Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam masterclass powers Pakistan beyond England

Pakistan's opening pair chased down 200 in style, Azam scoring 110 off 66 and Rizwan 88 off 51

Karachi: England 199-5, Pakistan 203-0 - Pakistan won by 10 wickets

Scorecard

Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam delivered a batting masterclass to power Pakistan to a 10-wicket victory over England and level the series 1-1.

The opening pair, who have been on the receiving of much criticism of late for their sluggish run rate, chased down 200 with three balls to spare, Azam scoring 110 off 66 and Rizwan 88 off 51 after a Moeen Ali boundary-fest had England in pole position.

England, who won the toss and elected to bat, made their attacking mindset clear from the off, Phil Salt and Alex Hales taking risks and running hard in the powerplay.

Their partnership yielded 42 runs off 31 balls before Shahnawaz Dahani struck twice in two balls, bowling Hales and Dawid Malan, to temporarily stop England in their tracks.

Ben Duckett and Salt put on 53 runs (37 balls) for the third wicket before two wickets again fell in quick succession: England 101 for 4 off 12.3 overs.

^{Moeen Ali thrashed a 23-ball half-century for England [Alex Davidson/Getty Images]}

However, Duckett's sweep-heavy knock of 43 (22) built a solid platform for England to explode off, and captain Moeen duly obliged. He put on 59 runs (27 balls) with Harry Brook (31 off 19) and a further 39 (19) with Sam Curran to carry England to 199 for 5 at close.

Moeen finished unbeaten on 55 off 23 (four fours and four sixes), making Khushdil Shah pay for dropping him on 32 in the 18th over. Shah's error rather summed up a sloppy performance from Pakistan in the field and their bowling , Haris Rauf (2 for 30) aside, left a lot to be desired.

Rizwan and Azam mirrored England's aggressive approach during their chase, dispatching the first over for 12 runs to show their intent.

Liam Dawson, however, should have made a key breakthrough in the sixth over, Rizwan miscuing a delivery high to mid-off, but Hales failed to take the catch, getting his hands and then his feet in a muddle to hand the opener a reprieve on 23.

Rizwan dispatched the next delivery for six and from that point, the opening duo kicked into gear. He required just 30 balls to reach his half-century in the 11th over and Azam followed suit off 39 balls in the 12th. They brought up their sixth century partnership in T20s in the process and with eight overs remaining, Pakistan required 96.

Three sixes off Moeen in the following over reduced the equation to 75 off 42 and Adil Rashid received a similar punishment shortly after: Pakistan 151 for 0 with five overs remaining.

By this point, Azam had moved ahead in their individual battle to reach three figures and he cruised to his second T20I century (62 balls) with a single in the 18th over, and fittingly the skipper had the final say, drilling Willey for four to seal an emphatic win.