England Lions whitewash Pakistan Shaheens in T20 series

2026-02-25 - 12:13

England Lions whitewashed Pakistan Shaheens 3-0 after winning the third T20 by two wickets in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday evening. Both sides will now feature in the five-match 50-over series commencing on Friday, February 27, at the same venue. After opting to bat first, Pakistan Shaheens posted a competitive 162 for six in their allotted 20 overs. Opener Maaz Sadaqat led the batting effort with a fluent 53 off 36 balls, laced with four fours and two sixes, anchoring the innings after the early loss of captain Shamyl Hussain. Lower down the order, Saad Masood and Shahid Aziz provided valuable impetus with an unbroken 59-run seventh-wicket partnership. Saad remained unbeaten on 29 off 22 balls, while Shahid played a cameo of 30 not out from just 18 deliveries, striking two fours and as many sixes. For the Lions, Scott Currie took three wickets, while James Coles bagged two wickets. In turn, Shaheens made early inroads as right-arm fast Mohammad Salman removed Will Smeed in the second over. Maaz was impressed with the ball as well, grabbing two wickets for 29 runs in his four overs, while right-arm leg-spinner Saad maintained pressure in the middle overs with figures of two for 22. Despite a strong counter-attacking innings from player of the match Jordan Cox (75), Pakistan Shaheens fought back strongly in the latter stages. Sufiyan Muqeem and Shahid picked up crucial wickets, and sharp fielding efforts resulted in a run-out to keep the contest alive until the final over. England Lions eventually reached the target in 19.3 overs with two wickets in hand. England beat Pakistan to reach T20 World Cup Semis