England defeats Pakistan by seven wickets, clinches series 2-0!

England dominated Pakistan by seven wickets in their fourth and final match at The Oval on Thursday, securing a 2-0 series victory.

Jos Buttler won the toss and chose to field first. England limited Pakistan to 157 runs and chased down the target with 27 balls to spare.

Two matches in the series were washed out, affecting the World Cup preparations for both teams.
Pakistan started aggressively, reaching 59-0 by the end of the powerplay. Jofra Archer (1/31) dismissed Babar Azam (36 off 22).

Pakistan then lost three wickets in nine balls, collapsing from 83-2 to 86-5 before rain halted play at 91-5 after 10.4 overs.
Upon resumption, Liam Livingstone bowled a double-wicket maiden, beginning with Usman Khan (38) being caught brilliantly by Chris Jordan at long-on.

England's fielding was sharp — Pakistan was all out with one ball left in their innings — and their batting was dominant, with Buttler impressing on his return after attending the birth of his third child earlier in the week.
In response, England reached 78-0 after the powerplay before Salt was caught in the deep, the first of three wickets taken by Haris Rauf (3-38 off 3.3 overs).

Will Jacks scored 20 at No. 3, and then Bairstow and Brook, two more powerful hitters in England’s top five, finished off the game.

England now heads to the Caribbean with strong title aspirations.

“There’s a good feeling around the squad,” Buttler said, “and everyone is stepping up and performing.”