ENGLAND: An all-around Pakistan beat hosts England in the T20 International Physical Disability Tri-Series final, reported ICC.
The Pakistanis posted a formidable 189/7, before bowling England out for 144, a brave half-century from Liam O’Brien going in vain.
Abdullah Ejaz, the left-arm seamer, tore through the England line-up in a potent spell of fast bowling that yielded 5/22. It reduced the opposition to 42/6 at one point.
Leading the defiance was O’Brien, who took the hosts to within 45 runs of victory. The Sussex all-rounder, who made his debut in this tournament, struck 75 off 40 balls after taking 2/32 in the Pakistan innings.
His innings included six fours and four sixes. He added 63 for the seventh-wicket with Jordan Williams (17), but couldn’t keep up the fight.
Asked to bat, Pakistan got off to a flying start, racing to 80 without loss. Hasnain Alam’s 48 off 36 and Muhammad Shahbaz’s 34 off 24 led the way.
The middle order made handy runs and Saif Ullah pitched in with an attacking 31 off 18 balls to take the side to a total.
England had defeated Pakistan the previous day to seal their place in the final over Bangladesh, but they could not repeat the result in the final.
“It’s only ever a loss when you don’t learn from it,” said Ian Salisbury, the former England leg-spinner, who is coach of the PD team.
“You learn more probably from defeat than when you win. For me, it just goes back to the mantra of making better cricketers and people. The great thing about sport is it does give you another better chance to come back and make things right. So, these guys will learn more from these matches.”