England have claimed the second ODI against Pakistan, defending 247 in a rain-affected match at Lord's.
Despite being put into bat in conditions prime for bowling, England were able to muster a competitive total, and closed out the match through their pace battery and the leg-spin of Matt Parkinson.
Drizzle delayed the toss and ultimately ended up pushing the start of match by 90 minutes, with the match reduced to 47 overs per side. Upon winning the toss, Babar Azam asked England to bat first. The decision seemed right when Pakistan made a breakthrough straight away.
Dawid Malan was removed for a duck by a threatening Hasan Ali in just the second over. Shaheen Afridi then struck in the next over to dismiss Zak Crawley for nought. At 21/2 England looked in trouble, but Phil Salt, who had made his intentions clear right from the first over, continued unperturbed.
He combined forces with James Vince and together the duo hit some cracking drives making up for the lost wickets. The pair frustrated the Pakistan bowlers and powered the side past the 100-run mark with ease. In the process both of them brought up their respective fifties. While it was Salt's maiden ODI half-century, Vince finished with his second fifty in the format.
Babar was finally forced to bring in the spinners and was immediately rewarded with wickets. Salt fell to Saud Shakeel for 60, followed by Vince just three overs later for 56 off Shadab Khan.
England captain Ben Stokes, who was playing in his 100th ODI, failed to do something special and was sent back to the hut by Hasan Ali for 22. Hasan was in particularly classic form as he ripped through the English middle order, also accounting for wickets of John Simpson (17) and Craig Overton (0).
However, Lewis Gregory (40) and Brydon Carse (31) stepped up and rebuilt England's innings, sharing a crucial half-century stand for the eighth-wicket. England were eventually bowled out for 247 with Hasan Ali finishing on impressive figures of 5/51.
In reply, Pakistan lost an early wicket in Imam-ul-Haq, with Lewis Gregory finding the outside edge angling the ball away from the left-hander. At the other end, Saqib Mahmood beat the defences of Babar Azam, hitting the skipper on the back leg for 19.
England gave nothing away with the ball and in the field, as Mohammad Rizwan and opener Fakhar Zaman found upping the run rate difficult. Like Imam-ul-Haq, Rizwan also found the gloves of John Simpson (5), while Fakhar was beaten by Craig Overton.
In just his second ODI, Pakistan No.5 Saud Shakeel sort to pick up the pieces, compiling a maiden fifty, striking four boundaries in the process. At the other end, his partners were unable to convert their starts, as Sohaib Maqsood (19) and Shadab Khan (21) fell to Overton and Parkinson respectively.
Hasan Ali off the back of his five-for countered with the bat, pummeling two fours and three sixes in his 17-ball stay, though Pakistan's hopes of an unlikely win were dented as the No.9 was claimed by Brydon Carse. Shakeel fell for 56 in a 40-run partnership with Shaheen Shah Afridi, as Gregory claimed the half-centurion and Haris Rauf (1), bundling the tourists out for 195.
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