After rain washed out the first T20I following just 16 overs of action, England and Pakistan will resume their three-match series with the second T20I at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester.

We take a look at two players from each side that will take centre-stage.

Johnny Bairstow

The English opener had a rather tame outing in the first T20I, scoring just two off four deliveries before hitting one straight back to bowler Imad Wasim.

The 30-year old has hit just two fifties in his 16 T20Is and is due a big score. With the IPL right around the corner, the opener will be aiming to get a big one before heading to the UAE.

Imad Wasim

All-rounder Imad Wasim continued to deal damage with the ball in England, picking up two wickets while conceding just 31 in his quota of four overs.

Wasim has a terrific record with the ball in England in T20Is. Before the first T20I, the all-rounder had picked up 15 wickets at a terrific economy rate of 6.11 and an incredible strike rate 14.80. The 31-year-old added to his wickets tally in the first T20I and is likely to continue the same form in the second game as well.

Eoin Morgan

Skipper Eoin Morgan had a rather disappointing outing in the first match, scoring just 14 off 10 before being dismissed by Iftikhar Ahmed.

However, the match could be a one-off for the captain, who has been terrific in T20Is since the start of 2019. Before the first T20I, Morgan had struck 404 runs at an insane average of 50.50 and a strike rate of 171.91 in 12 matches since the start of 2019.

Morgan may have failed with the bat in the first T20I, but that is likely to just spur the 33-year-old to respond in strong fashion in the upcoming match.

Shaheen Shah Afridi

Pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi's stock continues to rise after the youngster had another good outing in the first T20I in Manchester.

The 20-year-old bowled two overs and gave away just 10 and was surely going to bowl at the death but rain played spoilsport and the match had to be abandoned after just 16.1 overs.

Afridi is quickly becoming Pakistan's most reliable pace option in all three formats of the game and will be one of the key men for the visitors in the 2nd T20I.

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Feature image courtesy: AFP / Mike Hewitt

It is very important for bowlers to have a good wicket-taking ability in order to survive in T20 cricket. However, another ability that can make any bowler highly sought after in this format, even if he isn't a good wicket-taker, is a mean economy rate. Economical bowlers are as good as wicket-taking bowlers in this format. That said, we take a filter of a minimum of 500 deliveries to find out the five most economical bowlers in the history of T20 internationals.

Daniel Vettori (Eco: 5.70)

It has been six years since the Kiwi spinner retired from cricket but he still continues to be the most economical bowler in the history of T20 internationals. Vettori played 34 T20Is for New Zealand and picked up 38 wickets at a mean economy rate of 5.70. Not only that, the left-arm orthodox spinner had a good average and decent strike-rate of 19.68 and 20.7 respectively to go with his excellent economy rate as well.

Read | Spinners with most wickets in ODIs

Imad Wasim (Eco: 5.97)

The left-arm orthodox spinner from Pakistan has the second-best economy rate (5.97) in T20I history. Wasim is a vital cog of Pakistan's T20 setup and he has picked up 42 wickets in 43 matches so far at a decent average of 21.61 and an equally good strike-rate of 21.7. He has the best bowling figures of 5/14 in this format as well and that gives an idea about his match-winning ability.

Sunil Narine (Eco: 6.01)

The Caribbean magician is third in this list with a career economy rate of 6.01 in T20Is. Narine has a lot of variations up his sleeve which makes it hard for batsmen to pick him. Most batsmen resist themselves from attacking him as it might lead to their own downfall. Narine has picked up 52 wickets in this format so far at 21.25 runs apiece and he strikes at a good interval of every 21.1 deliveries as well.

Read | Five best boundary hitters in T20 Internationals

Adam Zampa (Eco: 6.12)

The leg-spinner has emerged as the leader of Australia's spin bowling unit in limited-overs cricket in the last few years. Zampa is not only economical but he is a pretty good wicket-taker too. He strikes at an interval of every 18.6 deliveries and has picked up 33 wickets at 19.03 runs apiece as well. He has grown up bowling on hard Australian decks which hardly assist spinners and that has helped him in mastering the art of bowling tight under pressure. 

Rashid Khan (Eco: 6.14)

His name might appear at the last in this list, but he is the most potent weapon as a bowler among all these names. The Afghanistan leg-spinner has taken the world by storm ever since he made his international debut in 2015. Since then, he has gone on to pick up 89 wickets in just 48 T20Is at a sensational average and strike-rate of 12.62 and 12.3 respectively. He has three 4-wicket hauls and two 5-wicket hauls to his name as well and that sums up how big a threat he is with the ball.

Pakistan were saved by the rain on Sunday as persistent showers halted a rampant Aaron Finch as Australia headed for victory in their opening Twenty20 international.

The visitors managed 107 for five in a reduced 15 overs due to the weather at the Sydney Cricket Ground, with Australia set a target of 119 under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method.

With dark clouds looming, Finch plundered 37 off the first 3.1 overs, leaving David Warner, who scored 217 without losing his wicket in his previous three innings, a mere spectator at the other end. He finished Sunday not out on two.

But the heavens opened again, with Australia, fresh from a 3-0 whitewash of Sri Lanka, stranded on 41 without loss when the match was abandoned, with no result declared.

"It's frustrating," said the Australian skipper. "But you can't do too much about the weather. "We played really well. To restrict them to 107 off 15 overs was a great effort and then to be on track to get them was nice."

A valid result would have been declared if 11 more balls had been bowled under DLS, but a 20-minute break between innings, when it wasn't raining, prevented this from happening.

"If you're cutting overs off the game and you still have a 20-minute break it doesn't make much sense to me," said Finch. "But it's part of the rules and you can't do much about it."

Pakistan came into the series as the world's leading team in the short format but were also reeling from an embarrassing 3-0 home series loss to Sri Lanka last month.

They removed skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed and dumped several other players in a bid for a fresh start, with opener Babar Azam handed the captain's armband.

The world's top-ranked Twenty20 batsman led from the front, stroking a classy unbeaten 59 after they were sent into bat, with the 25-year-old smacking five fours and two sixes in his 38-ball knock.

It was a decent recovery by the visitors after opener Fakhar Zaman was out first ball, hitting a swinging Mitchell Starc delivery straight to Steve Smith at backward point.

That brought Haris Sohail to the crease, but he made a poor decision in going after Kane Richardson too early, top edging to Smith to leave the visitors struggling at 10 for two.

But Azam and Mohammad Rizwan steadied the ship and began building a solid partnership, pushing the scoreboard along with clever running and quality shots.

They reached the 10-over mark at 64 for two but Rizwan soon fell for an entertaining 31 after trying to clear the boundary rope off spinner Ashton Agar, only for Pat Cummins take an easy catch.

When they resumed at 88 for three in the 13th over after a rain break, Asif Ali fell to Richardson for 11 and Imad Wasim to Starc for a duck, leaving Azam to bring up his 11th T20 half-century.

The series moves to Canberra on Tuesday and a final game in Perth.

Feature image courtesy: AFP/ Saeed Khan

Athletes going against the stereotypes isn’t something very new in the sporting industry. Remember Anil Kumble defying the odds with a broken jaw against West Indies in 2002? On Saturday, June 29, it was the Pakistan paceman, Wahab Riaz, who demonstrated his lionheart by delivering what was promised despite coming on the field with a fractured finger against Afghanistan.

It was just a day before Pakistan’s crucial tie against their western neighbours that Riaz hurt his finger during a field practice session. And on the matchday, it was discovered that he has actually broken his finger. However, after a brief discussion with his captain, Sarfaraz Ahmed, it was decided that Riaz would be included in the team.

“See, I already knew that I had a fractured finger. It’s all about will power. I am here to give whatever my team requires,�?the 34-year-old said.

“I told the captain (Sarfaraz Ahmed) that I would give 100 per cent in bowling, but might come up short in other departments. ‘If you can bowl, that’s enough�?was his reply. That was a big boost and I was ready for the game.�?/p>

Read | No talk of 1992 parallels, says Wahab Riaz

As it turned out, Riaz not only picked two wickets in his eight overs but also played a crucial knock with the bat (15 off just nine deliveries including a six and a four) as the Men in Green defeated Afghanistan by three runs with two balls left.

“I shouldn’t be saying this, but there was a lot of debate on this issue. Wahab bhai played with a broken finger today. With that broken finger, he bowled today. He hit a six and a four, which was crucial for us. I salute him for doing this for Pakistan,�?said Imad Wasim, who played an important 24-run partnership with the pacer.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Lindsey Parnaby

Pakistan kept their nerve to avoid a huge shock on Saturday, beating a spirited Afghan side by three wickets with just two balls to spare to keep their World Cup semi-final hopes alive.

All-rounder Imad Wasim hit Afghanistan skipper Gulbadin Naib for a boundary through the covers to seal the win off the fourth ball of the last over, prompting chaotic scenes as fans poured onto the Headingley pitch.

Pakistan, chasing a modest 228-run target, were in grave danger at 156 for six in the 39th over.

But man-of-the-match Imad (49 not out) and Shadab Khan (11) put on 50 for the seventh wicket to revive their hopes.

A third consecutive victory lifts Pakistan into fourth place in the 10-team table, above hosts England, with the top four qualifying for the semi-finals.

If they win their final game against Bangladesh and England fail to win both of their last two matches, against India and New Zealand, Pakistan are almost certain to progress.

"Thank you all the fans, they cheered every ball. It is a great win for us on not an easy pitch," said Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed.

"We all know that it is not easy to win our last four games," he said. "We go match by match. We will all be watching India v England tomorrow."

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, a World Cup-winning captain in his cricket days, tweeted his congratulations to the team for "keeping their nerve under pressure".

- Pressure -

Pakistan were in deep trouble when Sarfaraz was run out for 18 while taking a unnecessary second run, leaving Pakistan needing 72 off the last eleven overs.

They took 18 off Naib in the 46th over, which brought the target down to a manageable 28 off four overs.

Shadhab was run out for 11 with the score on 206 but Wahab Riaz (15 not out) and Imad saw Pakistan home and condemned plucky Afghanistan to an eighth consecutive defeat.

"When I went in they were bowling brilliantly but I just hung in there," said Imad. "We wanted to bat out the 50 overs and see.

"Gulbadin (Naib) was the only one who could be targeted. They have world-class spinners so we attacked him. Thank you to the crowd, it feels like home here. They gave us a boost in confidence."

Off-spinner Mohammad Nabi (2-23) had brought Afghanistan right into the game with the wickets of Imam-ul-Haq (36) and Babar Azam (45) in successive overs.

Haris Sohail laboured to 27 off 57 balls before he was lbw to leg-spinner Rashid Khan but Pakistan ultimately had enough batting firepower to see them over the line.

Earlier, lanky Afghan paceman Shaheen Shah Afridi shone with the ball, returning figures of 4-47 to add to the three wickets he took against New Zealand.

"We fight really well, the boys gave 100 percent but in the end we missed an opportunity to win the match," said Afghanistan captain Naib.

"Credit to Pakistan, they controlled their nerves.

"We missed again. You can face a lot of these situations, we are working harder and harder. The matches we have lost, we have improved."

The start of the game was marred by clashes between rival fans, with police forced to intervene. Political relations between the south Asian neighbours have been marked by years of distrust and blame.

And after the match, jubilant supporters swarmed onto the pitch.

An International Cricket Council spokesman said it was working with security officials and the police "to ensure there are no further incidents".

Feature image courtesy: Twitter / CricketWorldCup