Shoaib Akhtar reveals where Pak batsmen erred post a five-wicket loss against England

Shoaib Akhtar said that the Pakistani batsmen failed to accelerate in the middle overs as a result of which they eventually ended up on the losing side in the second T20I against England at the Old Trafford, Manchester on Sunday. 

'Failed to accelerate': Shoaib Akhtar 

"Pakistan played very well. Mohammad Hafeez batted exceptionally well. Initially, he took some time but then capitalised on it and played a brilliant knock. However, our middle-order's performance is not up to the mark and therefore, we are finding it difficult to maintain that particular run-rate", said Shoaib Akhtar while interacting on his official Youtube channel.

"We are not able to accelerate in the middle (middle overs) just like how Eoin Morgan and Dawid Malan are getting the job done for their side. Pakistan did not score too many runs in this contest. 195 is a good total but on these kinds of wickets, and against such a bowling line-up, Pakistan should have scored 230 runs and if you do not score 230 runs against this bowling line-up, then there will be a problem. Ifthikar Ahmed,   Shoaib Malik, and, Babar Azam together scored 78 runs in 65 balls, whereas, Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow reached the three-figure mark in no time", the 'Rawalpindi Express' added.

Eng beat Pak by 5 wickets

English skipper Eoin Morgan won the toss and elected to bowl first. Openers Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman added 72 runs for the opening stand before Zaman was dismissed.

Nonetheless, Babar took matters into his own hands as he anchored the Pakistan innings, and just when it looked like he would take his team to a formidable total, the batting sensation was dismissed by leggie Adil Rashid in the 13th over. The captain's knock included seven boundaries at a strike rate of 127.27.  

Post Babar's dismissal, Hafeez made his presence felt and added a 50-run stand with Shoaib Malik for the third-wicket. The2017 ICC Champions Trophy winner made a tremendous impact towards the backend of the innings as he scored a 36-ball 69 that included five boundaries and four maximums at a strike rate of 191.67. He was eventually dismissed by Tom Banton on the penultimate ball of the first innings as the 2009 T20 World Cup winners posted 195/4 in their 20 overs.

In reply, openers Tom Banton and Jonny Bairstow toyed around with the Pakistani bowlers as they added 66 runs for the opening wicket before leggie Shadab Khan accounted them off successive deliveries. However, skipper Morgan and Dawid Malan added 112 runs for the third-wicket stand and even though Morgan was dismissed for a 33-ball 36 and England lost a couple more wickets, Malan anchored the run chase and helped the hosts get over the line by five wickets with five balls to spare.

READ: Pakistan Team Becomes Subject Of Jokes On Social Media After Five-wicket Loss To England