Second Twenty20 international: England 90-4 (14 ovs) bt Pakistan 89 (18.4 ovs) by six wickets
Match scorecard

There were some abject dismissals in a tame Pakistan batting performance

By Jamie Lillywhite

England equalled the international Twenty20 record with a seventh straight win as a six-wicket victory gave them a 2-0 series triumph against Pakistan.

Umar Akmal top-scored with 17 as Pakistan were all out for 89 within 19 overs for their lowest T20 total.

Tim Bresnan took 3-10 and Michael Yardy recorded 0-10 from four overs, the most economical England figures in T20.

Eoin Morgan made an assured unbeaten 18 as England won a heavily one-sided encounter with six overs remaining.

Pakistan won both their Twenty20 matches with Australia in July, but following the intense scrutiny surrounding them since last month's newspaper allegations of spot-fixing, they again looked like a team in crisis.

Captain Shahid Afridi chose to bat first in overcast conditions at Cardiff, with the 15,000 stadium barely a third full.

All-rounder Mohammad Hafeez came in for Wahab Riaz and Afridi promised a revitalised batting line-up, but things continued in sorry fashion for the beleaguered tourists, who were beaten by five wickets in the first match on Sunday.

Kamran Akmal top-edged a hook to mid-wicket in the second over, just as he did in that opening game, and Mohammad Yousuf again looked ill at ease with the frenetic pace of the game batting at number three.

Yousuf was dropped on one by Morgan at backward point but made only three more before he hooked a short ball from the accurate Bresnan straight to deep backward square-leg, where Ravi Bopara made no mistake.

Another assured innings from Morgan again guided England to victory

The short ball was the favoured tactic from England, and each of the seam bowlers were timed at 90mph.

It proved too much for Shahzaib Hasan, who got a faint touch to an attempted hook at Stuart Broad which went through comfortably to wicketkeeper Steven Davies.

Afridi moved up a place to number five but his innings was particularly clueless, and after surviving one top edge which evaded the fielders on the leg side, he succumbed to a similarly rash stroke on the off, with coach Waqar Younis unable to hide his disgust in the team dug-out.

Umar Akmal at least briefly gave the small but excitable Pakistan contingent something to cheer by lofting Graeme Swann for two sixes, the first of the series, but the astute off-spinner completely deceived him with a slower, well-flighted delivery that turned sharply and knocked back the middle pole.

There was also time for the traditionally farcical Pakistan run-out, with confusion after an attempted reverse sweep, and some swift work from Ryan Sidebottom at leg gully to leave Hafeez short of his ground.

606: DEBATE Happy we won. The current troubles are somewhat overshadowing everything though. Shame. bow4fowler

Abdul Razzag and Umar Gul shared the highest partnership of the innings with 29 but were caught off successive Sidebottom deliveries as the Pakistan innings subsided.

Something inspirational was needed by the Pakistan bowlers, but instead it came from bat of England opener Craig Kieswetter, who struck some stylish strokes in his 16, including a six when backing away to leg and launching over extra cover.

Two wickets fell in two balls as Davies chipped to mid-wicket before the much-maligned Pakistan fielding briefly showed some improvement as Umar threw down the stumps at the non-striker's end from point to end a promising start from Kieswetter.

England skipper Paul Collingwood, who made only 37 runs in his last five innings in the Test series, looked to be ending that barren run, having stepped down the wicket to launch Shoaib, consistently bowling in excess of 90mph, over square-leg for six.

However, on 21 he edged a Saeed Ajmal doosra to slip and Bopara ended a hesitant innings by missing a quick ball from Afridi that trapped him lbw.

But England were able to call upon Morgan, a man averaging 98 from 12 successful T20 run chases prior to this game.

And just as in the first match on Sunday he clinically concluded proceedings in partnership with Yardy to leave England totally dominant ahead of the five-match one-day international series beginning on Friday.

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