England hold their nerve

Saeed Ajmal celebrates the first of his four wickets during England's innings of 129-6

Kevin Pietersen: hit the final ball of the 20th over for six to finish up unbeaten on 62

You're gone! The Surrey paceman had earlier removed Mohammad Hafeez for a first-ball duck

Jade Dernbach held his nerve at the death, bowling Misbah-ul-Haq with the final ball

England's bowlers held their nerve to clinch a thrilling five-run victory over Pakistan, giving them a 2-1 series win in the process.

Stuart Broad and Jade Dernbach came up with the goods when their team needed them the most, restricting Pakistan, who had looked to be coasting at one stage in their pursuit of 130, to just 11 from the last 12 balls.

Dernbach secured the win when he bowled Misbah-ul-Haq with six required from the final delivery of a low-scoring thriller.

Kevin Pietersen had earlier carried his bat to make 62 not out, helping England to a competitive total of 129-6 on a benign pitch in Abu Dhabi.

Crucial maximum

Crucially, the opener slammed the last ball of the innings for six over mid-wicket, a blow that proved to be the difference in the final reckoning. There were also six boundaries in a 52-ball knock that saw him register the lowest ever score managed by a batsman staying in for the full 20 overs.

But, had it not been for Pietersen's unbeaten half-century, England would have had next to nothing to defend in the third and final fixture.

Eoin Morgan's miserable tour ended with another low score, the left-hander poking around for nine runs from 11 balls before being run out when Pietersen sold him a dummy.

Youngsters Jonny Bairstow, and Jos Buttler also found it tough going on a surface that was in complete contrast to the one used for the first two matches in Dubai, with both falling to Saeed Ajmal for single-figure scores.

Bairstow, who had been the hero for the tourists in their victory in the second T20 on Saturday, was bowled for three backing away to hit through the off side, while Buttler was trapped lbw sweeping for seven.

Ajmal - England's tormentor-in-chief on the trip - finished with 4-23, Samit Patel his last victim, though not before the Nottinghamshire all-rounder had pumped the off-spinner for a six and a four in a welcome cameo of 16.

Sharp catch

The only other Pakistan bowler to take a wicket was Aizaz Cheema, the seamer finding the edge of Ravi Bopara's bat to give wicketkeeper Umar Akmal the chance to pull off a sharp diving catch.

Dernbach made an immediate impact with the ball when he held a simple return catch to send Mohammad Hafeez on his way for a golden duck, though the Surrey seamer was to save his best for last.

Still, Awais Zia (23) and Asad Shafiq (34) made useful contributions and although England's spinners did a superb job, Graeme Swann (1-20) and Patel (0-18) leaking just 38 runs from their eight overs combined, Pakistan looked the most likely winners coming into the closing stages.

The momentum shifted, however, when the penultimate over from Broad - which included the wicket of Umar Akmal for 22 - went for just four runs.

Dernbach followed his skipper's lead, and the run out of Shahid Afridi left it all down to Misbah. He swung hard looking for a six but was done by a slower ball that crashed into his middle stump.

The bowler led the celebrations in the aftermath, at one stage threatening to do a 'Flintoff' and take off his shirt before instead choosing to slide along on his knees, as England finished what has been a tough tour on a real high.

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