England defeated Pakistan by 52 runs in the second one-day international at Lord’s, clinching the three-match series with a game to spare.
After rain cut the game to 47 overs per side, England boldly recovered from 160-7 to 247 all out in 45.2 overs, with the hosts team remaining unchanged from the XI that included five debutants in the first ODI.
They then took full control of an exciting game by reducing Pakistan to 86-5 with a superb new-ball spell.
Fast bowler Saqib Mahmood impressed once more, dismissing captain Babar Azam lbw for 19 and Mohammad Rizwan caught behind for five, while Lewis Gregory dismissed opener Imam-ul-Haq with his first ball of the innings – the seventh delivery of the innings.
With 56 runs from 77 balls, Saud Shakeel kept the tourists in the game, while Hassan Ali took 22 runs from one Matt Parkinson over to energise the vocal Pakistan supporters.
However, Shakeel holed out to deep square-leg off Parkinson, and Gregory took the final wicket in the next over, dismissing Pakistan for 195 with 36 balls remaining.
Gregory, who took 3-44, had earlier scored 40 as part of a crucial eighth-wicket stand of 69 with Brydon Carse.
After opener Phil Salt hit an aggressive 60 from 54 balls and James Vince scored 56 from 52, England had lost 5-42, with seamer Hassan ripping through the middle order en route to figures of 5-51.
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It resulted in another impressive win for this inexperienced England team, which leads the series 2-0 heading into the series finale on Tuesday in Edgbaston.
This was also the first cricket match in England to be allowed a capacity crowd since the Covid-19 pandemic began, though the attendance was 22,704 – roughly 75% full.
