Mohammad Rizwan and Haris Rauf starred as Pakistan clinched a three-run victory over England to level their T20I series at 2-2 after a stunning match in Karachi.
Captain Babar Azam and Rizwan combined for an opening partnership of 97 as Pakistan posted 166-4, setting a target that England would have fancied chasing down.
Yet the visitors were unable to get there, despite a determined rally from Liam Dawson, leaving Pakistan to celebrate victory in what was their 200th T20I.
Rauf picked up three prized wickets, including that of Dawson, to take the player of the match award.
After both made just eight in the third match, Babar and Rizwan this time rekindled the form they showed in the second contest of this series when Pakistan swept to a 10-wicket win.
Babar made a handy 36 before being caught by Ben Duckett off Dawson's bowling, but Rizwan ploughed on to reach 88, eventually falling to Reece Topley in the final over.
Shan Masood made 21 and Asif Ali clattered two late sixes in 13no from three balls, as Pakistan pushed up their score.
The home team had work to do with the ball but came out firing, taking early wickets to dismiss Phil Salt (8), Alex Hales (5) and Will Jacks (0) in the first two overs of England's reply, as Mohammad Nawaz and Mohammad Hasnain made inroads.
England found batting rhythm through Duckett, striking three consecutive boundaries, although Nawaz put down a sitter to drop Harry Brook before he dismissed Duckett lbw for 33 in the eighth over.
Captain Moeen Ali made 29 and Brook fell for 34, before Dawson looked like winning it with a gallant effort for England. He reached 34 at breakneck speed, but a brilliant over from Rauf (3-32) halted the fightback as he had Dawson caught before bowling Olly Stone with the next delivery.
It meant England went from 162-7 to 162-9, and Masood ran out Topley in the final over to finish the contest, with three matches remaining in the series as the teams head for Lahore.
Rizwan and Babar set record
Pakistan's opening pair of Babar and Rizwan became the first batting duo to register 2,000 runs as partners in men's T20I cricket, coming into the day with 1,946 and smashing their way through the landmark figure.
The duo also equalled Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul's record of 14 partnerships scoring above 50 in T20Is.
Dawson drives recovery
England looked to be down and out heading into the final few overs, but Dawson's blistering display with the bat took advantage of some lacklustre bowling to briefly change the tide of the game.
His runs came from just 17 balls and contained five fours and a six, providing a glimpse of a comeback, but he was unable to finish the job.
Record-breaking Root edges England closer to Sri Lanka victory
Joe Root hit a record-breaking century as England edged closer to sealing their series victory over Sri Lanka at Lord's.
Root, who equalled Alastair Cook's record during the first innings of the second Test, made 103 from 111 balls for his 34th Test ton.
England resumed on 25-1 at the start of day three, with Root leading the way for the hosts and the crowd rose as one when a sweeping four completed his landmark century.
He helped his nation set their opponents a target of 483 after they were 251 all out.
As the light faded over Lord's, so too did Sri Lanka's momentum in their record-attempting chase, with Gus Atkinson and Olly Stone claiming Nishan Madushka and Pathum Nissanka respectively.
Play was eventually halted due to bad light, and called off to be resumed on Sunday with the tourists at 53-2 with Dimuth Karunaratne (23) and Prabath Jayasuriya (three) at the crease.
Data Debrief: Root revels on record-breaking day
Day three of the second Test belonged to Root, whose century was also his quickest in Test cricket.
Adding to his 143 in England's first innings, he registered two tons in a match for the first time, while becoming only the fourth player to achieve that feat in a Test at Lord's.
Root also joins Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar in scoring 5,000 Test runs in two different decades, while closing the gap on Cook's all-time England tally (12,472) to just 95.
If that was not enough for him, he also took the catches for both of Sri Lanka's wickets, making him the first England player to reach 200 in Test cricket.
Five-star Miraz runs riot in second Test against Pakistan
Mehidy Hasan Miraz claimed five wickets to hand Bangladesh the advantage against Pakistan, with the hosts bowled out for 274 on the second day of their rain-hit second Test.
Miraz, who took five wickets during the opening Test, again starred with the ball for Bangladesh, crucially dismissing Saim Ayub (58) and Shan Masood (57).
Taskin Ahmed (3-57), who was brought in for the injured Shoriful Islam, got Bangladesh off to a flying start with the wicket of Abdullah Shafique (0) in the very first over.
Ayub and Masood steadied the ship to have the hosts 99-1 at lunch, only for the latter to fall soon after, which resulted in the wickets beginning to tumble.
Babar Azam again struggled with the bat, scoring 31 from 77 deliveries, with Khurram Shahzad (12), Mohammad Ali (two) and Abrar Ahmed (nine) all falling victim to Miraz's impressive bowling display.
Bangladesh openers Shadman Islam and Zakir Hasan ended the day at the crease with the visitors 10 without loss as they look to confirm the series triumph on Sunday.
Data Debrief: Miraz the man
Miraz's impressive bowling display proved to be the difference on the second day, putting Bangladesh in a strong position in the series.
It was also the 10th five-wicket haul of his career, three of which have come away from home.
England dominate Sri Lanka after Atkinson's maiden Test century
England ended day two of the second Test versus Sri Lanka with a commanding 256-run lead, having skittled the tourists for 196 off the back of Gus Atkinson's century.
Joe Root's record-equalling 33rd red-ball century had ensured England ended a difficult opening day with a chance to build a commanding lead, and they did just that early on as Atkinson took centre-stage.
Resuming at 74 not out, Atkinson brought up his maiden Test century with a fine drive past mid-on shortly before lunch, eventually ending his knock with 14 fours and four sixes.
He would later fall for 118 to the outstanding Asitha Fernando, who then completed a five-for by removing Olly Stone to wrap up the England innings at 427 all out.
Any hopes Sri Lanka had of making an early dent in that target were frustrated, however, as England shared the wickets around in a brilliant team bowling performance.
Chris Woakes and Stone, who removed Dimuth Karunaratne and Pathum Nissanka within the space of five balls – left the tourists teetering at 35-3 by the end of the 10th over, and there was little help to come from the middle order.
Matthew Potts took the ball and sent stumps flying to account for Angelo Matthews and Dhananjaya de Silva in the 21st over, with Woakes, Stone and Atkinson later also doubling up as the tourists collapsed.
Kamindu Mendis' steady knock of 74 off 120 balls brought some respite for Sri Lanka, but he edged Atkinson's delivery into the palms of Woakes for the final wicket, failing to match his ton from the first Test at Old Trafford on a miserable day for the visitors.
England then avoided any drama when taking up the bat for seven overs before stumps, and Ben Duckett (15) and Pope (2) will resume at the crease on Saturday, hoping to make their handsome lead an unassailable one.
Data Debrief: Atkinson's big moment
While Root's heroics put England in a decent position ahead of Friday's play, Atkinson's brilliant 118 – coming off 115 balls – could prove the difference in this Test, allowing England to build a strong lead despite a lack of support from the lower order.
Atkinson's previous best red-ball knock was a score of 21 not out versus West Indies at Trent Bridge in July.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
