England vs Pakistan 3rd ODI: Bairstow’s 128 trumps Imam’s 151 as England go 2-0 up

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Jonny Bairstow 128 England Pakistan 3rd ODI Bristol cricket

Jonny Bairstow celebrates after scoring his seventh ODI century

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Jonny Bairstow struck a 93-ball 128 as England withstood Imam-ul-Haq’s career-best knock of 151 to claim a six-wicket win in the third ODI in Bristol on Tuesday.

Being put in to bat first, Pakistan were dealt a big blow on the sixth ball of the match as opener Fakhar Zaman was caught by Joe Root off the bowling of Chris Woakes for two runs.

Babar Azam failed to have an impact with the bat as he was clean bowled by Woakes for 15.

Imam and Haris Sohail stabilised the innings with a 68-run partnership before Haris was brilliantly run out by Tom Curran for 41.

Imam and captain Sarfraz Ahmed kept the runs flowing with a 67-run stand before Sarfraz was dismissed by Liam Plunkett for 27.

Imam and Asif Ali added 125 runs to the score before Asif was removed by Woakes for a 43-ball 52, which included two boundaries and three sixes.

Imam went on to score 151, which came off 131 balls and included 16 boundaries and a six, before he was clean bowled by Curran.

Imam-ul-Haq 151 England Pakistan 3rd ODI Bristol cricket

Imam-ul-Haq’s sixth ODI hundred went in vain

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Pakistan began to lose wickets at regular intervals after Imam’s dismissal, but with Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf and Hasan Ali scoring 22, 13 and 18 not out respectively, the men in green finished on 358/9.

Woakes was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets, while Curran snapped up two, and Plunkett and David Willey chipped in with one wicket apiece.

Chasing 359 to win, England got off to a magnificent start as Bairstow and Jason Roy amassed a 159-run partnership, during which both batsmen sailed past their fifties.

Roy ended up making a 55-ball 76, which included eight boundaries and four sixes, before he was caught by Asif at point off the bowling of Faheem.

Bairstow and Joe Root kept the scoreboard ticking with a 75-run stand, during which Bairstow brought up his hundred, before he was clean bowled by Junaid Khan for 128, which came off 93 deliveries and included 15 boundaries and five sixes.

Root went on to score 43 before he was sent packing by Imad, while Stokes was run out by Shaheen Shah Afridi for 37.

With Moeen Ali smashing an unbeaten 46 off 36 balls and captain Eoin Morgan remaining unbeaten on 17, England reached their target with 31 balls to spare.

Faheem, Imad and Junaid claimed one wicket each.

Bairstow was named Man of the Match.

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