Century boy Cook the hero again as England win second ODI with Pakistan by 20 runs
Alastair Cook's second hundred in successive one-day internationals once more underpinned victory as England went 2-0 up with two to play against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi.
Two days after his career-best 137, Cook (102) became the 10th England batsman – and first since Paul Collingwood five years ago – to make back-to-back ODI centuries.
The captain had to work a little harder in England's 250 for four this time – dropped by wicketkeeper Umar Akmal on 28, having chosen to bat first on a slow pitch – and his team did too, to get home by a mere 20 runs, compared to Monday's 130-run win.
All smiles: England bowled excellently at the death to take a 2-0 lead in the four-match series
Pakistan v England
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Cook belied his characteristically
functional style by manufacturing some memorable shots among his 10
fours for a 118-ball hundred, in a match which bore obvious similarities
to the first one of the series here.
Cook's success at the toss, his
man-of-the-match hundred, Ravi Bopara's second consecutive 50 and
identical figures for Steven Finn (four for 34) were constants from the
tourists' first success, on this quick return to the Zayed Stadium.
But for variation it was Samit Patel,
with the ball and in the field, who made perhaps the most telling
interventions as six Pakistan batsmen made double figures but
Misbah-ul-Haq top-scored with just 47.
Cook and Kevin Pietersen shared their second 50 opening stand in as many attempts together.
Early progress was nonetheless
patchy, Cook playing out a maiden to Umar Gul's first over of the match
and needing 10 balls to get off the mark.
Hero: Cook hammered another century as England reached the respectable total of 250
But he did so with an especially
well-timed back-foot drive wide of mid-off for four off Aizaz Cheema,
and soon afterwards beat the same fielder with a drive on the up off
Mohammad Hafeez for the second of two successive fours off the
off-spinner.
Shahid Afridi used up Pakistan's DRS
for an lbw against Pietersen which vindicated the umpire and spared the
batsman, but Pietersen could add only three more runs before Saeed Ajmal
hit him in front anyway in his first over with an off-break that beat
the forward poke.
Cook survived when Akmal dropped a
faint edge from an attempted cut at Afridi, but the wicketkeeper did
manage to hold a routine catch to see off Jonathan Trott after a
flat-footed waft at a wide ball from Cheema.
Much therefore depended on Cook and Bopara again, and the Essex pair duly served their country well in a stand of 78.
Bopara would have been run out for
one by a direct hit, taking an unlikely single to Imran Farhat at
mid-on. But he went on to rotate the strike cleverly and push a
run-a-ball tempo throughout.
Up against it: Pakistan now can't win the series after another defeat at the Sheikh Zayed stadium
The third-wicket pair's accumulation
peaked with 38 runs in the batting powerplay, only for Cook to go
immediately afterwards when he poked a googly straight back to Afridi.
But Bopara kept his cool, despite
managing only four boundaries – and Eoin Morgan weighed in with the
first six of the series in a partnership of 56 inside the last 10 overs.
The total appeared marginally above par.
It was game on, though, after a
cautious yet effective opening stand of 61 between Hafeez and Farhat
which ended when the former fell to a tame clip to midwicket off James
Anderson.
Stuart Broad was then alert to run
out Farhat by throwing down the wickets in his follow-through as the
batsman scampered back short of his crease.
Patel was responsible for the next
two wickets, Younus Khan lbw pushing forward and Azhar Ali bowled
off-stump as he shaped to cut a quicker ball which also turned a little.
Boom, boom: Bopara scored another half-century but Afridi's cameo lasted just 18 runs
Patel had a hand in the next too, a
crucial one when he dived athletically to his left at cover to take a
very good low catch off the returning Finn to see off the dangerous
Akmal just as Pakistan were gathering momentum in the powerplay.
Misbah-ul-Haq had survived on 29 via a
marginal umpire's call lbw on DRS against Finn – and after Afridi
survived a tough chance at long-off to a diving Broad and then hit 10
from two balls in Patel's last over, English nerves were fluttering
again.
A tight match remained that way right
to the end. But a wicket maiden from Anderson, Afridi bowled heaving to
leg, gave the tourists just enough breathing space as Finn then bowled
Abdur Rehman and in the 48th over Misbah fell to a steepling, swirling
mishit at Broad which was superbly caught by wicketkeeper Craig
Kieswetter.
Four more: Finn ended with figures of 4-34 – exactly the same as the first match in Abu Dhabi