England clinch series victory as Malan dazzles in Lahore decider

Lahore, October 3: Dawid Malan propelled England to a series-clinching victory in the seventh T20I as Pakistan suffered a crushing 67-run defeat in Lahore.

After England posted 209-3, Pakistan made 142-8, showing dismally little interest in the chase after losing three early wickets. It meant Moeen Ali's tourists won 4-3 in their first series in Pakistan for 17 years.

Malan played a terrific innings as England topped the 10-runs-an-over rate, with the left-hander cracking 78 not out from 47 balls, the sixth time that Malan has scored more than 75 in a T20I.

Pakistan were generous in the field, including a let-off for Malan at the start of the penultimate over when Mohammad Wasim dropped a steepler.

With Ben Duckett clubbing 30 from 19 balls and Harry Brook clearing the ropes four times in 46no from 29 balls, it meant Pakistan faced a tall order.

It immediately looked beyond them when captain Babar Azam (4) and fellow opener Mohammad Rizwan (1) fell in the opening eight balls of the reply, and Iftikhar Ahmed (19) did not last long either.

Pakistan were nowhere near the required run rate from the early stages, and their lack of urgency made it a subdued contest, with the result meaning they have now lost five and drawn two of their seven T20I multi-game series against England. Shan Masood top-scored with 56 for the beaten hosts.

Willey joins England elite in passing landmark

Needing two wickets to reach 50 in T20I matches, David Willey (2-22) reached that target by removing Iftikhar and Wasim. It made him the fifth England player to reach 50 T20I wickets, after Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann.

Wasim woe

Wasim went for 0-61 from the four overs he sent down, including giving up 20 runs in the 20th over. Those were his most expensive figures in a T20I, with this his 15th match in the format. The previous most runs he had conceded in a four-over stint came when he took 2-44 against West Indies in Karachi last December.