Agencies/Abu Dhabi
England beat Pakistan in the third and final Twenty20 international by five runs in a sensational finish here yesterday to take the three-match series 2-1. Off-spinner Saeed Ajmal took 4-23 to keep England down to 129-6 in their allotted 20 overs. Opener Kevin Pietersen batted through the innings to topscore with an unbeaten 62. Pakistan needed 17 off the last two overs but Stuart Broad gave away only four in the penultimate over, leaving Pakistan with 13 to get. Jade Dernbach conceded only seven runs. Pakistan won the first match by eight runs while England won the second by 38 runs - both in Dubai. Earlier, the 34-year-old Ajmal claimed his third four wicket haul in the shortest form of the game to keep Pakistan in the hunt for the series-clinching win after Broad won the toss and elected to bat. Ajmal, who destroyed England in the preceding three-Test series with 24 wickets to help Pakistan to a 3-0 rout, put the brakes on his rival’s progress as he bowled with guile and penetration. Opener Kevin Pietersen top scored with 62 not out, keeping one end intact during his 52-ball knock for his seventh T20 fifty. He hit six boundaries and a six off the last ball of the innings. Ajmal provided Pakistan with the breakthrough after England raced to 29 by the fifth over, dismissing Craig Kieswetter (17) off a lofted shot at long-on where Shoaib Malik took the catch.
| England’s Graeme Swann (3R) celebrates with his teammates after he dismissed Pakistan’s Awais Zia (2L) during their third and final Twenty20 match at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi yesterday |
February 27, 2012 | 12:00 AM