PAK vs ENG, 6th T20I: Philip Salt, the English wicketkeeper-batsman, in one of the finest knocks ever played in T20 cricket has left Pakistan stunned and begging for answers. Babar Azam and his troops were in with a golden chance of winning the seven-match T20I series, but Philip Salt gatecrashed their party and now the series hangs in balance with both the hosts and visitors winning three games each. The series decider will now be played on October 1, 2022.
Riding high on the backs of two consecutive wins in the ongoing series against England, Pakistan certainly fancied their chances. In a rather surprising move, they decided to rest Mohammad Rizwan ahead of the much-important clash. The plan certainly backfired to some extent, but skipper Babar Azam ensured that his team registers a respectable total for the visitors to chase down. On the other hand, team England who have been playing without their regular skipper Jos Buttler had to face heavy criticism due to their batting approach and the lack of intent they displayed in the previous two games. With the series on line, the visitors certainly had a job cut out for them and Philip Salt did exactly what was asked of him.
Moeen Ali and his troop were assigned a target of 170 by the hosts. On a two-paced track and considering how the last two games panned out, it seemed quite unlikely for the English team to chase down the target against a Pakistan team that was oozing with confidence. The visitors did sustain an early blow of opener Alex Hales, but on the other hand, Philip Salt had geared up and was raring to go all out. Salt made the Pakistan attack look pretty ordinary and weak as he belted them for fun all around the park. With a staggering strike rate of 214.63, Salt amassed 88* off 41 deliveries with 13 boundaries and 3 sixes to his name. At one point in time, Salt might have fancied his chance to get to a T20I ton, but his compatriot Ben Duckett joined hands with him and saw England home in 14.3 overs with 8 wickets remaining.
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Salt's game-changing innings has left Twitter in awe of the batsman. here is how the netizens reacted to 'Salt Supremacy'.
