Shoaib Akhtar slams Pakistan for 'below average' performance against England

Pace icon Shoaib Akhtar did not shy away from expressing his disappointment after Pakistan's humiliating 52-run defeat to England in the second ODI at the 'Mecca of Cricket' Lord's on Saturday and by the virtue of this loss, the reigning 50-overs world champions have taken an unassailable lead in the three-match series. 

Shoaib Akhtar lambasts Pakistan players for 'below average' performance

"You all would have definitely watched the match. What would you have watched in the match? The world has stopped watching the match and has unfollowed the Pakistan team because there are no stars. How can you create stars based on such kinds of performances? Who will pay money and come to watch the Pakistan team play?", asked Shoaib Akhtar while interacting on his official YouTube channel.

"Honestly, if you ask me, Pakistan played like an average team, Pakistan is an average team and Pakistan's batting has been average then there are no doubts whatsoever. It's really disappointing to know that Pakistan has lost the series and I can foresee a 3-0 hammering here", he added.

"This is a very very average team that is performing below average", the 'Rawalpindi Express' further added.

England vs Pakistan

Coming back to the contest, Pakistan captain Babar Azam won the toss and elected to bowl first. Pacer Hasan Ali provided Pakistan with an early breakthrough as he dismissed Dawid Malan for a duck. Shaheen Shah Afridi joined the party and bowled out Zak Crawley in the fifth over. Peter Salt and James Vince were looking good in the middle as they forged an important partnership between overs 11-20. However, the duo was dismissed by Saud Shakeel and Shadab Khan for 60 and 56 runs respectively.

England skipper Ben Stokes scored a crucial 22 runs off 26 balls before being bowled out by Hasan Ali. The Pakistani pacer went on to pick three more wickets to take a five-wicket haul at the iconic Lord's stadium. England was reeling at 161/7 and was nearing a Pakistan-like collapse when all-rounder Lewis Gregory took charge and helped the team cross the 200-run mark with an important partnership with lower-order batsman Brydon Carse. Gregory scored 40 off 47 balls, while Carse hit 31 off 41 balls. 

In the end, England posted a total of 247 runs in 45.2 overs. Lewis Gregory proved to be crucial with the ball as well as he dismissed Pakistan opener Imam-ul-Haq for just one run. Saqib Mahmood came in and dismissed Babar Azam yet again after the Pakistan skipper scored a quick 19 off 15 balls. Saud Shakeel was the only Pakistani batsman who managed to cross the 50-run mark in the innings as he hit 56 off 77 balls when the rest of the squad was falling apart like a pack of cards. Shakeel received some help from Sohaib Maqsood and Shadab Khan. After Shakeel was dismissed in the 40th over, the game was finished for Pakistan as the former world champions still needed 50 odd runs to win the match with just one wicket remaining.  

The game ended after number 11 batsman Haris Rauf was caught behind in the 41st over by John Simpson off Lewis Gregory.