Big hitter Abdul Razzaq helps Pakistan feel at home against England

Homeless, and likely to remain that way until terrorism is eradicated, Pakistan have finally found some solace. After 10 successive defeats in all competitions, they squeezed out England by four wickets with four balls to spare to tie the two-match Twenty20 series 1-1. They won many friends with the spirited way they prevailed in World Twenty20 in England last summer and they have had such a desperately hard time of it that it should have been easy for England to be gracious in defeat. The architect of their victory was the old fox Abdul Razzaq, whose cramped stance belies his reputation as one of the most dangerous hitters in the game. Razzaq finished with 46 not out from 18 balls with five sixes, clambering into England's debutant Ajmal Shahzad with two straight sixes in the final over. Razzaq was up for auction at the IPL but not a single Pakistani was bought, another cruel blow for a proud cricketing nation. Shahzad, who made history six years ago when he became the first Yorkshireman of Asian background to represent his county, experienced the two extremes of international cricket in slightly over an hour. He took two wickets with his first five balls in international cricket, Imran Nazir carving to third man and Imran Farhat late on a pull. Shahzad's eyes burned with delight. He is a confident soul, blessed with a strong action, an urge to attack and an ability to swing the ball in the high 80s. Twenty20 could be perfect for him, but it felt a long way from perfection as 17 leaked from his last over. Graeme Swann must also have imagined that his most economical figures, 2-13 in four overs, would bring victory. England could console themselves that Kevin Pietersen, with 62 from 40 balls, rediscovered a flamboyance that had deserted him in the wake of losing the England captaincy. Saeed Ajmal's off-spin; Shahid Afridi, back from a two-match suspension for ball biting; and Umar Gul were all lashed for more-or-less straight sixes. Pietersen also left Afridi wringing his hands when, theoretically, he was dropped at short extra on 45. But the moment that most encapsulated his mood came when Afridi bowled to him when he wasn't looking, he glanced up with the ball halfway down the pitch, swung anyway, and fluked a boundary to third man. The addition of Craig Kieswetter to England's one-day party to Bangladesh – accidentally leaked by the Bangladesh Cricket Board as the ECB eccentrically tried to keep it secret until the end of the series – focused further attention on a failing top-order combination of Joe Denly and Jonathan Trott. Denly, bowled through the gate by Yasir Arafat, now has 20 runs in five Twenty20 attempts, and Trott's 39 from 51 balls was a pawky affair, a controlling role taken too far in a format where, as long as you don't lose wickets in the first phase, control is the last thing you need. Between them they used up half the overs for 44 runs. When Pietersen ran out Trott, forcing him into an impossible single to mid-on, nobody was about to complain about it.