England vs Pakistan, Pakistan tour of England 2019, Today Match Prediction 05 May 2019

eng vs pak Match Prediction & Analysis

Host England will keen to start their home season on a positive note when they face Pakistan in the one-off T20 game in Cardiff on Sunday.

Captain Eoin Morgan will be hoping that side can put in a decent performance in this game. The side produced an excellent performance in the T20I series played against West Indies earlier this year.

On the other hand, Pakistan comfortably brushed aside Leicestershire in a warm-up game played at Grace Road, Leicester. Captain Sarfaraz Ahmed will be focused to make sure that Pakistan can deliver their best cricket with bat and ball in this fixture.

TEAMS PREVIEW

England Preview

Eoin Morgan led-unit will be looking to get off to a good start in this one-off T20 game. Alex Hales, Jason Roy, and Sam Billings have been ruled out of this game. Ben Duckett, Dawid Malan, and Ben Foakes have named as replacements in the T20 squad for this one-off game.

In the batting department, the side will be relying on the likes of Captain Eoin Morgan, Joe Root and Dawid Malan to do the bulk of the scoring. Morgan has been a consistent performer for the side in the T20 format. He will be looking to produce runs in this game. Besides Morgan, Root has not played competitive cricket since March. He will be looking to spend time at the crease in order to find a form with the bat. Root has proven to be a match-winner for England across three formats in the last couple of years. England will be hoping that Root can produce a decent score in this one-off game.

Middle-order batsman Dawid Malan has been an accomplished player in the T20 format. He has been playing a lot of domestic games for Middlesex in the last couple of weeks. Malan will be looking to make an impression with the bat in this game.

James Vince has shown excellent form with the bat for Hampshire in the ongoing Royal London One-Day Cup competition. He was named as a replacement for Alex Hales, who was dropped from the T20 squad due to failing a drug test. Vince will certainly be looking to make an impact with the bat for England in this one-off game.

In the bowling department, Liam Plunkett, Chris Jordan, and David Willey will be three first-choice seamers for this game. Jofra Archer might make his T20 debut for England in this game. Leg-spinner Rashid Khan will be lone spinner included in the playing XI for this game.

England Predicted Playing XI:

Eoin Morgan (c), James Vince, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Joe Denly, Ben Foakes (wk), David Willey, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett, Tom Curran/Chris Jordan

England Actual Playing XI:

Chris Jordan, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, AU Rashid, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes, David Willey, Tom Curran, James Vince, Jofra Chioke Archer, Joe Denly

Pakistan Preview

The visitors notched up a comfortable win over Leicestershire in a warm-up game played in Leicester on Wednesday.

Leg-spinner Shadab Khan and all-rounder Shoaib Malik will not take part in this one-off game. Malik is set to miss this one-off game due to personal reasons while Shadab is suffering from viral infection.

The side will be relying on the likes of Babar Azam, Sarfaraz Ahmed, and Fakhar Zaman to do the bulk of the scoring. Since February 2017, Azam has topped the batting charts for Pakistan in the T20 format. He has scored 1066 runs in 25 matches at an average of 50.76 with eight half-centuries to his name. He was the standout performer for Pakistan in the warm-up game played against Leicestershire. Azam scored a splendid century to help Pakistan post 200 runs in their 20 overs. He smashed unbeaten 101 runs off 63 balls with the help of thirteen fours and two sixes. He put on a 104-run partnership with Fakhar Zaman to help Pakistan get off to an excellent start.

Asif Ali and Faheem Ashraf contributed with crucial scores for the side in this game. Imam-ul-Haq and Haris Sohail also have shown good form in the warm-up games played against Kent and Northamptonshire.

All-rounder Imad Wasim also bowled well in the game played against Leicestershire. He picked up two wickets and conceded just 19 runs from his four overs.

Mohammad Hasnain, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Hasan Ali also picked up key wickets for the side in the warm-up game played against Leicestershire.

Pakistan Predicted Playing XI:

Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Asif Ali, Sarfaraz Ahmed (c &wk), Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Hasnain, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hasan Ali

Pakistan Actual Playing XI:

SI Wasim, Babar Azam, F Zaman, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Hasnain, Haris Sohail, Asif Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Sarfraz Ahmed, Imam-ul-Haq

Weather Conditions

The wicket prepared for the game will be good for batting. Expect spinners to get something out of this wicket. The weather forecast for the game on Sunday is going to be sunny intervals with a gentle breeze.

Venue

Sophia Gardens Cricket Ground in Cardiff is one of the prominent cricket venues in the United Kingdom. England will take heart from the fact they have won both their games against Pakistan played at this venue. Overall, Pakistan has an excellent head-to-head against England in the T20 format.

Toss: To Bowl

The side that wins the toss would be looking to bowl first and restrict the opposition to a modest total. The majority of the T20 games played at Sophia Gardens have been won by sides batting second. Spinners will play a key role in the outcome of this game.