Cricket: England vs Pakistan
3rd T20 International
Old Trafford, Manchester: – 1st September 2020
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Match Winner:
With England 1-0 up in the T20 series heading into the last game, Pakistan will be looking to respond in Manchester. Both sides played some excellent cricket in the 2nd fixture, with the hosts only just getting over the line thanks to the brilliance of Eoin Morgan and Dawid Malan. There is no shortage of batting and bowling talent on display and with both sides very prominent forces within the world of T20 cricket, they will be eying up a series win as preparations towards the 2020/21 ICC T20 World Cup tentatively begin down under.
Team Previews
England
With many big names within English cricket sitting out this series against Pakistan, Eoin Morgan has called upon many of his younger charges to stake a claim. Somerset batsmen Tom Banton looks set to be given a run in the side at the top of the order whilst the likes of Dawid Malan and Sam Billings will be eager to prove their worth to the T20 side once more.
In the bowling department, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid will be looking to put the squeeze on as much as possible for England whilst Tom Curran, Lewis Gregory and Saqib Mahmood look set to be given chances to impress with the ball in hand.
Pakistan
Babar Azam is the man at the helm for Pakistan in international limited overs cricket and his swashbuckling style is winning fans the world over. With experienced pair Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik alongside him he has plenty of resources to take the attack to England’s relatively inexperienced seam bowling line up.
In Haris Rauf, Mohammad Amir and Shaheen Afridi, the visitors have one of the most potent seam bowling attacks in world cricket and they will be keen to put pressure on England from the off.
England vs Pakistan Best Bets
Tom Banton to be Man of the Match @ 8.00
With nearly 100 runs amassed in the last two games, Tom Banton looks to be coming of age on the international scene. The Pakistan bowlers looked to run out of ideas against him last time out as he seemingly threw his wicket away and he’ll be eager to cash in properly here.
Babar Azam to be Pakistan’s Top Batsman @ 1.70
Pakistan captain Babar Azam is prolific in all formats of the game and his half-century in the last match between the sides was a clear indicator of the excellent form he is in. The conditions at Old Trafford seem to suit his game style too and he could put England to the sword.
Adil Rashid to be England’s Top Bowler @ 3.00
England have been heavily reliant on Adil Rashid in limited overs Cricket for the past few years and the Yorkshireman is prolific in-home conditions. Old Trafford is notoriously spin friendly and the Pakistani batsmen could have a hard time picking him here.
Match Prediction
As a series decider, this should be a thrilling contest between two excellent sides. Pakistan have run England close all summer, only losing the test series 1-0 and still very much in the contest here with one game to play. In limited overs cricket however, England are seemingly imperious and with Eoin Morgan at the helm, the confidence flowing through the England side is evident and the hosts should get over the line and win the series here.
