OTD: Alex Hales powered England to register 444/3 against Pakistan at Trent Bridge

Pakistan would have never predicted a storm that lashed on Trent Bridge on August 30, 2016. The name of the storm was Alex Hales. The English opener played an explosive innings that left the Pakistan bowling line-up clueless. The swashbuckling batter scored 171 off 122, powered by 22 boundaries and four 6s.

When the host was 281, Hasan Ali finally was able to remove the opener. Joe Root, Jos Buttler, and then the captain of England, Eoin Morgan, also contributed to the runs galore initiated by Hales. Root, Buttler, and Morgan added 85, 90*, and 57* to take the team total of 444 against 3 scalps in 50 overs. On the same surface, Pakistani batters were not able to match the intensity and aggression the English batters displayed.

Against 444, Pakistan was able to get only 275 runs, allowing the home team to win the game by 169 runs. The second innings of the match folded within the 43rd over. Chris Woakes took 4 wickets in his 5.4-over spell, including a maiden over. Surprisingly, Pakistan's 11th batter of their lineup, Mohammad Amir, was the most impactful performer with the bat.

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A match full of surprises 

Amir scored 58 runs off 28 balls with five boundaries and four over boundaries. Sharjeel Khan, one of the openers of the Pakistan cricket team, also tried to set the tone while chasing a mammoth target. He notched 58 off 30. Apart from these two players, the remaining part of Pakistan's batting order was not able to perform significantly. 

"A special venue, always guaranteed high-scoring games. I didn't know about the record, as J. Roy got 160-odd at The Oval and came close," Alex Hales said about his 171-run innings. Hales' score against Pakistan was then the highest in ODIs by an England batter, beating Robin Smith's 167.