Pakistan vs England 2015, 2nd T20I at Dubai, Preview: Visitors look to seal series

Hosts Pakistan face England in the second of the three-match Twenty20 International (T20I) series at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Friday.

Hosts Pakistan face England in the second of the three-match Twenty20 International (T20I) series at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Friday. England, who won the opening game just 24 hours ago at the same venue, tamed the hosts by  14 runs. England earned  a crucial lead as they continue to get the better of Pakistan in the limited-overs’ leg of their tour. The win in the first T20I has put them in the driver’s seat straight away. However, can England come up with a similar performance on Friday to seal it all, or will the hosts strike back to level terms? SCORECARD: Pakistan vs England 2015, 2nd T20I at Dubai

Considering the game on Thursday night, England had a shaky outing with the bat as the openers failed to get off to a solid start, and had to depend on the middle-order batsmen, especially James Vince, Eoin Morgan and Sam Billings, who played crucial knocks of 41, 45 and 53 respectively, in order to propel England to a healthy total of 160. However, England were highly effective with the ball, as they bowled out Pakistan for 146 to claim the win. Reece Topley and Liam Plunkett claimed three wickets each to inflict the most damage, while Stephen Perry too claimed a couple.

Thus, considering England’s team, any changes are highly unlikely as they would refrain themselves from disturbing their winning combination. However, considering the failure by the top-order, they could bring back Joe Root and Jos Buttler for either Jason Roy or Alex Hales.

Pakistan, on the other hand, had an average day both with the bat and the ball. They were able to claim only four wickets during the England innings, with Sohail Tanvir claiming a couple, while Anwar Ali and Wahab Riaz claimed a wicket each, whereas Shahid Afridi and Imran Khan Jr. failed to take any. However, with the bat, it was another poor performance as no batsman could go above the 25-run mark.

Pakistan may make sweeping changes to their side to arrest the slide. They could well bring in the experienced campaigners in Ahmed Shehzad, Shoaib Malik and Anwar Ali for Rafatullah Mohmand, Mohammad Rizwan and Imran Khan Jr. As with the pitch, it is likely to suit the bowlers, just the way it did on Thursday night. Thus, both the teams would look for a better bowling combination.

Squads:

Pakistan: Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Irfan, Anwar Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Wahab Riaz, Aamer Yamin, Mohammad Rizwan, Shoaib Malik, Bilal Asif, Shahid Afridi (c), Imran Khan Jr., Rafatullah Mohmand, Sohail Tanvir, Sohaib Maqsood, Umar Akmal.

England: Moeen Ali, Reece Topley, Jason Roy, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Jos Buttler (wk), David Willey, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Sam Billings, Stephen Parry, Eoin Morgan (c), Chris Jordan.

Time:  20:00 local | 16:00 GMT | 21:30 IST

(Ayush Gupta is a reporter at CricketCountry. A passionate supporter of Manchester United, he idolises Roger Federer and is also a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) maniac. He can be followed on Twitter @Ayush24x7)

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