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Islamabad - Newly appointed Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed
was happy that his charges could finish off the tour of England on a high note
by beating their hosts at Old Trafford by nine wickets in a one-off T20I.
Sarfraz has been given the reins of the T20I team,
succeeding former captain Shahid Afridi who stood down after the ICC World T20
earlier this year.
The wicketkeeper showed himself to be tactically adept, as
he carefully managed his attack who put on a T20 bowling clinic and showed that
cricket isn't just a batsman's game.
The skipper held back Wahab Riaz and opened the bowling with
Imad Wasim in what proved to be a master stroke.
Wasim would pick up both openers shortly after the powerplay
and England lost all momentum.
Wahab then used variations in pace and length to keep
England guessing, his four overs cost just 18 runs and he was able to complete
his quota without going to the fence.
Speaking after the win, Sarfraz said: "Credit to our bowlers ... and then Khalid and Sharjeel played really well.
"After we won the match in Cardiff, the morale was very
high when we arrived here.
"But I told the players that when we are playing T20
cricket we want some energy and we want some good fielding on the ground. The
players did that.
"This is how to play modern-day cricket."
After a disappointing ODI series, Pakistan will be delighted
to add the T20I victory to their achievements in the Test series and banish the
ghosts of the 2010 spot-fixing scandal.
Safraz added: "The whole tour was very good, our Test cricket was very good. We wanted to finish on a high note and we did."
