ENGLAND VS. PAKISTAN: PAK’S TOUR OF ENG 2021, 1st T20 | MATCH PREDICTION AND FANTASY CRICKET TIPS
Hosts England take on Pakistan in the first T20 of the 3-match series at the Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Friday evening.
England sealed a 3-0 series sweep against Pakistan with an impressive chase in the final ODI of the series. A second-string side chased down a target of 332, with 3 wickets remaining. The performances of pacer Saqib Mahmood and all-rounder Lewis Gregory throughout the series have seen both earn call-ups to the squad for this T20 series.
Eoin Morgan returns as captain, with the likes of Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow back in the squad. Ben Stokes, who captained the side in the ODIs, has been rested. In the bowling department, Saqib Mahmood will team up with Chris Jordan and Tom Curran to deliver crucial breakthroughs.
On the other hand, Pakistan will be looking to bounce back strongly after playing poorly in the ODI series. The visitors will be determined to show a much better version of themselves in the T20Is after failing to compete on the tour so far. Captain Babar Azam, who batted brilliantly in the third ODI despite his team’s defeat, will once again be under the spotlight.
Along with Babar, the responsibility of scoring runs will be on the likes of Mohammad Rizwan and Mohammad Hafeez. Shaheen Afridi is an outstanding bowler in the shortest format and is expected to spearhead the bowling attack, with support from Haris Rauf. The duo face a difficult task against an explosive England batting on a usually flat Trent Bridge pitch.
With both teams looking to fine-tune their squads ahead of the T20 World Cup and kickstart the series with a win, it will be a cracking game of cricket at the Trent Bridge on Friday.
Match Details
- Match: England vs. Pakistan, 1st T20
- Venue: Trent Bridge, Nottingham
- Date & Time: July 16, 2021, at 11 PM IST/6.30 PM Local
Probable Playing XI
England
Jason Roy, Jos Buttler (WK), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Eoin Morgan (C), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Tom Curran, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Saqib Mahmood
Pakistan
Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan (WK), Babar Azam (C), Mohammad Hafeez, Sohaib Maqsood, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain
Weather and Pitch Report
Nottingham is expected to have clear conditions on the day of the match. The temperature will be around 23 degrees during the game.
Trent Bridge has generally been a flat wicket, with a high-scoring game on the cards. Batters will dominate despite some early help on offer for the bowlers from the surface. The pitch will slow down as the match progresses, bringing the spinners into play in the second innings. The average first-innings score at this venue in the last five T20Is played has been 144 runs.
The team batting first has a good record at this venue, winning 4 out of the last 6 games played. Moreover, with this being a day/night game, the captain winning the toss is likely to opt to field first. A score of around 170 runs should be a competitive one here.
Top Fantasy Picks
England
- Jos Buttler is back into the T20I squad after missing a major part of the home season due to injury. He is a nightmare for the bowlers in the powerplay and has scored 1791 runs in 80 T20Is at a strike rate of 140.25. He has scored 439 runs in eight innings at this venue.
- Jonny Bairstow is another player in the English squad who is equally dangerous as Buttler. He has scored 1087 runs in 45 T20Is at a strike rate of 141.9. He had a decent series against Sri Lanka, scoring 134 in five innings, including 1 half century.
- Saqib Mahmood was adjudged the Player of the Series for his outstanding bowling performances in the ODI series. He troubled Pakistan’s batters with his raw pace and lines. He took 9 wickets in three matches and will be looking to add to his tally of 3 T20I wickets here.
Pakistan
- Mohammad Rizwan has been in brilliant form in the T20s, scoring runs at the domestic and the international level alike. He has scored 530 runs in his last 10 T20I innings, which include 5 half centuries and 1 century. He will look to make some big runs here.
- Babar Azam scored a masterful knock of 158 runs in the third ODI. He made up for his poor show in the first two matches but still could not end up on the winning side. He had a good T20 series against South Africa and Zimbabwe, scoring 2 half centuries and 1 century in seven matches.
- Shaheen Afridi is yet to show his full potential on this tour of England. He has taken only 2 wickets in three matches and went for 78 runs in the third ODI. He has taken 27 wickets in 25 T20Is, with best figures of 3 for 20.
Howzat Dream Team
- Wicketkeeper: J Buttler, J Bairstow, M Rizwan
- Batsmen: J Roy, B Azam, M Hafeez
- All-rounders: L Livingstone, S Khan
- Bowlers: S Mahmood, C Jordan, S Afridi
- Captain: J Buttler/S Mahmood
- Vice Captain: M Rizwan/M Hafeez
NOTE: The Howzat dream team above is just a suggestion. You can make your fantasy 11 and play fantasy cricket matches. Also, don’t forget to make any necessary changes to your team once the actual playing 11 is announced by each team (30 minutes before the start of the match) as some players you have selected might not be part of the team suggested.
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