Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan broke the world record for opening partnerships in T20 internationals as Pakistan beat England by 10 wickets in Karachi.
Having won the toss and set their hosts a target of 200, England would have been confident about taking a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
However, Azam and Rizwan produced one of the all-time great partnerships in international cricket, becoming the first openers to move past 200 in this format of the game.
Although the pair had held the previous record, this effort will live long in the memory, particularly Azam's innings of 110 off 66 deliveries.
That said, nothing should be taken from Rizwan's 88 from 51 balls, the duo contributing 16 fours and nine sixes between them on the way to winning the game for their team with three balls remaining.
England would have been more than happy with their effort with the bat, five of the top six players in the order scoring 26 or more at strong strike-rates.
Phil Salt (30) and Alex Hales (26) put on 42 from 31 balls for the opening wicket, while Ben Duckett (43) led a counter-attack after Dawid Malan had departed for a first-ball duck.
Harry Brook chipped in with a lively 31 from 19 which included three maximums, before Moeen Ali put England in a seemingly dominant position with 55 from just 23 deliveries.
The first Pakistani cricketer to make two centuries in T20 international cricket! 🔥
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) September 22, 2022
Babar Azam, the history maker 👏 pic.twitter.com/6gVtQjdv1j
Nevertheless, those knocks will now be forgotten after Azam and Rizwan's show in reply, the pair always staying above England's totals at various stages of the innings while also not losing a wicket.
England had made the decision to go with three spinners and that tactic would have been deemed a relative success had Moeen not conceded 21 runs off his solitary over.
Liam Dawson, the only player coming into the team from the first match, was the most economical with figures of 0-26 from his four overs.
The series continues on Friday with England left with numerous decisions to make over their selection on the back of the heaviest-ever defeat in this format.
Darren Plant
