3 months ago
1
On a aboveground expected to assistance dilatory bowlers, some England and Pakistan volition thin heavy connected their rotation resources successful their Super Eights clash successful the T20 World Cup successful Pallekele connected Tuesday (February 24, 2026).
England whitethorn not person deed apical cogwheel yet, but the two-time champions person recovered ways to win.
They kicked disconnected their Super Eights run with a commanding 51-run triumph implicit Sri Lanka, a effect that importantly boosted their nett tally complaint and took them to the apical of the standings.
Defending a humble full against Sri Lanka, England played according to the conditions perfectly. Their spinners did the bulk of the enactment on with pacer Jofra Archer to trigger a melodramatic Sri Lankan batting collapse.
The ever-reliable limb spinner Adil Rashid and near limb spinner Liam Dawson person combined good to get the wickets.
Meanwhile, Will Jacks has emerged arsenic an improbable match-winner. His off-spin has been handy, but it is his contributions with the bat, 39 against Nepal, 16 against Scotland and 53 versus Italy, that person repeatedly bailed England retired of trouble.
Opener Phil Salt returned to signifier with a match-winning sound against Sri Lanka, arsenic helium batted beyond the powerplay for the archetypal clip successful the tournament.
However, Jos Buttler's signifier remains a concern. But the seasoned batter has got the backing of his skipper Harry Brook, who himself is yet to find runs.
England besides clasp the vantage of familiarity with the venue, having swept a three-match T20I bid present 3-0 earlier this period and besides winning the Super Eight crippled against Sri Lanka.
"We inactive haven't had that cleanable crippled with the bat. We haven't managed to get the starts and the large scores that we'd like," Brook said aft the triumph against Sri Lanka.
"In my eyes I spot that arsenic thing coming precise soon and with the likes of Jos Buttler not coming disconnected and Jacob Bethell, myself, Tom Banton not getting large scores and we inactive managed to get implicit the enactment and get the occupation done is awesome. Hopefully rewards tin travel a small spot aboriginal down the enactment for the lads with the bat." Pakistan, successful contrast, were near frustrated aft their Super Eights opener against New Zealand was washed out, leaving them with conscionable 1 constituent and small country for error.
The Men successful Green volition slope connected their varied rotation arsenal connected a way that traditionally slows arsenic the lucifer progresses.
Alongside the enigma rotation of Usman Tariq, Pakistan boast of extent successful Saim Ayub, Abrar Ahmed, Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz, a corporate that could beryllium important successful stifling England's batting line-up.
However, Pakistan’s ain batting inconsistency remains a concern, particularly against prime spin.
While opener Sahibzada Farhan, who is the starring tally scorer of the tourney with 220 runs from 4 innings, has done well, the likes of Saim Ayub and skipper Salman Agha, who is susceptible of some anchoring and accelerating, are yet to fire.
The Teams (from):
England: Harry Brook (c), Tom Banton, Jos Buttler, Ben Duckett, Phil Salt, Jacob Bethell, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Josh Tongue, Luke Wood.
Pakistan: Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Nafay, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan, Usman Tariq.
Match starts 7 p.m. IST.
