Pakistan Ends Series on a High, England's Brook Out of India Test Series
Iftikhar Ahmed Shines in Pakistan's Victory; England's Brook Replaced by Dan Lawrence
In order to prevent a clean sweep of the series, Pakistan defeated New Zealand by 42 runs on Sunday, bowling them out for 92.
Although the visitors' 134/8 after opting to bat appeared insufficient since it was their lowest total of the series, it turned out to be more than sufficient, as New Zealand narrowly beat their previous lowest score in a home Twenty20 international.
Iftikhar Ahmed, the unexpected hero, flourished on a field that gripped and twisted as he took 3/24 to be the main contributor to the hosts' defeat. He removed Will Young (12) with a catch, dismissed Tim Seifert (19), Matt Henry (1), and Ish Sodhi (1), and contributed to Mark Chapman's runout (1).
Through skipper Shaheen Afridi's interpretation, Iftikhar, who had taken only four wickets in 53 matches before to Sunday, stated, "I just read the wicket, it was turning so I just tried to bowl wicket to wicket and that was the key to success."
Brief scores: NZ 92 in 17.2 ovs (G. Phillips 26; I. Ahmed 3/24) and Pakistan 134/8 in 20 ovs (Md. Rizwan 38; T. Southee 2/19). Pakistan prevailed by a margin of 42 runs.
Harry Brook is not participating in the Test series.
London: The England team's five-match Test series against India will include middle-order batsman Dan Lawrence in lieu of Harry Brook, who was sent home on Sunday for personal reasons, the ECB said.
Prior to the series, Brook had traveled to Abu Dhabi for a training camp.
Surrey native Lawrence, 26, will go to India on Monday after joining the rest of the team. Starting on Thursday, the series will begin.
Harry Brook will be going back home as soon as possible for personal reasons. The ECB said that he would not be going back to India. "During this time, the Brook family respectfully requests privacy."
Brook last played for the England Whites against Australia at the Oval in July of last year. He made his Test debut against South Africa in 2022. When Lawrence retired from Test cricket in 2022, it was against the West Indies.
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