Pakistan vs England 2nd T20I Preview: Clinical English look to wrap up the series at Dubai

Pakistan vs England 2^nd T20I Preview: Clinical English look to wrap up the series at Dubai: After an entertaining, but an eventually one-sided contest between the two teams yesterday, the English face off against Pakistan yet again today at the same venue. While the English team, banking on some excellent knocks from debutant Vince, Captain Morgan and the wicket-keeper Billings, managed to score an impressive 160 on the pitch, the Pakistani chase was derailed thanks to some poor shot selection, inability to create partnerships, and that infamous run-out of Umar Akmal. The tail-enders brought back some life into an otherwise done and dusted match.

With the teams playing off at the same venue at the very next day, one can expect a minimal amount of changes from either of the team. But here is a look at the team compositions going into the 2^nd match.

Pakistan

Some shady batting and poor shot selection was the real culprit of the downfall of Afridi’s men, and it is quite likely that the captain might make some changes within the batting order. The 39-year-old Raftullah might have seen his last of international cricket. The other batsmen need to play patiently, rather than trying to hit everything out of the park.

The bowling was decent till the death overs, where the waywardness of the pacers needs to be addressed. While the opening bowling combo of Anwar Ali and Sohail Tanvir were mightily impressive, they couldn’t control their line and lengths in the middle overs. Afridi was quietly dealt with by the English batsmen, but the captain might be in favor of more spin in the 2^nd T20I, after Stephen Perry and Moeen Ali’s stint with the ball in the second innings.

Though Afridi could go on with the same team composition, it is more of a matter of how they play according to the situation. Their batsmen, especially the likes of Afridi, Hafeez and Malik, need to play according to the situation, rather than having a go at each and every ball. With an impressive tail, the team has the potential to score well, only if they apply themselves well.

England

The visitors will be mightily impressed with their performance in the 1^st T20, and one can expect Morgan not to change the winning combination, considering the match will be played at the exact same ground.

The openers need to be a bit more cautious against the new-ball, but other than that, the rest of the team looks well set. Plunkett was very impressive with the ball, and is pushing forward a case for a permanent spot in the team. The bowlers struck regularly to keep the Pakistani batsmen at bay, and the batsmen adapted well to the requirements of the team. Morgan will be quite impressed with how Billings and Vince batted, and will quite likely be retained in the playing XI. Perry and Ali made quite a good combo, and continuously pressurized the Pakistani batsmen.

The team looks well set to wrap up the series, but one cannot rule out a resurgent Pakistan in the 2^nd T20I. They need to be wary about their complacency.

Pitch

The pitch, though on a slower side, has been helpful for the batsmen. The bowlers just need to hit the consistent areas, and they will be awarded richly. Pakistan needs to be patient with their batting to score well on this pitch, whereas the English had paced their innings perfectly, and need to repeat their performance again tonight.

Stats

4 – Number of wickets Sohail Tanvir needs to become the highest wicket-taker at Dubai International stadium.

3 – Number of wickets Shahid Afridi needs to become Pakistan’s highest T20I wicket taker.

48 – Eoin Morgan’s average at the venue, having played 5 T20Is at the stadium.

2 – Number of matches Pakistan has won in their last 9 matches at the Dubai international stadium, continuing their abysmal form in the shorter formats at the venue.

48 – Balls Eoin Morgan has to face to create a unique distinction of having faced at least 1000 balls in all the three formats.

Form:

England W W W L

Pakistan L L L W

Probable XI:

Pakistan:

Shahid Afridi (C), Sarfraz Ahmad, Ahmad Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Rizwan, Imran Khan, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Irfan, Anwar Ali.

England:

Eoin Morgan (C), Moeen Ali, James Vince, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Billings, Jason Roy, Reece Topley, David Willey, Chris Woakes and Stephen Perry.

England won the 1st T20I and lead 3-match series 1-0. Follow the Pakistan v England T20I series live, Watch the live streaming at Cricketgateway.com