jos Buttler played a captain's knock and scored 84 runs on 51 balls with the help of eight fours and three sixes. During the process, he also completed 3,000 runs in T20I cricket, becoming only the ninth player in the shorter format to do so.
Pakistan were off to a great start as Imad Wasim removed Phil Salt in the fourth over but England recovered brilliantly as Buttler and Will Jacks formed a 71-run partnership which brought the home side back in the game.
Jacks scored 37 off 23 with six boundaries while Jonny Bairstow contributed 21 runs. Meanwhile, the likes of Harry Brook, Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone failed to score in double digits.
For Pakistan, Shaheen bagged three wickets while Imad and Rauf picked two each. While Shadab Khan and Mohammad Amir failed to take a single wicket.
- Shadab Khan