Collingwood impressed by matchwinner Razzaq

Paul Collingwood
12 April 2012

England captain Paul Collingwood believes there is "no shame" in losing to an innings as destructive as the one Abdul Razzaq produced to square the Twenty20 series against Pakistan 1-1 in Dubai.

Razzaq bludgeoned five sixes as he hit an unbeaten 46 in just 18 deliveries to carry his side to a four-wicket win following Friday's reverse.

"There's no shame in losing like that, our two performances have been very, very good here," said Collingwood. "In Twenty20 cricket it only takes one batsman to have an exceptional innings and that's exactly what he did. It was pure hitting and very hard to bowl at him."

Until his arrival at the crease, England had looked odds on for victory after Kevin Pietersen (62no) and Graeme Swann (three for 14) had teed the side up for victory.

But with a player of Razzaq's power clearing the boundary with ease the winning target of 149 was too small.

He hit 17 off debutant Ajmal Shahzad in the penultimate over to clinch the win with six balls remaining.

Collingwood continued: "We've done some fantastic stuff in the last few games and the boys should be very proud. They've been working on their skills and we feel we are moving forward in this format of the game."

Shahzad had earlier tasted the positive side of international cricket when he accounted for both Pakistan openers in his first over for England.

"He's come in against the world's best Twenty20 side and it's not easy when you're bowling against guys like that," said Collingwood of the Yorkshireman.

"But he's got the talent and he certainly has the pace and the aggression to go with it. When you've got a combination like that you learn all the time. He'll learn a hell of a lot from this experience. I know he enjoyed it, which is a good thing. He certainly didn't shy away from it. He's got all the attributes."

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