SCO vs PAK, 2nd T20I – Match Prediction: Who will win the match, Scotland or Pakistan?

Pakistan played like a World number 1 T20 International team the other day and comprehensively defeated the hosts Scotland in the first game. There is a quick turn around for the second game though and the home side will be eager to make a mark in the final encounter of the series. The margin of 48 runs does not indicate the fight put up by them and there is no doubt they will be confident of levelling the series on Wednesday.

The Men in Green would be aware of the threat their opponents possess and also would be keen to end their UK tour on a high. At the same time, they might also rest a couple of key bowlers and give chance to the ones who were benched in the first match of the series. The back to back games, at times, might take its toll on the players but that doesn’t take the favourites’ tag away from them. They played like a champion team and would be hoping to continue in the same vein as well.

Pitch and conditions

The pitch at the Grange Cricket Club in Edinburgh was flat as expected and the batsmen made most of it. Despite the fact that there are chances of the shower, the wicket should once again prove to be the graveyard for the bowlers. The spinners did a good job for the visitors last night which might once again tempt the team winning the toss to bat first.

Playing Combination

Scotland

Scotland will not make any changes in the batting department but there will be a few changes on the bowling front. The seamers were expensive and Mark Watt might make way for Bradley Wheal or Chris Sole. Hamza Tahir will get another opportunity to resurrect his figures of 0/57 the other night as there is no other genuine slow bowler in the squad. The likes of Richie Berrington and Michael Leask would be key again in the lower-middle order in the death overs. The top order will also have to take the responsibility of scoring the runs in the powerplay.

Probable XI: Kyle Coetzer (c), Matthew Cross (wk), Calum MacLeod, Richie Berrington, George Munsey, Dylan Budge, Michael Leask, Mark Watt, Safyaan Sharif, Chris Sole, Alastair Evans

Pakistan

Pakistan is also likely to test their bench but not at the expense of the result of the game. Mohammad Amir can be rested for this game as his workload is being monitored. Usman Khan or Shaheen Afridi will replace him in the squad. It is possible that both might play if the team management decides to rest Faheem Ashraf or Hasan Ali. The 18-year-old deserves the chance and his exploits with the new ball would be crucial if he plays. The batting is going fine which means that Haris Sohail has to wait for his chance in the shortest format of the game.

Probable XI: Fakhar Zaman, Ahmed Shehzad, Hussain Talat, Sarfraz Ahmed(c & wk), Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Usman Khan/ Shaheen Afridi

Probable Top Performers

Richie Berrington (Scotland), Shoaib Malik (Pakistan)

Head to Head

Matches – 2, Scotland – 0, Pakistan – 2

The timing of the match: 08:30 pm IST

The prediction is for Pakistan to win the game and sweep the series comfortably by 2-0.

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