Pakistan beat England in final T20 to level series

MANCHESTER: Mohammad Hafeez and teenage rookie Haider Ali starred with Pakistan's bat in the third and final T20I as the Men in Green wrapped up their tour of England with a five-run win at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

It was Pakistan's first victory in 66 days in England and meant they squared this three-game series 1-1 after suffering a 1-0 loss in last month's three-test series.

Hafeez had 86 no out and Haider 54 at Pakistan's 190-4.

There was a 20-year age difference between Hafeez, 39, and Haider, 19, but it was hard to tell the difference as they shared a position of exactly 100 after being together at 32-2.

Hafeez's hit followed his 69th in England's five-wicket win in the second T20 at Old Trafford on Sunday and was his fourth half-century in his last five T20 international innings.

England were 69-4 in pursuit before Moeen Ali, who should have been out for seven, revived their hopes with 61.

But when veteran guard Wahab Riaz, instead of the injured Mohammad Amir, ran out of Chris Jordan and then caught and pitched Moeen, England were 174-8 with seven balls to play.

They needed 12 from two balls when Tom Curran hit a six.

But Curran was unable to repeat the shot when Haris Rauf hit a Yorker with the last ball of the game.

England suffered a backhand just four balls in their pursuit when Jonny Bairstow was ducked by an excellent Shaheen Afridi yorker, quick with his left arm.

Dawid Malan, fresh off his 54 undefeated on Sunday, was brilliantly captured by a Fakhar Zaman who leaped near the boundary rope after lifting left-arm spinner Imad Wasim.

England captain Eoin Morgan looked in good contact after his 66 on Sunday but was left without a 10 after a terrible mix-up with Tom Banton.

And when Banton was lbw to 46, with eight fours, in the review of Rauf, England was struggling at 69-4.

Moeen should have been out when he went down the field to Imad, but former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, selected in place of fit goalkeeper Mohammad Rizwan, lost the ball.

It was the cue for left-handed hitter Moeen to launch a scorching round as he compiled fifty percent from 25 balls, including two fours and four sixes.

After Morgan won the toss, Moeen pitched Fakhar with his first ball of the match.

But Haider struggled to sweep his second ball in international cricket, from Moeen, for six.

Pakistan captain Babar Azam, the world's top Twenty20 hitter, followed his 56 on Sunday with a vigorous 21 before Curran knocked him down.

Haider hit the first ball off the off-roader, Lewis Gregory, for a sleek pick-up six that soared over the longest limit.

Hafeez followed up with two sixes of successive deliveries from Adil Rashid before Haider went to a fifty-eight ball on a four from Gregory.

Hafeez then drove Rashid for six and swept him for four to complete a 50 of 31 balls before Haider was thrown by Jordan.