(Cricket news) Pakistan beat England by 6 runs in a final-over thriller between the two sides on Wednesday. Mark Wood continued his fiery return after his injury as his spell  had the Pakistani batters rattled. Mohammad Rizwan's knock helped set a target of 145 on a two-paced pitch. But in the end, it came down to the final over that fell on the shoulders of debutant Aamer Jamal who was up against Moeen Ali as he defended 14 runs. Barring one delivery that went for six, Jamal was great with his execution of wide yorkers to help Pakistan clinch the fifth T20I as they took a 3-2 series lead.

Six bowlers were used by Babar Azam as Pakistan had to defend a small total of 145 runs. They went in with a combination of three pace options, and three spin options as England were reduced to 85/6 in the 15th over, all of those six bowlers had a wicket apiece. Nawaz took the first wicket in the first over itself, removing Alex Hales. Haris Rauf was the next bowler to strike, and was followed by Mohammad Wasim Jr and Shadab as England tumbled inside the first 10 overs failing to get any momentum in their innings. England’s best player in the series Brook fell to a googly from Shadab, and Malan missed a straight one from Iftikhar.

Struggling at 83/5 after 14 overs on a two-paced pitch, England were in trouble which was about to get even deeper as Jamal was introduced in the attack, he removed Sam Curran whose miscued shot was caught at extra cover. At that stage, Pakistan were firm favourites as England needed 58 off the last five overs with just four wickets in hand but Moeen Ali kept England in the hunt. The timing started getting better as the innings progressed and so did the frequency of connecting his shots, and going into the final over with 15 needed and a newcomer up against him, it was really anybody's game but the youngster kept his cool and eventually won the game for Pakistan.

Earlier in the evening, England won the toss and opted to bowl. There were many changes from both teams. In the first innings, Rizwan held the innings together as he got off to a slow start, and was never really allowed to play freely given the situation. Despite the struggles he kept the scoreboard ticking and started to accelerate once he brought up his fifty off 37 balls. In the 18th over he went for a high full toss from Curran but he only holed out a fielder in the deep. His efforts ensured a competitive score that gave the bowlers a fighting chance. For England they will take a lot of positives from the bowling performance as Mark Wood capped off a fine return with figures of 3/20. 

Brief scores: Pakistan 145 in 19 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 63; Mark Wood 3/20) beat England 139/7 in 20 overs (Moeen Ali 51*; Iftikhar Ahmed 1/16) by 6 runs.

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