Eng Pak ODI 2: England Win in Thrilling Style After Strauss Props 295 Run Chase with Ton

England won a hard fought match that went down to the wire to go 2-0 up in the England Pakistan ODI series at Leeds in the second ODI even as Pakistan posted a challenging total.

andrew strauss lifts bat

This is the one time when Pakistan's fielding and catching efforts boomeranged badly on them. Dropping the England captain, Andrew Strauss, who was batting on twenty-three, was a huge miss as the captain made Pakistan pay, with a win.

Strauss was the man leading the way, with a ton that would silence those that continue to question Strauss' presence in the limited overs format. And it was not easy, given that England were chasing 295 for victory after Pakistan posted one of their best batting displays on tour.

Strauss was supported by Jonathan Trott, who once again left his mark with a half-century. Even then, the match became a nail biting affair in the end, as England were always chasing a few runs more than the balls they could afford. Needing seven from seven balls, England managed to close out after Umar Gul was picked to bowl the final over, and ended up bowling one wide ball and letting the other get the touch of Tim Bresnan's bat to fly over the wicketkeeper's head for four.

England won with three balls to spare and that was became Kamran Akmal played another important knock in two successive innings in this series, this time his seventy-four being a taste of things to come. Akmal enjoyed the partnership of Mohammad Hafeez who made forty-three runs himself as Pakistan posted their first innings partnership of 122.

Partnerships were the order of the day with Mohammad Yousuf, batting for forty-six, forging yet another important one with young Asad Shafiq who made a half century himself as Pakistan ended up rather strongly at the half way mark. In hindsight, however, it must not be forgotten that had it not been for Stuart Broad's four wicket haul, Pakistan could have hurt England further.

However, there was instances from the likes of Mohammad Irfan in particular that showed that irrespective of whether the Pakistan cricketers were aging or starting out, their fielding was going to continue to cause big problems for them.

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