Pakistan will definitely still be rueful about the missed opportunity in the rained-off game, in which despite Banton’s onslaught, they dominated with the ball, particularly through their spinners. However having put that aside, they could have had a much better performance in the last game as well. A total of 195 runs, which at the time seemed pretty decent ended up being around 10-15 runs short of the par score. Captain Babar Azam and veteran Mohammad Hafeez could have accelerated a bit earlier and put more runs on the scoreboard despite both scoring well-constructed half-centuries. Having said that, their bowlers could take a bit of responsibility for not coping up with the onslaught of the English batsmen. Despite the defeat, Pakistan have a lot to look forward with their young and budding squad and are surely equal favourites to edge this game past England.
The way England Captain Eoin Morgan led the chase in the last game, timing the mall with utter perfection, the English camp will be brewing with confidence. For England in particular, this series has been all about building for the future, broadening their selection base ahead of next year’s postponed T20 World Cup, and ramping up the competition for places that was such an integral aspect of their rise to become last summer’s 50-over champions.The impending return of Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and, fitness pending, Jason Roy, for the upcoming series against Australia means that this final contest of the Pakistan tour could also be the final appearance of the year for many of England’s fringe candidates, some of whom have advanced their cases for long-term inclusion rather better than others.
Form guide
England WWWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan LWWLL
England (possible): 1. Tom Banton, 2. Jonny Bairstow (wk), 3. Dawid Malan, 4. Eoin Morgan (capt), 5. Moeen Ali, 6. Sam Billings, 7. Lewis Gregory, 8. Tom Curran, 9. Chris Jordan / David Willey, 10. Adil Rashid, 11. Saqib Mahmood
Pakistan (possible): 1. Babar Azam (capt), 2. Fakhar Zaman, 3. Mohammad Hafeez, 4. Shoaib Malik, 5. Shadab Khan, 6. Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 7. Haider Ali, 8. Imad Wasim, 9. Wahab Riaz, 10. Haris Rauf, 11. Shaheen Afridi
Pitch and conditions
A cloudy but broadly dry evening is in store for the third and final instalment of this Manchester trilogy. The batting conditions for the opening fixture were slow and tacky as England struggled to make consistent headway, but the same strip had turned into a belter two days later once the sun had dried it out.
