England Vs Pakistan, Match Preview
All the attention in England is likely to be on the Euro 2020 heartbreak. The T20I series is nowhere in the hope of lightening up the spirits after a tough week for English sport. A bright spot for England is the performance of a second-string side. With several players in isolation, England managed to whitewash Pakistan using a side full of new players.
The win is a bonus for England but will send a lot of worries to the Pakistan camp. Pakistan played a full-strength squad but could not get past an English side. The series was seen as a chance to get some ODI Super League points, but they have lost a brilliant opportunity to go up the table.
After playing a weaker side, Pakistan will have more to worry about as England return for the T20Is with a full-strength team. Most of the leading players are back, and the T20 series threatens to be more one-sided than the one-day series.
Jos Butler is among the returnees, and his name could send shivers into the opposition line-up. While an England win seems on the cards, one can never count out the unpredictability of Pakistan. Pakistan is known to be unpredictable, and the side raises the bar high in T20Is. They have had some unbelievable performances over the last two years, along with a few dismal performances, and it will be interesting to see how Pakistan turns up for the next game.
Pakistan has some harrowing memories at Trent Bridge. The ground has produced some high-scoring games, with England making 444 in an ODI against Pakistan back in 2016. Jason Roy hit 114 in that game and is in the squad for the T20s that lie ahead. While they suffered some losses at Trent Bridge, Pakistan has a sweet memory of winning their group stage fixture against England. They unpredictably won the game and could look to do the same tomorrow.
England Vs Pakistan, Team News
England has most of its star players coming back but will have a tough time retaining players who did well in the ODI series. Ben Stokes has gone back to rest after the ODI series, and Morgan is back to lead. Sam Curran is absent from the squad, allowing one of the ODI players to play the T20s.
Pakistan has some good top-order batters and will have to make changes to their line-up to facilitate their batters. They bat deep and have a decent balance within their squad. Mohammad Hafeez returns to the T20I team and will be playing in the middle-order.
England Vs, Pakistan, Predicted XIs
Pakistan (possible): 1 Mohammad Rizwan (wk) 2 Babar Azam (capt) 3 Sharjeel Khan 4 Sohaib Maqsood 5 Mohammad Hafeez 6 Faheem Ashraf 7 Shadab Khan 8 Hasan Ali 9 Haris Rauf 10 Mohammad Hasnain/Usman Qadir 11 Shaheen Shah Afridi
England (possible): 1 Jason Roy, 2 Jos Buttler (wk), 3 Dawid Malan 4 Jonny Bairstow, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Liam Livingstone, 7 Lewis Gregory/Moeen Ali, 8 David Willey, 9 Chris Jordan, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Saqib Mahmood/Tom Curran
England Vs Pakistan, Players to Watch out for
Saqib Mahmood
Saqib Mahmood finally got a chance for England and did a magnificent job in the ODI series. His performance has all but sealed a spot in the eleven for the T20s, and a good performance could push him into the World Cup squad. He is a young bowler who is looking for accuracy and is high on confidence. A good spell from him up top can help England set up the game with ease.
Babar Azam
Babar Azam made a strong statement ahead of the T20s with a 150 in the final ODI. He is a strong T20 batter but has faced issues with his strike rate on numerous occasions. With Trent Bridge offering a high-scoring game, Babar Azam may look to step out of his anchor role and play some shots from the onset of his innings.
England Vs Pakistan, Pitch Report
The weather has been a little wet, and there may be some interruptions during the match. The pitch is flat, and a run-fest is on the cards. With a true batting surface, sides may be better off chasing as they can calculate their innings better.
