Jos Buttler scoring his third ODI century off just 46 deliveries, including eight boundaries and sixes © Getty Images
Twin blistering centuries from Jason Roy and Jos Buttler was enough as England posted a mammoth total of 355 for the loss of five wickets against Pakistan in the fourth and final One-Day International (ODI) at the Dubai Sports Complex on Friday. For Pakistan, Azhar Ali and Mohammad Irfan claimed a couple of wickets each. Earlier, England skipper Eoin Morgan won the toss and elected to bat first as he went with an unchanged squad from the third ODI win at Sharjah. Pakistan skipper Azhar Ali on the othe rhand made a couple of changes in the form of Ahmed Shehzad and Yasir Shah, who came in for Ifitkhar Ahmed and Zafar Gohar. LIVE CRICKET SCORECARD: Pakistan vs England 2015, 4th ODI at Dubai
England started off wel as the openers in the from of Roy and Alex Hales put up the opening 50-run stand, before Hales was dismissed for 22 by Mohammad Irfan at the score of 54. However, it was followed by a massive 140-run stand for the second wicket between Roy and Joe Root. Roy eventually scored his half-century, followed by another half-century from Root. Roy also quickly brought up his maiden ton in 113 balls, including eight boundaries and a six. However, he fell just after scoring his ton at thye score of 194 as Yasir Shah dismissed him for 102. LIVE CRICKET UPDATES: Pakistan vs England 2015, 4th ODI at Dubai
However, he was quickly followed by Root for 71 at the score of 201, and it seemed the England innings falling apart as the incoming batsmen were hardly able to build up any partnership. At the score of 227 in the 41st over, it was their skipper, Morgan, who too was dismissed for a cheap 12 off Azhar Ali. However, it was the pair of James Taylor and Buttler that put up a partnership of 79 runs and allowed England to ho past the 300-run mark, before Taylor fell for 13 to Mohammad Irfan at the score of 306.
It was then the pair of Buttler and Ali that batted out for the rest of the innings, with Buttler scoring his third ODI century off just 46 deliveries, including eight boundaries and sixes. They finished the innings on 355 for the loss of five wickets, putting up a partnership of 49 runs, and it also turned out to be the highest ODI total for England away from home.
Brief scores:
England 355 for 5 in 50 Overs (Jason Roy 102, Jos Buttler 116*; Azhar Ali 2 for 26) vs Pakistan.
(Ayush Gupta is a reporter at CricketCountry. A passionate supporter of Manchester United, he idolises Roger Federer and is also a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) maniac. He can be followed on Twitter @Ayush24x7)