England beat Pakistan in thriller to take Twenty20 series

DUBAI: Paceman Chris Woakes held his nerve in the final over to give England a hard-fought three-run win in the second Twenty20 international over Pakistan in Dubai on Friday.
Woakes conceded just seven runs in the 20th over to restrict Pakistan to 169-8 and help England defend a 173-run target to give his team an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series at Dubai stadium.
The 24,000 fans, mostly expats from Pakistan, had expected their team to pull off a sensational win after skipper Shahid Afridi smashed a blistering eight-ball 24 with three sixes and a boundary.
But Anwar Ali failed to connect on the last delivery off which Pakistan had needed four for victory.Afridi took 22 off the 18th over by Woakes but his dismissal on the last ball left Pakistan to score 25 off the last two overs. Pakistan’s batsmen were once again reckless as most of them got good starts but failed to capitalise. “It was a bit stressful as captain,” said England’s stand-in skipper Jos Buttler. England were lifted to 172-8 by a quickfire 24-ball 38 by James Vince and 22-ball-33 by Buttler as they upped the tempo by notching 58 in the last five overs.