Pakistan could have surrendered to the pre-match hype. They didn’t. England too could have given up when they were 118 for 4 in the 22nd over – still 231 runs adrift with Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Eoin Morgan, and Ben Stokes in the hutch. They didn’t either. There is no doubt that Jos Buttler is a star. Despite the frenetic style of play, he exudes a calmness rare with such hitters. The run rate kept climbing away from him but he kept reining it in. In the past, he has talked about how in the last couple of years, he has cracked the code of what works best for him in terms of technique and, importantly, in his head: he strives to be in a “meditative state”. Bang, Crash, and a gentle smile or an impassive face stares back when the camera zooms in.

Steve smith and Rohit sharma hold their hands pretty high but not Buttler, and it’s one of the key factors in the way he bats.The first thing he looks across isn’t the bowler running in but the top of the off stump at the other end as he believes it helps him get his head and balance right. Somewhere later, he shifts to the bowler even as he begins to move back as his first step.Umpires step in to curtail England, Pakistan ball-roughing tactics