England Vs Pakistan: Buttler And Archer Shine As England Clinch Series Lead

England secured a 23-run victory against Pakistan in the 2nd T20I held in Birmingham on Saturday (May 25).

With the victory, England now have taken a 1-0 lead in the four-match T20I series. Jos Buttler was the star with the bat for the hosts, while Jofra Archer and Reece Topley made a decent impact with the ball.

England skipper Jos Buttler played a crucial role, leading his side to a convincing win at home. England batted first, but opener Phil Salt was dismissed for just 13 runs by Imad Wasim. However, his partner and skipper Jos Buttler stepped up, scoring 84 runs. Buttler's performance, along with contributions from Will Jacks (37) and Jonny Bairstow (21), helped England post a total of 183/7.

Shaheen Afridi led Pakistan's bowling attack, taking 3 wickets, while Imad Wasim and Haris Rauf picked up a couple of wickets each.

Pakistan's chase started poorly, with openers Mohammad Rizwan and Saim Ayub dismissed early for a combined total of 2 runs. Rizwan was out for a duck, and Ayub scored just 2. Skipper Babar Azam contributed 32 runs before Moeen Ali dismissed him.

Fakhar Zaman's 21-ball 45 was the highest score for Pakistan, but as he departed, Pakistan fell apart. Iftikhar Ahmed (23) and Imad Wasim (22) tried hard, but lost their wickets at crucial times as the visitors were bowled out for 160 runs.

Reece Topley was the star with the ball for England with 3 wickets, while Moeen Ali and a returning Jofra Archer got braces each. Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid and Liam Livingstone were also among wickets.

The win has given England a 1-0 lead and the next match will be played on Tuesday (May 28) in Cardiff.

ENG vs PAK 2nd T20I Brief Scores

Result: England won by 23 runs

POTM: Jos Buttler