Pakistan beat England by six runs to take 3-2 lead

Debutant Aamir Jamal helped Pakistan to a six-run victory over England in an absorbing contest as the hosts opened up a 3-2 lead in the seven-match T20I series.

Pakistan were all out for 145 in 19 overs in Lahore, with Mark Wood (3-20) leading the way for England, who fell just short despite Moeen Ali's half-century off 35 balls.

Jamal claimed his maiden international wicket on just the second ball of his career and, under immense pressure, the youngster held his nerve to steer Pakistan to a tense win.

Wood's fierce pace had put England in command as he removed half of Pakistan's top six, with Babar Azam (9), Haider Ali (4) and Asif Ali (5) failing to reach double figures.

Mohammad Rizwan top-scored for Pakistan with 63 from 46 – his fourth half-century this series – but David Willey (2-23) and Sam Curran (2-23) restricted the home side's total.

Chris Woakes, making his first appearance since March, wrapped things up thanks to a swipe from Haris Rauf (8) as England were set a more-than-gettable target of 146.

However, opener Alex Hales went inside five balls for just a single run and fellow opener Phil Salt (3) pulled a short ball straight into the hands of Rauf soon after.

The tourists struggled for momentum, with Harry Brook (4) and Dawid Malan (36) trapped lbw after Ben Duckett (10) spooned Mohammad Wasim's short ball to Shan Masood.

Curran (17) sliced Jamal's second ball to Wasim as England chased boundaries, with Woakes (10) close behind, but Moeen kept his side ticking along.

England required 15 from the final six balls and would have forced a super over had David Willey cleared the boundary off the last ball, but it was not to be as Jamal held his nerve.

Moeen efforts in vain

England would have fancied their chances of chasing just 146 for the win in what was a low-scoring contest, but they struggled in the power play and did not recover from 31-3 after five overs.

Unbeaten Moeen – the only England player to have taken over 30 wickets and scored over 500 runs for England in this format – kept his side in the hunt with 51 off 37 balls, though it was ultimately not enough.

England fall short

Jamal was thrown in somewhat at the deep end on his Pakistan bow but did superbly to restrict England to just seven runs in the final over when requiring 15 for victory.

The 26-year-old's death bowling ensured the home side avoided back-to-back losses at the Gaddafi Stadium for the first time since October 2019.