At a ground with a low catch-conversion rate in the IPL, India’s fielders dropped at least five chances in the first T20I

Deivarayan Muthu in Hyderabad07-Dec-20191:45

Trying to make best use of chance at the top of the order – KL Rahul

Fielding at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium can be tricky in the evening because of the floodlights, which are lower than at most other grounds. In the IPL, this venue, home of Sunrisers Hyderabad, has seen a catch conversion rate of only 70%.India’s fielders also found it difficult in the T20I series opener against West Indies on Friday, dropping at least five chances. After misjudging one at short fine leg and not even getting a hand to the ball, Washington Sundar dropped Shimron Hetmyer on 54, having sprinted to his right from long-on. Then, Rohit Sharma dropped Kieron Pollard off successive balls at the long-on boundary before he redeemed himself in the next over by catching Hetmyer off Yuzvendra Chahal for 56 at deep backward square leg.In the final over of West Indies’ innings, Virat Kohli spilled Jason Holder at long-off and ended up deflecting the ball to the boundary. Holder made an unbeaten 24 off nine balls to push West Indies past 200.West Indies had their issues on the field too. Hetmyer, at deep midwicket, briefly fumbled when Rohit hit left-arm fingerspinner Khary Pierre towards him, but just about got his body behind the ball in time and clung onto the catch.Rohit Sharma puts in an acrobatic effort in the deep•BCCI

When asked if the lapses in the field were down to one side of this ground being much longer than the other, or because of the awkward floodlights, KL Rahul, who has been part of the Sunrisers team previously, pointed to the latter.”I don’t think it’s the dimensions – the bigger side or the smaller side – it’s just that the lights are pretty low and sometimes you lose the ball under the lights,” Rahul said. “And that’s what happened a couple of times and I mean we’ve played here before; we’ve played here for years. We know what to expect and yeah as a team we don’t complain about things like this.”Although India didn’t train under lights ahead of the first T20I, Rahul said his side was prepared for the challenge posed by the floodlights.”We tried to practise that even when we came here a couple of days ago,” he said. “We know we didn’t practice under lights but we know the lights are low and we tried to get our fielding practice done and try to give our best and sometimes you still lose the ball. That’s how it is.”

He is also ‘sure’ the travel and recovery time ‘will be taken into consideration a lot more in the future’

Vishal Dikshit23-Jan-20204:01

Kohli: New Zealand will have slight home advantage

Merely five days after an ODI ended late on January 19 in Bengaluru, India will be playing a T20 international all the way across in New Zealand as part of a five-match series to kick-off a full tour that features 10 games across formats. And it’s the same set of players: With the T20 World Cup coming up this year, India did not rest anyone from the squad that played the ODIs against Australia and picked a full-strength squad from those available.India left for Zealand on January 20 to reach the next evening, giving them only three full days before the series opening in New Zealand on Friday. Virat Kohli is “sure” the travel time and the packed schedule “will be taken into consideration a lot more in the future”, while also accepting that that’s how international cricket is these days.”Well, it’s definitely getting closer and closer to landing at the stadium straight, that’s how compressed the gap has become,” Kohli said in Auckland a day before the T20I series. “But yeah, I think this kind of travel and coming to a place which is seven-and-a-half hours ahead of India time is always difficult to adjust to immediately. So I am sure these things will be taken into a consideration a lot more in the future … it is what it is, and you’ve got to do the best you can to recover and to get used to the timings and just get on the park again. That’s international cricket for you today. It’s back to back.”After the five T20Is, India will play three ODIs in New Zealand followed by two Tests to end the tour on March 4 in Christchurch. That’s not it, though, for the season. Just eight days later, India will host South Africa for the first of three ODIs, the second leg of a series that saw three Tests in October 2019. The last of those ODIS is on March 18 and the IPL is likely to start in the last week of March, leaving roughly 10 days’ gap for the players.India have been playing back-to-back series at home this season by hosting South Africa (two T20Is and three Tests), Bangladesh (three T20Is and two Tests), West Indies (three T20Is and three ODIs), Sri Lanka (three T20Is) and Australia (three ODIs). It’s not India’s busiest home season but, combined with injuries to a few key players, it has hardly left the players who feature in both limited-overs formats any time to rest or manage their workload. Kohli was pleased that the New Zealand tour was starting with the shortest format after playing ODIs at home recently.”It (T20Is) sort of helps because it’s less time on the park,” he said. “So from that point of view, I think we’ve had longer games, the last three that we played against Australia, we played a few T20s before that. But having played a lot more than what you do in a T20 game in the last three games, I think we will find it a bit easier to come here and, even though with less time, just to be at the park and just be at our best as a team. We are looking forward to that, starting the T20s, because this is the year of the World Cup, so every T20 is important.”Kohli acknowledged that New Zealand will be “very strong” in their backyard and India will hence have to be at their “best”. New Zealand, in turn, will also take confidence from the fact that they had beaten India 2-1 in the T20I series a year ago.”In their conditions, they have always been very, very strong,” Kohli said. “You know what they bring to the table when playing in New Zealand, so we are not going to take that for granted. They know their conditions well and they understand the angles of the field and how the pitches play, so I think they will have a slight home advantage. But having said that, we have played here a lot.Associated Press

“Not relating anything to the fact that Australia beat them and we beat Australia. It’s irrelevant, honestly. You have to play good cricket to win every series at the international level and (that’s) something we have done well as a side. For us, every series is a fresh start, and New Zealand in New Zealand is obviously a tougher challenge than playing them back home in India. We definitely have to be at your best.”The last time these two teams met was in the 50-over World Cup, semi-final when New Zealand had reduced India to 24 for 4 while defending 239, and even though India fought back with half-centuries from MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja, India lost by 18 runs. Was Kohli looking for revenge now?”Not really. Honestly, even if you think of revenge, these guys are so nice you can’t get into that,” he said. “We get along really well with all these guys. It’s all about just being competitive on the field and, as I said, that they are probably the one side that has set the right example for teams to play at the international level and how they should carry themselves. They obviously want to bring the best that they can every ball of the game, and they are intense in their body language. But they are not nasty, they are not doing things which are not acceptable on the field; they are very respectful of that fact and you can tell by the way they play.”They are a quality side and we have a lot of respect for them. And vice versa as well, I think, they have a lot of respect for us. We actually were happy for them when they qualified for the finals, because when you’ve lost, you’ve got to look at the larger picture, and it meant a lot to them as a side. So yeah, I don’t think this is about any kind of revenge at all, it’s just about two quality sides playing good cricket, it’s a challenge for us to beat New Zealand here and something we are totally up for.”

Nortje batted for three hours and 11 minutes and faced 136 balls, more than South Africa’s top three combined, to score 18 runs

Firdose Moonda in Port Elizabeth18-Jan-2020What are the characteristics of a “proper Dutchman”, the term of endearment South Africa’s bowling coach Charl Langevedlt used to describe Anrich Nortje?”It’s a sense of trying to go out there and fight, and come hard and be aggressive, with a lot of heart,” Nortje explained, happy to hear that the nickname that has been attached to him for a “quite a long time” was on air for the first time on day one.Langeveldt was describing Nortje’s back-bending efforts in the field but the man himself would like to apply the terms to all aspects of his game. “It’s something I try and pride myself on. When conditions get tough, when it’s 40 degrees, I try and be the guy to run and come hard,” Nortje said. “I try and make things happen with the ball in hand – not really with the bat but if I get an opportunity, if I have to take a few blows I am willing to do that.”ALSO READ: Cricket is a finite game and du Plessis’ finish is in sightFor the second time in the series, Nortje’s rearguard as nightwatchman has put South Africa’s top-order to shame. At SuperSport Park, he spent two hours and seven minutes in the middle and faced 89 balls for an accomplished 40, which included a match-winning partnership of 91 with Rassie van der Dussen. At St George’s, Nortje batted for three hours and 11 minutes and faced 136 balls, more than South Africa’s top three combined, to score only 18 runs. When he was dismissed, he sunk to his haunches in disappointment, knowing how close he was to putting in a double shift on overnight watch.”It’s trying to stay there for as long as possible. It’s not really about scoring runs for me, it’s about facing a few balls, as many as possible,” Nortje said.Nortje faced more balls from Dom Bess than any other South African batsmen in this innings so far – 59 – and four fewer than Dean Elgar did against Mark Wood – 19. He saw Bess outfoxing the top five as they looked to take the English spinner on more than they did at Newlands. Nortje was not privy to the strategy but saw South Africa’s eagerness backfire on them.”I’m not too sure how they (the top order) want to play it. I am not in the batting meeting, I can tell you that,” he said. “So I’m not too sure what they want to do but maybe one or two things could have gone differently, whether it’s taking him out the attack or just playing him positively and better, I don’t know.”What Nortje does know is that it’s not helpful to weigh his efforts up against the specialists’ because their job descriptions are so different. “There’s a little bit of a bigger battle between them and the bowler rather than me. Even if I get a half-volley sometimes, I still block it,” Nortje said. ” For them, it’s about playing naturally as well in stages. You can’t really compare.”Instead, what Nortje is interested in is measuring is his performance against Wood’s, the fastest bowler in the opposite camp. “I saw they had a comparison on the big screen and I was more interested in that when I was batting than anything else,” he said, although evasive action was also on his mind. Wood targeted Nortje’s rib-cage and later, his head, giving Nortje first-hand experience of what it must be like facing himself. “I haven’t really had to deal with that before in my career. It gives me a bit of confidence that I can do it. But it’s not the nicest thing, I am not going to lie,” he said.Asked if the experience of facing Wood has made Nortje more sympathetic to batsmen who have to front up to him, he had a one-word answer: “No.”That’s the answer a “proper Dutchman,” would give, that embodies the attitude South Africa have to adopt if they are to give themselves a chance of going to the Wanderers all-square. They are 92-runs away from avoiding the following-on and even if they get there, there are still two days left, some of which could be lost to rain. South Africa will be under the pump for most of that time but Nortje is up for it.”We are positive we can save the game,” he said. “If we have to fight and we have to do what we have to do then we do that. We are not going to be worried about if there is weather around. We are going to come out here and focus on the next two days, fighting. Whatever we have to do to draw this Test match we are going to be up for that. We believe that.”

Police also name KSCA administrator Shinde along with several bookies

Nagraj Gollapudi07-Feb-2020Two team owners, two senior Karnataka players including former Karnataka wicketkeeper and captain CM Gautam, and one team official are among 16 accused that the Karnataka Police has filed a chargesheet against in the investigations concerning corruption in the 2019 Karnataka Premier League (KPL). The preliminary chargesheet was filed on Friday by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) in three police stations in Bengaluru, with the primary charge of conspiracy to cheat under Section 420 under the Indian Penal Code.Among those named in the three chargesheets are: left-arm spinner Abrar Kazi with Gautam, along with Ali Asfak Thara (team owner of Belgavi Panthers) and Arvind Reddy (team owner of Bellary Tuskers) and another former Karnataka player Sudhindra Shinde, who was also part of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) managing committee.Also named are Nishant Shekhawat and M Viswanathan (both batsmen at Bangalore Blasters) along with the team’s bowling coach Vinoo Prasad. There are also several bookies named including Sanyam, Bhavesh Bafna and one person called Maavi.”We have evidence against all these people and they have been booked under CrPc (criminal charges),” Sandeep Patil, Joint Commissioner of Police, CCB, told ESPNcricinfo. Patil said that the police will carry forward the investigations and book any further names that they find evidence against.The CCB started its investigations immediately after the 2019 KPL season ended, first arresting Thara for allegedly betting on the matches. Gautam, who was scheduled to play for Goa in the 2020-21 season as a professional, was Tuskers’ captain. The CCB accused him of being involved in spot-fixing along with Kazi during the 2019 KPL final against Hubli Tigers, which the former lost by eight runs.Patil said Thara had revealed Bafna’s name during initial investigation. The CCB said Bafna, who played drums by the boundary during the KPL, was involved with Sanyam and both of them had approached Tuskers’ fast bowler Bhavesh Gulecha to do spot-fixing during matches.Shinde has been accused by the CCB of “match-fixing”. Patil said Shinde had met Thara when the latter sponsored his cricket club – Social Cricketers in Bengaluru. Subsequently Shinde was appointed as the head of cricket at Panthers.The KSCA has put the 2020 edition of the KPL on hold until the police inquiry is completed. The KSCA had also suspended both Thara and Reddy along with all the players involved. Former India fast bowler Roger Binny, the KSCA president, said if the franchise owners are found guilty, the teams would also face the consequences. “In case they are found guilty, their franchise will be terminated,” Binny said in a media release recently. “The decisions taken by the KSCA regarding on [sic] the above players and others will be reconsidered only after the investigation is complete. In case any of them are found guilty, appropriate and stringent action will be taken immediately.”

Selling equity stakes to investors could lessen the financial hit from coronavirus lockdown

Matt Roller28-Apr-2020The ECB should consider selling equity in Hundred teams to private investors to lessen the financial hit it faces from the coronavirus pandemic and to attract an Indian fanbase, according to a new report from a sports consultancy firm.The Hundred’s current model is similar to that used in the Big Bash, with independent boards running the eight teams under the governing body’s jurisdiction. But the report by Oakwell Sports – who advised private equity firm CVC on its investment into Premiership Rugby and recently brokered a AUS$250 million line of credit for Australia’s NRL – suggests that the competition’s costs could be significantly reduced if stakes in the teams were sold to investors using a franchise model.The Hundred is set to cost the ECB £58.4 million in its first season – including payments of £1.3 million to each county and £11.3 million in playing and support staff salaries – against income of £51 million, and is not expected to break even until its fifth season. The report suggests that a substantial proportion of these could be footed by turning central payments to the counties into equity stakes and looking to attract investment – particularly from India.The report, entitled ‘The Impact of Covid-19 on English Cricket’, states: “The ECB should consider converting its revenue distributions to counties into equity stakes and gifting these to each county. Therefore each Hundred franchise would own its revenue distribution % as an equity stake too.”This has real capital value for a county. This will attract potential private capital into buying stakes in Hundred franchises and help counties fund the overall game.”ALSO READ: Case for Hundred “greater than ever” due to Covid-19 – HarrisonIt is likely that there would be no shortage of interest from Indian investors if the Hundred were to open itself up to a franchise model. Two teams in the Caribbean Premier League are owned by the parent companies of IPL teams – Trinbago Knight Riders (Kolkata Knight Riders) and St Lucia Zouks (Kings XI Punjab). Red Chillies Entertainment (KKR owner Shah Rukh Khan’s company) had also purchased the Cape Town franchise in the aborted Global T20 League in South Africa, while Delhi Capitals’ owners GMR Sports were also due to own a team. In 2008, Hampshire became part of Rajasthan Royals’ ‘Royals 20/20’ venture, albeit little came of it.The report adds: “The Hundred needs to be able to attract Indian players and subsequently an Indian fanbase, too. The Indian subcontinent constitutes 90% of the 1 billion cricket fans aged 16-69 globally.”Indian investment into the Hundred, including from IPL team owners, may facilitate the involvement of Indian players in the longer term. In addition to generating revenue out of India, this would be vital in unlocking the south-Asian UK-based fanbase.”Currently, the BCCI does not allow Indian players to take part in overseas T20 leagues, and while there is little prospect of Virat Kohli or Jasprit Bumrah playing in the Hundred, some older players may be interested. ESPNcricinfo revealed last October that Harbhajan Singh had put his name forward for the Hundred’s inaugural draft, but withdrew after the story broke fearing he would be unable to continue playing for Chennai Super Kings, while Yuvraj Singh said it “could be an exciting format”.The Hundred’s inaugural season is likely to be postponed at an ECB board meeting on Wednesday, with little appetite to launch the competition when it seems unlikely that overseas players will be able to take part or that fans will be able to attend games. Chief executive Tom Harrison denied that the tournament’s future was in doubt on Friday, suggesting that the case for its existence was “greater than ever” on account of the Covid-19 pandemic.The report’s other recommendations include the ECB borrowing against its broadcasting contracts and lending money to help the counties survive expected combined losses of more than £85 million. A spokesperson clarified that the reported was not ECB-commissioned.

Veteran says he wants to go out on a winning note

Danyal Rasool15-Jun-2020Mohammad Hafeez, the second-longest serving Pakistan cricketer in the current setup, could yet extend his 17-year career. Hafeez’s original plan was to retire in November this year, after the T20 World Cup in Australia but he said – in a video conference – that he would continue to make himself available if the tournament was delayed due to Covid-19. Hafeez said he wanted to go out on a winning note.”I gave retiring from T20 cricket after the World Cup a lot of thought. Just like when I retired from Test cricket, I decided to retire on my own terms. It took into consideration my own goals, as well as the interests of Pakistan cricket. I want to retire from T20 cricket after playing a big tournament in which I perform well, and hopefully go out on a winning note. This is my plan, and if the World T20 is postponed to November or some later time, that doesn’t mean I won’t play it.”The length of Hafeez’s career has meant there have been several calls over the years for Pakistan to move on to younger prospects, but the allrounder continues to work himself back into the side. Hafeez has played all but one World T20 – the one Pakistan won in 2009. Should he play the upcoming one, he’d tie the Pakistan record for most World T20s played, equaling Shahid Afridi’s five.He retired from Test cricket in December 2018, but continued to make himself available in the shorter formats. He was called up for the three-match T20I home series against Bangladesh in January this year, the first time he featured in a T20I in over a year. Following that, he announced that the T20 World Cup would be his final tournament. Hafeez insisted whenever it was played, he would ensure he was physically up for the challenge.”I would like to play it, because I have never compromised on ensuring my skillset and my physical preparation. I will never be found lacking in the requirements necessary to play cricket for Pakistan. If the tournament is delayed, I’ll ensure my physical fitness is up to standard, so I can play in it when it does take place. If there are better options at international level, then of course they’ll play, and I’ll happily step aside. In that case I’ll turn my focus to international leagues, which I hope to play another couple of years,” he said.One of the higher-profile names calling for Hafeez to call it quits was Ramiz Raja, who said earlier this year Hafeez and fellow veteran Shoaib Malik should “retire gracefully”. This week, he doubled down on his comments, criticizing Misbah for including the pair in the squad for the England tour, calling Hafeez a “weak fielder” while saying his performance was “not the same anymore”. Hafeez, however, made it clear he wouldn’t be taking heed of those comments, and would make decisions about his career on his own terms.”Ramiz is a friend of mine,” he said. “Everyone has the right to express themselves. But I’m not going to quit cricket because someone asks me to, same as I never started playing at someone else’s behest. Playing for Pakistan is an honour for me. Even when I started in 2003, people thought Hafeez should not play cricket because I came from a very small town – Sargodha. I’ve spent the last 17 years justifying my selection, and I hope I’ll justify my selection again this time. All I’d like to say is – my career, my choice.”

“I considered the action before me and applied the law without fear or favour”

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jul-2020Former ICC umpire Daryl Harper has said he is “extremely proud” of his controversial ‘shoulder-before-wicket’ decision which had Sachin Tendulkar walk back for a duck at the Adelaide Oval in 1999 despite the backlash he received back then. Tendulkar was given out lbw by Harper after he ducked into a Glenn McGrath delivery during the second innings of the Test, which India went on to lose.”I look back on that ‘Tenducker’ decision every day of my life,” Harper told . “It’s not that I sleep badly or have nightmares and replays dancing through my brain. When I walk through my garage, I am confronted by a huge canvas print of Sachin and Glenn McGrath, taken momentarily after the ball made contact.ALSO READ: My ‘mistake’ in 2008 Sydney Test ‘might have cost India the game’ – Bucknor“You may be disappointed to know that I’m still extremely proud of that decision because I considered the action before me and applied the law without fear or favour.”Harper was at centre of controversy again in 2011 after he was criticised for a series of umpiring errors during India’s tour of West Indies. During the first Test in Jamaica, Harper had suspended Praveen Kumar from the attack for repeatedly running on the pitch, to which the then-captain MS Dhoni allegedly reacted by saying, “we’ve had problems with you before, Daryl.” Dhoni also publicly remarked about the umpiring at the post-match press conference.Harper retired from umpiring after that match, two weeks before his contract was due to expire, and had later questioned ICC’s decision to not punish Dhoni for his comments, saying he had felt targeted by the Indian team during the game.”After the Test was won by India, MS [Dhoni] was reported to have said to the media assembled that the players would have been back in their hotel rooms earlier if the umpires had made the correct decisions,” Harper said, recalling the incident. “It’s true… but they would have been back earlier if the Indian fieldsmen had taken their catches as well. Sometimes I wished I could have attended those post-match press conferences on a regular basis in order to set the record straight.””It did turn out to be my final Test, but my contract was due to expire two weeks later after the third Test in Dominica so the end was close, regardless of any comments by MS Dhoni or anyone else.”I accepted that I had made two incorrect decisions during the match and some other moments could not be determined with the available technology. I didn’t have a clean sheet and that always disappointed me when it happened, but my decision-making statistics in Tests with India were second to none at the time.”

Windies captain thanks Michael Holding for powerful words on race

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jul-2020Jason Holder, West Indies’ captain, says that the unified display from West Indies’ and England’s players before the start of the first Test “meant the world” to him, as he thanked Michael Holding for his powerful exposition of the Black Lives Matter movement on the opening day of the match.Speaking to Sky Sports after claiming six wickets in England’s first innings at the Ageas Bowl, Holder described his emotions after the players, officials and support staff of both teams took a knee for 30 seconds in solidarity with BLM before the first ball of the match was bowled.Holder, along with his team-mates, wore a black glove on the right hand in an apparent echo of the Black Power protest from Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the Mexico Olympics in 1968, after Holding, in a live segment during the morning rain delay that has now been viewed more than 5 million times on Twitter, declared that racism would not stop until we “educate the entire human race”.”It meant the world to me,” Holder told Sky Sports, “just the support from everyone, everyone understanding the moment, everyone understanding the occasion. And to see both teams coming together the way they did, it sent a really strong message.”I happened to be on social media last night, and I saw a few Aussies posting the same pic of everyone on the knee, and it just shows the cricket world is actually unified. But I think we could come a lot closer, we could do a lot more for cricket in general.”With Holding listening in on the live interview, Holder added: “I must say, I saw the interview with Mikey yesterday, and I felt it in my veins, to be honest. To me it was powerful, I think he hit the nail on the head, he was spot on.”For me it’s more of an education. Guys need to make themselves aware of what’s in front of us. There’s a bigger picture sometimes in sport, but in the grand scheme of things, I just think we just need to be aware, we need to educate ourselves, and we need to have a level playing field for everyone.”Hopefully the message that you sent out yesterday can be viewed by all, and people just really need to understand and divulge it for what it was. And hopefully we can all get the systemic quality that we’re looking for.”Responding to Holder’s tribute, Holding, 66, added: “I don’t think you need to thank me, Jason. I think you guys need to just take the baton and keep on running with it.”My days are almost gone. They say the Lord gives you three score years and 10. I’m only four years away. You guys have a lot of years ahead of you, and not just in the sport. It’s about life, it’s about teaching people around you, because when you’re finished playing sport, you have to go back into society, you have to go home.”That’s what it’s all about, outside of the cricketing arena, outside of the sporting arena, that’s where we need equality.”

England captain hammers 33-ball 66 before Malan sees them home in highest successful chase against Pakistan

The Report by George Dobell30-Aug-2020Eoin Morgan and Dawid Malan combined to help England make light of a record run chase in T20Is at Emirates Old Trafford, overhauling their target to beat Pakistan by five wickets.Despite Pakistan recording their highest ever T20I score against England, Morgan’s innings of 66 from 33 balls and Malan’s unbeaten 54 from 36 helped England seize victory with five deliveries in hand. As well as being a ground record, it was the highest successful T20I chase achieved against Pakistan. The result puts England one-up in the three match series ahead of the final game on Tuesday and offered suitably dramatic entertainment for the BBC; covering their first live England match this century.It seems extraordinary that Morgan gave any thought to retiring following England’s World Cup success. He currently appears to be in the form of his life, having passed 50 in four of his most recent seven T20I games. Since March 2019, he is averaging 59.37 in T20Is at a strike rate of 183.39.Here he survived a confident appeal for leg before he had scored – Pakistan’s review showed the ball would have hit middle stump, but Morgan survived on the basis of umpire’s call on impact – and then allowed himself a few balls to adjust to the pace of the surface, scoring 3 off his first six balls before accelerating.From the start of the 12th, England plundered 75 in five overs after appearing to target Iftikhar Ahmed, who was taken for 18 in one over, and Shaheen Shah Afridi, who was taken for 20 in another.Malan also sustained his impressive showing in T20I cricket. He has now made at least a half-century in seven of his 12 games – a record for any player in his first 12 matches – and averages 54.60 in the format.While he was content to play a supporting role to Morgan for much of their partnership of 112 in 10.2 overs, England were glad for his calm head once Morgan departed. There were still 18 runs required from 19 balls at that stage and, with Moeen Ali soon following, England could have wobbled.But Malan, whose ability to pace an innings must render him a strong contender to retain his place in England’s squad for the T20Is against Australia, showed why he is England’s highest-rated T20I batsman by seeing his side home.Earlier, Mohammad Hafeez produced his highest T20I score since 2013 to help Pakistan to their highest T20I score against anyone since June 2018.Hafeez has endured a frustrating wait to get into the action on this tour. His initial arrival in the UK – which was every bit of seven weeks ago – was delayed by a positive test for Covid-19 and, once he did arrive, he was obliged to spend a further period in isolation after posing for a photograph with a pensioner he met while playing on the golf course at the Ageas Bowl.But he vindicated his continued selection, at the age of 39, with his third half-century in four T20I innings, including a spell which saw him score 37 runs from 12 balls. Tom Curran, who at one stage bowled a waist-high full-toss that was pulled for six, took particular punishment in an over than conceded 23 runs.He was helped, though, by an opening partnership of 72 in 8.3 overs between Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman which gave Pakistan a strong foundation. Azam looked in particularly good touch, pulling the first ball of the match for four and looking very strong square of the wicket.In reply, England posted 65 without loss in their Powerplay. But the loss of Jonny Bairstow and Tom Banton to successive deliveries – both attempting sweeps of Shadab Khan – brought Pakistan back into the game. But Morgan survived a review on his second ball and was soon in his stride.Pakistan were not helped by an injury to Mohammad Amir. He looked in discomfort while bowling his second over and left the pitch after it. In his absence, Babar looked short of options in the field. Pakistan later confirmed Amir was suffering with hamstring pain rendering his participation in Tuesday’s game a doubt.England may not be entirely satisfied with their performance, though. The bowling attack appeared to wilt in the face of the assault from Hafeez, in particular, with Curran and Saqib Mahmood seeing their attempts to bowl slower balls and yorkers turn into full-tosses. Hafeez feasted on their attempt to utilise the long square boundaries by focusing on a short-ball attack.There were only 28 dot balls in the Pakistan innings and only two overs that did not include a boundary. Suffice to say, Mark Wood and Jofra Archer will not have seen anything that had them fearing for their selection.