Published: Aug 12, 2020, 07:07 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 13, 2020, 07:11 PM (IST)
19:00 hrs IST: It’s absolutely pelting down at the moment. Pakistan 85/2 after opting to bat first.
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PREVIEW
Pakistan will look to take advantage of Ben Stokes’ absence to level the series against England, in the second Test at The Rose Bowl, Southampton.
Pakistan were the better team for the majority of the first Test at Old Trafford, Manchester before England made a dramatic turnaround on Day 5 to go 1-0 up.
One bad day cost the visitors the game and they’ll be wary of the mistakes they made in Manchester.
“There are very small margins between victory and defeat and it’s easy to curse yourself when you’ve lost,” said Pakistan’s head coach Misbah-ul-Haq.
“We should remember that we were right on top until pretty much the last session of the game and we played very good cricket. Sure, we need to improve 10 to 15 per cent and deal with pressure situations a little better but we shouldn’t be mentally down.
“There is disappointment, of course, but we must not keep that feeling in our minds otherwise it will be difficult to come back but the team believes we can fight back,” he added.
England will be without Stokes, who will miss the remaining two Tests due to personal reasons, and will have to rejig their team accordingly. Zak Crawley, who played against West Indies, could come back into the starting XI.
“We now have to complete the job without Ben Stokes. He is someone we would miss even if he was unable to bowl or hit a ball. He has such an impact in the changing room beyond what he does in the middle,” England pacer Jofra Archer wrote in his column for Daily Mail.
“If you are going into battle, Stokes is the person you want right next to you. He would never run away from a challenge, but family is so important and he has to be in New Zealand right now.”
Pakistan, meanwhile, are likely to remain unchanged.
This will be the first time England and Pakistan will be facing each other in Southampton.
Rain could play spoilsport. Showers predicted on all five days of the game.
(Source: accuweather.com)
WHAT: England vs Pakistan 2020, 2nd Test
WHEN: August 13-17
VENUE: Southampton
TIME: 3:30 PM IST
LIVE ON TV: Sony Six
Joe Root (c), James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Dominic Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Ollie Pope, Dom Sibley, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, James Bracey, Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, Ollie Robinson
Azhar Ali (c), Babar Azam (vc), Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Imam-ul-Haq, Imran Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Sohail Khan, Usman Shinwari, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah
Rory Burns, Dom Sibley, Zak Crawley, Joe Root (c), Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler (wk), Chris Woakes, Sam Curran, Dominic Bess, Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad
Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali (c), Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Shadab Khan, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah
(With IANS Inputs)
