Pakistan vs England 2022- First T20I – Preview: Probable Playing XI, Live Streaming, Pitch Report

Pakistan and England will lock horns in the first game of the seven-match T20I series in Karachi on September 20. Both teams are looking to prepare for the upcoming 20-20 World Cup 2022 next month in Australia. Talking about the home team, they had a decent campaign in the Asia Cup 2022 as they reached the final. They lost the final to Sri Lanka.

On the other hand, the visitors have lost their previous two T20I series at home coming into this series. Firstly, they lost to India at home by 2-1 in the three-match series. Their next series was against South Africa and England lost it by the same margin. During both series, the Jos Buttler-led side was looking clueless across all departments of the game.

Team News

Pakistan

Talking about the team, skipper Babar Azam has been woefully out of form since the Asia Cup In the tournament, the right-hander could only manage 68 runs in six games at an average of 11.33. Also, in recent times, his strike rate has been in question which has always been a concern for him.

His career in the format is 128.81, something he needs to work on. Apart from this, the middle order has been a concern for quite some. They would want to address their issues during the series. However, they can take comfort in the fact that they have a good bowling attack.

Probable Playing XI: Babar Azam (capt), Shan Masood, Mohammad Haris (wk), Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Shadab Khan (VC), Asif Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain

England

The team will be led by Moeen Ali, who is getting the first taste of captaincy at the highest level. Jos Buttler, who is the full-time captain will rest for the first four games in Karachi. Apart from Buttler, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood will also warm the bench for the Karachi leg of the series. However, the bigger concern for the team is to put together a few wins before the World Cup.

Meanwhile, they can take a leaf out of their record against the Green Brigade in the last 20 games. The Three Lions have won 13 out of 20 last 20 games against Pakistan including the Sharjah T20I in 2015 in which they won in Super Over. Moeen Ali and his men would like to make sure the record stays in their favor.

Probable Playing XI: Alex Hales, Phil Salt (wk), Dawid Malan, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali (c), Will Jacks, Sam Curran, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Olly Stone, Richard Gleeson

Match Details

Pakistan vs England 2022, First T20I

Date & Time – Tuesday, 20th September 2022, 7:30 PM(IST)

Venue – National Stadium, Karachi

Live Broadcast and Streaming – The game can be watched live on Sony Six. On the other hand, online streaming will be available on Sony Liv.

Pitch Report

The wicket at the venue is known to be a good one for the batters. Also, not to forget the boundaries are being shortened for the series. The combination of both will make life difficult for the bowlers.