England’s talismanic batter Alex Hales made a resounding comeback as he scored a fine knock of 53 runs off 40 balls in the first T20I against Pakistan at the National Stadium, Karachi on Tuesday. Hales’ knock helped England win by six wickets and take a 1-0 lead in the seven-match series.

Back in 2019, Hales was banned for recreational drug use and since then could not return to the national team due to a falling out with former skipper Eoin Morgan. The right-hander admitted that he was nervous and it felt like he was making his debut again.

“It was a very special feeling to be back on the park for England,” Hales said after the game.

“Three years felt like forever. To go out and score 50 on my return in a winning team is the stuff dreams are made of,” the batter further added.

“It is a nice feeling. Guys said in the past it was never down to cricket, missing the three years, that was never in doubt. But there was always nerves and pressure coming back after three years having not played. It felt like a debut again, so it was a very special night,” Hales concluded.

On the other hand, Babar Azam was disappointed as he feels they could not capitalise on the good start, which he and Mohammad Rizwan provided to the team.

The Pakistan openers added 85 runs in the first 9.3 overs but the middle order, which has been the team’s concern in the recent past, could not deliver the goods. The hosts could only manage 158 runs on the board, which proved to be a below par score.

Azam said in the post-match presentation, “We utilised the batting powerplay well, but we let the momentum slip after the 10th over. Credit to their bowlers, but we were not up to the mark and we didn’t get the partnerships. They worked out the conditions well, but our batters should have done better. We’re trying different combinations before the World cup, we’ll test our bench strength and then go to the tournament with our best team.”

The second T20I between Pakistan and England will be played at the same venue on Thursday.