- Pakistan and England will lock horns at Gaddafi Stadium today at 7pm.
- Naseem Shah unavailable for today’s clash after falling sick.
- Things may be different at Lahore’s batting-friendly wickets.
The rejuvenated Men in Green will look to maintain their winning streak against England in the fifth clash today (Wednesday) of the seven-match T20 International series as the action shifts to Lahore.
The teams will lock horns at the Gaddafi Stadium today at 7pm.
The hosts — who levelled the series by taking away the previous match from the claws of England as their second win in the series — are full of confidence.
The likely return of all-rounder Shadab Khan and pacer Naseem Shah was also one of the factors that provided a boost to the squad. However, Naseem Shah has been ruled out of today’s clash as he fell sick and was hospitalised due to a viral infection ahead of the match.
Shadab is likely to replace Usman Qadir.
Though Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Harry Brook and Reece Topley put up incredible performances for England, Pakistan’s star batter Mohammad Rizwan has found his mojo and now is the highest scorer in the series.
For England, Harry Brook has been the leading scorer with a strike rate of 174 while Ben Duckett also has a reasonable strike rate of 159.
Adil Rashid has been the best bowler for England so far and has picked up 4 wickets while bowling at an average of 30 and an economy rate of 8.00.
Things might be different at Gaddafi Stadium’s batting-friendly wickets and the dew factor will be there for the team bowling second.
The weather remains unpredictable in the city. Tuesday started with clear skies but when both the teams were supposed to practice in the evening, heavens opened and their practice was called off.
However, the weathermen have forecast that during the next 24 hours the skies will be clear with temperature ranging from 25 degree to 30.
Squads:
Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Haider Ali, Shan Masood, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Usman Qadir, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Abrar Ahmed, Aamer Jamal
England: Alex Hales, Philip Salt (wk), Dawid Malan, Ben Duckett, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali (c), Sam Curran, David Willey, Luke Wood, Adil Rashid, Richard Gleeson, Liam Dawson, Olly Stone, Will Jacks, Jordan Cox, Tom Helm.
