England and Pakistan have just finished with the Test series but there is not enough time to rest as the T20 series is about to begin. The host and the visitors will face each other for 3 T20 matches, starting from 28th August. All 3 matches will be played within the BioSecure bubble at Manchester.
Pakistan had high chances to win the Test series, but they let go of it. Now, Pakistan will desperately try to get a win on the English ground against the host. England, on the other hand, has a Test win in their pocket. But England’s limited-over side did not come well against Ireland. The host’s performance against the Irish team was not very convincing and it will be challenged by the much stronger Pakistan team.
England will be without the important Test players like Joe Root, Jos Buttler, and Jofra Archer, but it still has a strong team for T20s. Eoin Morgan will lead the team for the rest of the T20s. The batting side of the England team will be led by Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow at the top of the order.
Babar Azam will lead Pakistan’s T20 team. He is considered one of the best T20 batsmen in the world. Also, he is coming off decent in Test series and got some runs. Pakistan’s batting line up is not that strong compared to England. The real strength of Pakistan is their bowling. Pakistan’s batting needs to hold the game up a bit in order to secure a win against the host.
Fantasy cricket prediction:
England plays with a completely different squad for T20 whereas Pakistan has a lot of Test players playing for T20s as well.
Eoin Morgan is going to captain the England team for the T20 series against Pakistan. His expertise against spin could be critical in winning the series.
Jason Roy has not scored any significant knock this summer hence he is going to be a bit under pressure for the T20 series. Jonny Bairstow, on the other hand, has scored the fastest fifty by an Englishman and will be keen to do the best in the 1st T20 against Pakistan.
David Willey had a magnificent comeback in the ODIs against Ireland. He took 5 wickets against Ireland in the first ODI. He is going to lead England’s bowling attack for the upcoming T20s.
Sam Billings had a good series against Ireland and he will be an integral part of England’s middle order.
Adil Rashid, Sam Curran, and Saquib Mahmood could be the bowlers to play in the first T20. All three bowlers have delivered a good spell against Ireland in previous ODIs.
Tom Banton and Dawid Malan are likely to play for the first T20 match.
Babar Azam has a good record in T20s. He is also leading the Pakistan Team for the T20 series. His performance in the Test series was satisfactory as he scored good runs in the series.
Pakistan has lined up Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, and Mohammed Hafeez for the first T20. Shoaib Malik’s participation is still not confirmed, but it will be beneficial for the Pakistan team to make use of his experience.
Mohammed Amir is going to be back for the first match and is likely to be paired with Shaheen Afridi or Wahab Riaz. Pakistan has Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, and Mohammad Rizwan on their all-rounders’ side.
Pitch Prediction and weather analysis:
The pitch at Manchester is going to be good for batting. The surface is flat and full of runs in Old Trafford. There is some extra bounce in the surface and that could test the batsmen from both the teams The team batting first could score 160 at par.
A bit fair showers are expected on the first day of the T20 in Manchester. The forecast gets better for the rest of the day. But a reduction in the game or even termination is expected.