England chased down the target of 161 without breaking a sweat with 26 balls to spare in a rain-curtailed 19 overs-per-side game against Pakistan at the Gabba, Brisbane, to register a thumping six-wicket win the warm-up match on October 18 (Monday). The English batting line-up combined to send 12 balls into the stands while one of those hits resulted in the ball traveling outside the stadium.
It was during the ninth over of England's innings when destructive right-handed batter Liam Livingstone danced down the track and smoked Shadab Khan's delivery outside the stadium. The ball went soaring into the night sky before making its way to the parking lot outside the stadium for a massive 110-plus metre six.
Watch the video here:
In reply to Pakistan's total of 160/8 in 19 overs, England started poorly with the bat as the Men in Green bowlers sarted off well as Shaheen Afridi looked in a good rhythm on his return after injury. From the other end, Naseem Shah uprooted Philip Salt's (1) stumps to put England under pressure. Opener Alex Hales struggled to score but Ben Stokes made used of fielding restrictions. Stokes scored 18-ball 36 including two fours and three sixes before getting dismissed by Wasim Jr. Just after powerplay overs, Hales (9) got dismissed by Shadab and it looked like Pakistan are dominating the proceedings.
It was the two dropped catches in the 10th over that cost Pakistan as they lost the momentum. Liam Livingstone was dropped twice off consecutive deliveries in Mohammad Hasnain's over. Wasim Jr got Livingstone's (28) wicket in the 11th over. In the absence of Rizwan, the wicketkeeping was mediocre and there were plenty of misfields too.
In the next few overs, Harry Brook and Sam Curran launched a brutal onslaught. The unbeaten 59-run partnership from just 25 deliveries saw England get over the line in the 15th over. Brook scored 45 runs from 24 deliveries including two fours and four sixes. On the other end, Sam batted with a scintillating strike rate of 235.71 and scored 33 runs from just 14 deliveries. The southpaw hit two fours and three sixes in his destructive cameo.
