We saw this as a final, putting up a big score under pressure was fantastic, gushes Dawid Malan

We saw this as a final, putting up a big score under pressure was fantastic, gushes Dawid Malan

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Dawid Malan drove England to victory in the seventh T20I against Pakistan on Sunday, helping clinch the series

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(England Cricket Board)

Dawid Malan expressed delight at his team's batting performance in the seventh T20I against England, stating it was impressive to tally a big total with the series on the line. He went on to heap praise upon the team's bowling efforts and conveyed anticipation regarding the upcoming brief break.

Despite falling to 3-2 down in the series, England staged a valiant comeback to win the two last games of the seven-match T20I affair against Pakistan and clinch it 4-3. The contest was sealed at the Gadafi Stadium in Lahore on Sunday with a 67-run triumph, thus concluding the country's first tour of Pakistan in 17 years on a high.

The victory was largely orchestrated by a batting masterclass from Dawid Malan, who struck a match-winning 78* off just 47 deliveries. The top-ranked T20I batter in the world at one stage, Malan had been struggling for form of late having tallied just 96 runs in the previous five games of the series. Nevertheless, he formed crucial partnerships with Harry Brook and Ben Duckett in the decider to take his team to a mammoth total of 209/3 which proved to be too big to chase for the hosts by a distance.  

"We saw this as a final, so to do it under pressure and put up a big score was fantastic. We felt the first 12-14 overs, it was coming on nicely, then it slowed up," he was quoted saying in the post-match press conference by India Today.

Earlier on the tour, England had managed a 200-plus total in the second T20I as well but had ended up on the losing side courtesy of a record-breaking opening partnership between Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. However, the visitors ensured they did not allow history to repeat by scalping the duo in the first two overs itself and going on to restrict Pakistan to 142/8.

The islanders will now travel to Australia for a three-match T20I series beginning in six days' time on October 9, their last assignment ahead of the World T20. 

"Luckily our bowlers learned from their lessons with the ball, bowl into the wicket, changes of pace. They bowled fantastically well. We're getting a break here and there, looking forward to getting to Australia and having a couple of days off. But it's been fantastic to be here, thanks for having us," Malan concluded.

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