England and Pakistan will reconvene in Karachi for the fourth of seven T20 internationals on Sunday afternoon. It is England who leads the series heading into the fourth match, following a comprehensive 63-run victory on Friday to bounce back from a heavy defeat a day earlier.
Having suffered a bruising defeat in the second match, England bounced back in style on Friday, notching up a total of 221 from their 20 overs. At the heart of things for England were Harry Brook and Ben Duckett, who both hit maiden half-centuries for the tourists during their blistering innings.
For Brook, who finished proceedings on 81 not out, it is yet another milestone in what has turned out to be a memorable summer for the Yorkshire batter. Prior to Brook and Duckett’s demolition, there was an important cameo from debutant Will Jacks, who hit a solid 40 from 22 balls at the top of the order.
Another standout pick from this summer’s crop of talented English prospects, Jacks will be competing alongside the likes of Phil Salt and the returning Alex Hales for a spot in England’s World Cup squad. So far it is Salt who has struggled the most, with the Lancashire opener having managed just 48 runs combined across his three outings in this series so far – an average of 16 runs per innings.
Elsewhere, the form of Dawid Malan has presented a concern ahead of next month’s World Cup, with the 35-year-old having failed to match the explosiveness of his fellow English teammates. Regardless, the victory came at somewhat of a canter for England, who after taking four wickets in the six-over powerplay, went on to secure a comfortable triumph.
It leaves the series, with four games to play, firmly in England’s control, and the tourists will no doubt be keen to open up clear daylight between themselves and Pakistan with another win on Sunday, but plenty of questions remain over the team selections of both sides.
Having made his return from injury in the third match, Mark Wood ended the evening with figures of three for 25 runs, but he is unlikely to play in Sunday’s clash. A return for Luke Wood could be on the cards, whereas David Willey, who is without a wicket in this series so far, may also be given the nod.
Hales, who sat out the third match, is in contention to return, as England search for an opener to partner captain Jos Buttler at the top of the order. The double-pronged spin attack of Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid should retain their positions in England’s bowling lineup.
The best performer for Pakistan in an otherwise dismal third match was Shan Masood, who notched up a half-century during the hosts’ failed run-chase. A powerful middle-order batter, Masood will look to provide support for the opening partnership between Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. It has been a strong series for Shahnawaz Dahani so far. The Pakistan right-arm pace bowler failed to take a wicket in Friday’s clash but has consistently threatened with the ball in hand.
What have they done so far?
Pakistan won the second game by thrashing England by 10 wickets
England currently leads the seven-match T20I series 2-1 having won the opening and the third game of the series. Chasing a target of 159 runs in the first game, England won that match by six wickets to lead the series 1-0.
However, Pakistan came back strongly in the second game. Despite England putting 199 on the board, the hosts won the game by a whopping 10-wickets margin courtesy of a record-breaking partnership between Pakistan skipper Babar Azam who himself scored an unbeaten ton and wicket-keeper Mohammad Rizwan who scored 88 not out.
In the third game though, Harry Brook and Ben Duckett bludgeoned maiden Twenty20 half-centuries as England bounced back to beat Pakistan by 63 runs on Friday. Brook smashed 81 off 35 balls and left-hander Duckett made 69 off 42 deliveries as England racked up 221-3 after losing the toss.
Pakistan’s top order crumbled against fast bowlers Mark Wood and Reece Topley and finished on 158-8 a day after chasing down 199. Wood picked up 3-24 and Reece took 1-22 in their first game of the series as England brought them in for David Willey and Luke Wood.
Head to Head Record
This will be the 25th time that Pakistan and England are playing each other in the T20I format with the latter winning 15 of those encounters played between the two sides whilst the former winning this fixture seven times. One of the games between the two sides also ended in a tie in which England emerged victorious by virtue of super over whilst another game was abandoned.
This will however be the fourth game played between the two sides in Pakistan with the Three Lions winning two of the encounters while the hosts have won.
Key Players
Shan Masood top scored for Pakistan in the last game
Shan Masood (Pakistan): Shan Masood was chosen ahead of Fakhar Zaman, who is out of Pakistan’s squad due to a knee injury, following a stellar season for Derbyshire in county cricket and Balochistan in the National T20 Cup. Masood was in spectacular form as he led Derbyshire to the quarterfinals, scoring 547 runs in 14 innings.
The 32-year-old starred and made an impact after being inserted into the starting XI at No. 4 in the previous game. He was in fact the only Pakistani batter who looked on song in that game. While Masood has opened for the majority of his T20I career and played at No.4 for Balochistan and was in good form. Nonetheless, with Fakhar Zaman out, his likely position appears to be No.3.
Alex Hales (England): It may have taken an extraordinary chain reaction, beginning with Morgan’s retirement and culminating in Jonny Bairstow’s unfortunate slip on that Harrogate golf course, but Alex Hales is back, at the age of 33, for an opportunity he himself thought would never come again. In a strictly sporting sense, this opportunity is entirely merit-based.
Since his exile on the eve of the 2019 World Cup, Hales has established himself as one of the world’s pre-eminent T20 batters, a fixture at franchise tournaments around the world, including the PSL and the BBL, two competitions that make his recall for this World Cup winter all the more appropriate.
Predicted Playing XI
Pakistan: Babar Azam (C), Mohammad Rizwan (WK), Haider Ali, Shan Masood, Khushdil Shah, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Hasnain, Usman Qadir, Shahnawaz Dahani, Haris Rauf
England: Alex Hales, Philip Salt (WK), Dawid Malan, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali (C), Ben Duckett, Sam Curran, Luke Wood, Richard Gleeson, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley
Prediction
With the series locked at 2-1, plenty of excitement will be in the air as Pakistan and England once again take to the field in Karachi.
It is clear having seen the first three games that whilst the pitches have been very good, these contests are significantly affected by conditions with the chasing side finding it slightly easier to bat on as the dew eliminates any swing from the white ball.
Having said that, England’s bowling was fantastic on Friday and a similar performance will see them punish Pakistani batters once again. However, the smart move here would be to back the chasing team in this encounter.