Phil Salt has blasted England to an eight-wicket victory over Pakistan in the sixth T20 international in Lahore on Friday.
The Sussex opener has endured a poor series, scoring just 59 runs in the opening five matches, but his blistering knock of 87 from 41 balls has set up a series decider at the weekend with the score now locked at 3-3.
Having won the toss, England made quick inroads into a Pakistan batting lineup that was missing Mohammad Rizwan, who had been rested ahead of a potentially-pivotal contest on Sunday.
After 8.4 overs, Pakistan had been reduced to 62-3, but Iftikhar Ahmed changed the tone of the innings with a 21-ball spell which delivered 31 runs.
Babar Azam remained at the crease, however, and although the in-form opener had to be more disciplined than he may have liked, he batted the entire 20 overs and made 87 from 59 balls.
In keeping their hosts to 169-6, Sam Curran (2-26) and David Willey (2-32) were the pick of the bowlers, and the game felt in the balance at the midway point.
However, it soon became apparent that the contest would not be as competitive as anticipated as Salt and Alex Hales hit the Pakistan bowlers off the pitch during the opening stages.
England win by 8️⃣ wickets to level T20 series with Pakistan 3-3 🏴🇵🇰 pic.twitter.com/5IQfeMf0OW
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) September 30, 2022
An opening stand of 55 took just 3.5 overs, Hales eventually getting out for 27 from just 12 balls, but there was no let up from Salt as he went all-out attack in a bid to cement his place in this team.
His half-century came up in just 19 balls - the third fastest in this format by an England batsman - and even the presence of a similarly-aggressive Dawid Malan did not tempt Salt into taking his foot off the accelerator.
After Malan was dismissed for 26 from 18 deliveries, Ben Duckett joined Salt at the crease and clubbed a further 26 runs from 16 balls.
Despite that effort being enough to prevent Salt from chasing down a deserved three figures, an innings of 87 which included 13 fours and three maximums will still dominate the headlines as England won with 33 balls to spare.
Darren Plant
