The script couldn't have been written better to end the Karachi leg as Pakistan edged out England in a nerve-wracking game full of ebbs and flows on Sunday. Locked at 2-2, the action now shifts to the City of Gardens - Lahore for the final three encounters, and with the clock ticking for the T20 World Cup, this presents a final opportunity to iron out issues combinations.
The first four games gave us a glimpse of two teams who like to approach the game in a totally different manner; Pakistan batters being more circumspect in their game plan while England with their usual modus operandi of taking it head-on as they have done since 2015. Still, both teams have considerable issues to iron out.
For Pakistan, there was never any doubt about Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan's consistency, and the duo delivered with an incredible run chase that saw the hosts hunt down a mammoth 200-run target with 10 wickets to spare in the second T20I.
Rizwan has continued on his merry way with three-half centuries but the host middle order conundrum still remains.
After failing to score in three games, Haider Ali was benched for Asif Ali in the fourth T20I. Shan Masood at four did show glimpses of his ability to hit spin with a breezy 40 balls 65 in a losing cause. Iftikhar Ahmed and Khushdil Shah haven't been able to live up to the expectations on good batting surfaces and are feeling the heat from the fans.
Despite the batting-friendly nature of the NSK pitch, it will be fair to say Pakistan fast bowlers have erred on their line and length at crucial junctures of the game with England setting up 200-plus totals on two occasions. Usman Qadir, unfortunately, wasn't able to penetrate in the middle overs and bagged just 4 wickets at 31.25.
Shadab Khan's return from injury is a breath of fresh air for Pakistan as he will provide potency in the middle order to go along with depth in the batting.
Naseem Shah is also set to make an appearance in the Lahore leg but will be interesting to see whether Haris Rauf after featuring in all four games is rested or if he replaces one of Mohammad Hasnain or Mohammad Wasim.
On the other hand, England hasn't shied away from experimenting with their playing XI. They have handed debuts to Luke Wood, Will Jacks, and Olly Stone. Veteran Alex Hales after his international return produced the goods. Ben Duckett and Harry Brookes have provided the counterpunch as and when needed. Mark Wood, playing his first game in months clocked at 97mph to dismantle Pakistan's top order in the third game.
Chris Woakes will definitely get a game in Lahore while clouds of uncertainty loom over captain Jos Buttler who still hasn't recovered from the calf injury.
Playing XI
Pakistan (probable):1 Babar Azam (c), 2 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 3 Shan Masood, 4 Iftikhar Ahmed, 5 Khushdil Shah, 6 Asif Ali, 7 Shadab Khan / Usman Qadir, 8 Shahnawaz Dahani, 9 Naseem Shah, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Mohammad Hasnain
England (probable):
Phil Salt (wk), 2 Alex Hales, 3 Dawid Malan, 4 Ben Duckett, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Moeen Ali (c), 7 Sam Curran, 8 Liam Dawson, 9 Chris Woakes, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Mark Wood
Quotes
Mohammad Nawaz:" It has been a competitive series. The series was good for the fans too and I enjoyed playing in our own conditions and in front of the home crowd. Maybe the behavior of the pitch will be different in (Lahore) and I think there will be close games (GSL) too."
Mathew Motts: "With regard to Jos (Buttler), he's still a while off, he's not a player we want to take a risk on at this stage, so close to the World Cup, and it was a reasonably significant injury that he had."