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England skipper Jos Buttler expressed his delight as the Three Lions defeated Pakistan in their final group-stage game and admitted that even with the absence of all-rounder Ben Stokes in the initial games they should have been able to cope without him and pull off results.
Pakistan batters were put to the test by English bowlers and they not only failed to qualify for the semi-final but also ended the tournament with a defeat. Buttler expressed his disappointment about the overall performance in the tournament and admitted that the team should have coped without the presence of Stokes when he was sidelined due to injury in the initial games. "Nice to put in a good performance and finish that way. Ultimately it's been a disappointing tournament. Lots to reflect on. Got off to a really good start, guys in the middle set it up for the end. That's what we're capable of, haven't showed it enough. We shoud've been able to cope without Ben. We know what a class player Ben is. These last two games he's played fantastically well. Not having him for a few games certainly was a challenge, but we're good enough to deal with that," Buttler said after the game. He further went on to praise David Willey who played his final international game and produced a match-winning performance claiming a three-wicket haul after conceding 56 runs in his 10 overs. "We spoke before the game about - if this is the last game of an era, let's make some good memories. Wherever we go from here, today is a good day. He's been fantastic (Willey). Always finding a way - that's been the hallmark. A team man who'll be missed. It won't be the drastic change of playing style like 2015. It's about making sure we'll push on from here," Buttler added. Coming to the match, while chasing a target of 338, David Willey in his last international game made Pakistan batters toil hard as they had no answers to his quick swinging deliveries. He made the most of the opportunity as he dismissed Abdullah Shafique and Fakhar Azam back to the pavilion for scores of 0 and 1 respectively. Skipper Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan stitched up a 51-run partnership driving Pakistan's innings with hopes of ending it on a positive note. Rizwan held on to his wicket on the other end along with Saud Shakeel. Another promising yet short liver partnership ended with Rizwan walking back to the pavilion. The 25-year-old Gus Atkinson provided the breakthrough to derail Pakistan's innings by dismissing Babar for 38. Adil Rashid's spin bamboozled Shakeel (29) while Agha Salman's promising knock of 51 was brought to an end by Willey. The rest of the batters crumbled except for Shaheen Sha Afridi and Haris Rauf who showed some fight towards the end. Afridi's cameo of 25 ended as Atkinson claimed his second wicket of the night, while Rauf's fireworks took Pakistan's score past 200 but his valiant 35-run knock came to an end with Chris Woakes picking up the final wicket. (ANI)
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