Cricket: England vs Pakistan
2nd T20 International
Old Trafford, Manchester: – 30th August 2020
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Match Winner:
The T20 series between England and Pakistan is nicely poised ahead of the second T20 international at Old Trafford. Hosts England looked in a decent position in the 1st fixture between the two sides before rain interfered and postponed the match. Both sides are prominent forces within the world of T20 cricket and they will be eying up a series win as preparations towards the 2020/21 ICC T20 World Cup begin down under.
Team Previews
England
Eoin Morgan will once again lead England against the team of his birth as his world cup winning charges look to bled in some young and emerging talents. Somerset batsmen Tom Banton looks set to be given a run in the side at the top of the order whilst the likes Dawid Malan and Sam Billings will be eager to prove their worth to the ODI team 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 Lewis Gregory and Saqib Mahmood look set to be given chances to impress with the new ball.
Pakistan
A new era of limited overs cricket beckons for Pakistan and white ball captain Babar Azam looks set to lead from the front with the bat. In Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik he has plenty of experienced campaigners alongside him and he will be keen to take the attack to England’s relatively inexperienced seam bowling line up.
In 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
Jonny Bairstow to be Man of the Match @ 7.00
Few batsmen are as destructive in One Day Cricket as Jonny Bairstow and he could return with a point to prove after being overlooked for the test side completely this summer. He will also be keeping wicket in the absence of Jos Buttler and will relish the conditions at Old Trafford.
Babar Azam to be Pakistan’s Top Batsman @ 1.50
Few batsmen in world cricket are as accomplished as Babar Azam and although he hasn’t piled the runs on in England this summer, he rarely looks troubled and he could go to town on this England bowling line up.
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
England and Pakistan will see these games as hugely important in the context of their respective side’s development. Despite having plenty of experience in their side, some of Pakistan’s batsmen haven’t played much competitive cricket this season and with conditions set to favour the swinging ball at Old Trafford, hosts England have to be favourites to win the game and take a 1-0 lead in the series.
