England kept themselves afloat in the ICC World Twenty20 Championship after humbling Pakistan by 48 runs in their must-win group B match. England's chances to make the super-eight stage were hanging by a thread after suffering a humiliating defeat against the Netherlands in their opening match on Friday. Facing early elimination from the home event,England top-order responded to the SOS call by superb batting as the hosts reached challenging 185 for 5 after sent in to bat. Kevin Pietersen made a timely return to the side with a masterly 58 and was well supported by Luke Wright (34) and Owais Shah (33). The hosts,riding on a spirited attack,then restricted the Pakistanis to 137 for seven in their 20 overs at the Oval. Feeling the pressure of chasing a huge total,Pakistan never recovered from a top-order collapse though skipper Younus Khan held one end with a defiant unbeaten 46. Stuart Broad (3/17) did the early damage by dismissing Kamral Akmal and Salman Butt (28) on consecutive balls in the sixth over after Dimitri Mascarenhas had got rid off Ahmad Shahzad (4). Younus and Shoaib Malik (20) put some resistance and revived the innings with a 46-run partnership but the required run-rate soared over 12 runs per over. Once Malik was caught behind off Wright,Younus was left stranded as his teammates came and departed in a hurry. Luke Wright was adjudged Man-of-the-Match for his all-round show. He took one wicket after making 34 off 16 balls in England innings. Pakistan Now must win their next match against The Netherlands on Tuesday to qualify for the next stage. Earlier,Pietersen and Wright shared a 53-run stand for the second wicket after the early loss of Ravi Bopara (5). Pietersen then added 66 for the third wicket Owais Shah. At one stage the hosts were heading towards a 200-plus score but Saeed Ajmal's double strike the 17th over pegged them back. The tweaker first dismissed rival skipper Paul Collingwood (15) and then sent back Pietersen,whose 38-ball knock contained five fours and three sixes. Dimitri Mascarenhas (16) and James Foster (14) chipped in with useful contributions for England in the end. For Pakistan Umar Gul (2/37) and Ajmal (2/23) did well but could not restrict England from making an imposing total. Pakistan's buttered-fingered fielders only helped the cause of England as they dropped catches,missed run out opportunities and gave away easy runs. The 17-year-old Mohammed Aamer gave a good start to Pakistan by picking up the wicket of dangerous Bopara in the second ball of his first over. Bopara slashed one hard on the off-side and an airborne Shoaib Malik took a superb catch at backward point. The fall of wicket did not affect Wright as the Briton responded with stunning hits in Aamer's next over. He first lofted him for a four,then pulled him for a mid-wicket six and followed it with a four in the third man region. Wright was in murderous mood as he hit Yasir Arafat for consecutive fours and then Pietersen closed the over with a massive six over the sight screen. Gul ended the agony of Pakistan by getting rid of Wright,cleaning him up with a yorker. But by that time Wright had done his job. The wicket coupled with tight bowling by Shahid Afridi put some brake on the run flow as England reached 90 without any further loss at the half-way mark. Pietersen and Owais Shah (33) batted intelligently and steadily took their side towards a huge total. They ran hard between the wickets and did not miss any opportunity to score a boundary or a six. Gul yet again rescued his team,this time castling Shah,who tried to smash the paceman out of the ground. Pietersen continued his splendid batting in the company of Collingwood until Ajmal came to bowl towards end.
