Pakistan eye comeback against a confident England in 2nd ODI today
LONDON – Pakistan's shaky start to the tour saw them being bundled out for 141 in the first ODI, chased down by England with nine wickets to spare inside 22 overs.
Pakistan’s dependency over the top-order trio of Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman has remained exposed lately if the three fail to deliver, especially all at once. For the middle-order to reach stability and consistency, Pakistan have had to make changes to find the right balance.
Whereas, England have made use of what resources are available to them. Ben Stokes returning to international action after recovering from injury and being handed the captaincy has seen the flourish of Stokes, the leader.
With still 20 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League points up for grabs, Pakistan would want to ensure they obtain them and rise up to the second position in the standings, right behind England who currently are at the top with 75 points.
Remember the last time
The new-look England side was able to group together in unprecedented circumstances and still deliver to the hosts’ white-ball prowess. England registered a comprehensive nine-wicket win over Pakistan thanks to Saqib Mahmood’s early exploits with the ball as he returned with 4/42.
The visitors were bundled out in Cardiff for just 141 runs in the 36th over after which unbeaten fifties from Dawid Malan (68*) and Zak Crawley (58*) helped England finish the chase in the 22nd over.
What they said
Babar Azam (Pakistan Captain): “We are working on our lower middle-order. We try to give them confidence. The effort is centred around giving them the space to let them apply their game on the field and the more experience they will accumulate, they will grow more in confidence.“
Saqib Mahmood: “The message we’ve had and something (Ben) Stokes reiterated after training was that yes it is weird circumstances but at this given time, everyone here deserves their place and everyone here is the best player for that position they’re in.” –ICC
