AFP/Abu Dhabi


England beat Pakistan by 95 runs in the second day-night international in Abu Dhabi yesterday, levelling the four-match series 1-1. Alex Hales scored 109 in England’s 283-5 before Pakistan were dismissed for 188 in 45.5 overs.
Earlier, swashbuckling opener Hales cracked his maiden century to lift England. The right-hander scored 109 off 117 balls studded with seven boundaries and three sixes after England won the toss and decided to bat at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.
Hales added 102 for the first wicket with Jason Roy (54) and another 114 for the second with Joe Root (63) as England, seeking to level the four-match series after losing the first game, put up a challenging total.  
England were off to a confident start on a pitch used for the second match in a row, as Roy and Hales lifted the tempo after the first ten overs.
Roy smashed two boundaries off paceman Wahab Riaz to bring up his third one-day fifty off 53 balls but four runs later miscued a drive and was caught by Shoaib Malik off Riaz who finished with 3-43.
Hales continued in his aggressive style, improving on his previous best of 67 made against New Zealand at Nottingham earlier this year, clobbering two sixes off leg-spinner Yasir Shah.
He successfully challenged Pakistani umpire Shozab Raza’s decision of caught behind off Riaz when 48 and paddle swept debutant Iftikhar Ahmed for two to reach the three-figure mark off 111 balls.
He was finally stumped off Iftikhar by Sarfraz Ahmed in the 39th over.
Root added 40 for the third wicket with Eoin Morgan (29) before Riaz returned for his second spell to hit Root’s leg stump with a slower one. Root hit three boundaries off 77 balls.
Jos Butler was cleaned up by Riaz for 11 as England managed just 27 runs in the last five overs.
A target of 284 was never within Pakistan's compass as half the side departed for 50 by the 19th over, a pedestrian start in which England's pace trio imposed total control.
From there, it was about damage limitation—and Sarfraz Ahmed's 64 at least cut the deficit to 95 runs, although many in the crowd had long gone—so quick to abandon hope that even Jurgen Klopp would regard Liverpool fans as steadfast by comparison.
The inswing that Reece Topley found in the first ODI to slice into Pakistan's top order this time fell to his left-arm accomplice David Willey, a bowler of busier, bulkier design. Babar Azam fell lbw and there was then a hint of movement away as Mohamed Hafeez, Pakistan's lynchpin throughout the tour, pushed tentatively and fell without scoring.
Pakistan do not help themselves with their constant chopping and changing at the top of the order. The experiment of playing Bilal Asif as a pinch hitter was understandably abandoned after the task looked beyond him in the first game, but the result was that Babar Azam, a source of middle-order stability in that same match, was pushed up to open when the promotion of Hafeez would have been a better option.
Three wickets then fell to Chris Woakes, a more unglamorous component of England's attack, and without a wicket in six matches, but a sprinkling of cutters to leaven his back-of-the-length attack served him well.