Pakistan vs England 1st T20I LIVE score updates: World Cup in focus as PAK, ENG face-off in Karachi

Pakistan vs England, 1st T20I, LIVE CRICKET SCORE and UPDATES, Ball by ball commentary: Hello and welcome to our LIVE coverage of the first T20I between Pakistan and England in Karachi. It’s a historic occasion as England is touring Pakistan for the first time in 17 years, having last toured the country in 2005. Stay tuned for more updates.

Preview: Moeen Ali returns to his roots in Pakistan to lead England in a seven-match series as both nations fine-tune for next month’s T20 World Cup.

Ali will captain England because Twenty20 skipper Jos Buttler is recovering from a calf injury and is expected to play in only one or two games toward the end of the series, which begins Tuesday.

“Captaining England in any game, anywhere in the world, is a huge honor,” Ali said. “Obviously, with my roots being from here and to lead England … it’s huge and it’s (a) very proud moment for me and my family, my mum and dad and everybody.”

England’s first tour to Pakistan since 2005 starts in Karachi, which will host four games. The remaining three will be played in Lahore from Sept. 28-Oct. 2.

Buttler is with the squad and has been undergoing rehabilitation, but Ali said the recurring of the injury during the Hundred back home has forced the England captain to be extra careful.

“Maybe in the back end of the tour he will play one or two games, but we’re not sure yet,” Ali said. “Obviously with the World Cup in Australia, it’s huge for us and we want him fully fit for the whole competition there.”

The T20 World Cup begins in mid-October.

At least eight members of the England squad like Ali himself, Harry Brook, Alex Hales and Phil Salt have experience playing in Pakistan for various franchises in the Pakistan Super League.

That experience could come in handy for an England team that is without its key T20 World Cup player Ben Stokes.

Fast bowlers Mark Wood and Chris Woakes are returning to the team after being sidelined for most of the summer because of injuries. Jonny Bairstow was ruled out of the T20 World Cup due to freak injury while playing golf while out-of-form Jason Roy was dropped both for the tour of Pakistan and the T20 World Cup.

With inputs from The Associated Press 

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