14 May 2019 01:30 pm
Their defeat in the second one-day international to England extended Pakistan’s winless streak, but there were positive signs from which they will look to draw confidence heading into the third match at the County Ground in Bristol today.
Pakistan’s ODI record in 2019 has been poor so far. In 12 matches across three series, they have won only two and have lost nine.
More worryingly, they’ve been winless in their last eight games, including a washout in the first ODI of the ongoing series.
With the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 pretty much at the doorstep, Pakistan have plenty of reason for concern.
But things may not be as gloomy as the numbers suggest, for they put up a remarkable fight in the second ODI in Southampton, going down by only 12 runs in a chase of a mammoth 374 against some pretty good bowling.
One of big question marks over Pakistan’s readiness for the World Cup has pertained to their ability to score rapidly, but they seemed to do rather well in that department, thanks largely to Fakhar Zaman’s boundary-laced 138.
But even Asif Ali and Sarfaraz Ahmed scored at well over run-a-ball.The positive signs notwithstanding, Pakistan will want to pull together in all departments to get some wins under their belt ahead of May 30, when the World Cup gets underway.
England are a mighty batting unit, with various batsmen capable of stealing the show on any given day.
The squads
England: Eoin Morgan (Captain), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Chris Jordan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, David Willey, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood.
Pakistan: Sarfaraz Ahmed (Captain), Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abid Ali, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez, Imad Wasim, Yasir Shah, Hasan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Junaid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Amir and Asif Ali.
(ICC)