Phil Salt hit a blistering 88 as England beat Pakistan by eight wickets on Friday to level up their seven-match T20I series at 3-3 in Lahore.
Pakistan recovered from a slow start that saw them 15-2 at one point to post 169-6 at the Gaddafi Stadium, thanks in large to the brilliant Babar Azam (87 not out).
But England made easy work of the chase as they reached 100 from seven overs to set up a decider on Sunday.
Without in-form Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistan initially struggled as Mohammad Haris (7) and Shan Masood (0) fell early on, leaving Babar to do much of the leg work.
Haider Ali (18), Iftikhar Ahmed (31) and Asif Ali took their side to 136-4, but the latter upper cut to Reece Topley for nine runs and Mohammad Nawaz (12) followed soon after.
Babar's 87 did at least give England something to think about, but Salt and Alex Hales put on an opening partnership of 55 off 23 balls, before the latter was removed for 27.
Salt reached his half-century off just 19 balls en route to an unbeaten 88, including the decisive shot as England posted 170-2 to level things up.
Babar brilliance not enough
Pakistan were without run machine Rizwan but Babar stepped up with 87 runs off 59 balls, which included three sixes and seven fours.
Babar surpassed a milestone 3,000 T20I runs in the process, yet it was not enough to steer the hosts to an unassailable series lead.
England ease to victory
The tourists were set 170 to avoid a third successive T20I defeat to Pakistan for the first time ever and had no trouble in reaching that target.
Only once before – against New Zealand in November 2019 (6.4 overs in a game reduced by rain to 11 overs) – have England previously reached 100 from seven overs.
Salt played a key part in that as he underlined his credentials to partner Jos Buttler at the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Sri Lanka Women to host West Indies for three ODIs and three T20Is next month
Sri Lanka will host West Indies for three ODIs and three T20Is from June 15-28, Sri Lanka Cricket announced on Thursday.
The tour will primarily serve as preparation for the T20 Asia Cup, which will also take place in Sri Lanka, for the hosts. That tournament starts on July 20.
As for the West Indies, they just concluded a month-long tour of Pakistan where they dominated both ODI and T20I series.
This will be the regional side’s last competitive action before the ICC Women's T20 World Cup set for October 3-20 in Bangladesh.
The last time these two sides squared off in a bilateral series was back in 2017, where West Indies swept Sri Lanka across both T20Is and ODIs.
The West Indians have dominated Sri Lanka in T20Is with a head-to-head record of 18-4 whereas in ODIs, the contest has been much closer with West Indies leading 18-14.
The ODI series will be played from June 15-21 in Galle and is part of the ICC Women's Championship, which serves as a pathway to the 2025 ODI World Cup.
West Indies are currently seventh on the Women's Championship points table and Sri Lanka eighth. Top four teams, apart from hosts India, will get a direct qualification.
The T20Is will be held in Hambantota from June 24-28.
Another one: ‘Bunny’ Shaw cops 2023/24 Barclays WSL Player of the Season honour
The accolades of Jamaica and Manchester City striker Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw continue to mount, as she was voted the 2023/24 Barclays Women’s Super League (WSL) Player of the Season, on Friday.
This announcement came on the heels of Thursday’s Football Writers’ Association (FWA) awards gala, where Shaw was officially presented with the FWA Women Footballer of the Year trophy, alongside fellow Manchester City star Phil Foden.
To say these individual acclaims are very much deserving would be an understatement given her exploits this season, as she has been a key figure in City’s push for the WSL title.
The 27-year-old, whose season was cut short due to a broken leg, has registered 21 goals in just 18 appearances, while also providing three assists. She’s on course for another prestigious honour of finishing as the league’s top scorer, having incredibly averaged a goal every 66 minutes this season.
And it is just rewards for another phenomenal campaign in which she once again broke new ground in Gareth Taylor’s side.
Shaw is the first player to score three WSL hat-tricks in a calendar year, last year, and between November 2023 and January 2024, the forward again registered three trebles in just four matches.
Finding the net in both WSL Manchester derbies, the Jamaican’s clinical finish at the Etihad Stadium in March also saw her become City’s record goalscorer, as she swept past Georgia Stanway in the process.
Another crucial strike from Shaw came in City’s 1-0 win over Chelsea in February, as they secured the honour of being the first away side to take three points off the reigning champions at Kingsmeadow, in over three years.
In securing the Player of the Season title, the prolific Jamaican fought off the sizeable challenge of City teammate Khiara Keating, who won the Golden Glove, as well as Chelsea duo Lauren James and Niamh Charles. Arsenal’s Lotte Wubben-Moy, Tottenham Hotspurs youngster Grace Clinton, Leicester’s Jutta Rantala, and Brighton’s forward Elisabeth Terland, were also in the mix.
Kane to miss Bundesliga finale after seeking treatment on back injury
Harry Kane will miss Bayern Munich's final game of the Bundesliga season after leaving Germany to undergo treatment on a back problem.
Kane has scored 36 league goals in his debut campaign in Bavaria, though he will finish yet another season without silverware, with Bayer Leverkusen having clinched their first top-flight title.
He will end 2023-24 five goals adrift of Robert Lewandowski's single-season goal record of 41, set in 2019-20, after sustaining a back injury.
Ahead of Saturday's trip to Hoffenheim, departing Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel revealed Kane had been struggling before the second leg of their Champions League semi-final loss to Real Madrid.
"Harry is being treated by his personal doctor and he is not here anymore," Tuchel said.
"He won't be with us. In Madrid it was already touch and go."
Kane missed Bayern's 2-0 win over Wolfsburg in their penultimate game of 2023-24 last week, with Lovro Zvonarek and Leon Goretzka on target in his absence.
The news will cause concern for Gareth Southgate, who is set to name his preliminary England squad for Euro 2024 on Tuesday.
The Three Lions' final squad for the tournament – which is being held in Kane's new home of Germany – will be revealed after they face Iceland in a friendly on June 7.
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