Moeen Ali insists her own over-spin was Pakistan’s impetus in Karachi; “I felt like I was in control most of the time. I really feel like my over lost the game for us. It was a gamble on my part.”
England captain Moeen Ali insisted a “bet” of one on his own spin was the deciding moment after a match-winning masterclass from Pakistani duo Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan.
The home team chased a goal of 200 in sensational fashion at the National Stadium in Karachi, as Babar’s undefeated 110 and Rizwan’s 88 not out took them over the line without losing a single wicket.
England will be concerned about the lack of incision from their bowling attack, but the two chances they generated against Rizwan were squandered when he was brought down by Alex Hales in the 23rd and Phil Salt parried a strike in the 32nd, while despite bowling only six deliveries at the entrances. Moeen tried to take the blame on behalf of his team.
He came on for the 13th and leaked 21 runs, including three sixes, as Pakistan moved into a dominant position.
“The momentum changed when I took my over. That really gave them confidence and after that they were almost unstoppable,” he said after the hosts made it 1-1 after two games.
“I felt like I was in control most of the time. I really feel like my over lost the game for us. It was a gamble on my part.”
“I went to try to get a wicket, I almost bought a wicket. Obviously it didn’t work out and that’s when Pakistan really won the game.”
“Obviously, we dropped a big catch. You can’t afford to drop them and you can’t afford to throw a spinner at such an important time,” he added.
Moeen paid tribute to Pakistan’s batting heroes who started the series in the top three of the world rankings and responded to some of the criticism they have been subjected to from their own fans.
They were criticized by local pundits for not scoring fast enough in the recent Asian Cup, but they could hardly have imagined a more perfect response.
“They played very, very well tonight,” Moeen said. “I know they get a lot of attention for their shooting rates, but I think their shooting rates are pretty good anyway and they’re brilliant players.
“Sometimes the media puts pressure on players even when they’re doing well. They were brilliant and today was their day.”
Michael Atherton said sky sports: “[Buttler] he made it clear before this series that he wanted to be out there. We don’t expect him to play much of a role, if he does at all, but he said ‘I want to be here’ so close to World T20 in Australia. This is the time you want to put your plans into motion.
“You want to meet new players on the team like Will Jacks and Luke Wood, all these guys that you don’t know very well as characters and how they play under pressure.
“You know and feel when you see the players up close in the locker room in front of 25-30,000 people who want the other side to win and you get a sense of how the players deal under pressure, that’s what Jos Buttler will win.” of this series.”
England don’t have much time to lick their wounds, with back-to-back fixtures meaning the third of seven games takes place on Friday night, with changes likely between the bowling attack.
Watch England’s tour of Pakistan live on Sky Sports. Live coverage of the third international T20 starts at 3pm on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event this Friday 23rd September from 3pm
