Last Update on: November 11th, 2023 at 11:44 am
Pakistan play England in match 44 of the ICC World Cup 2023 in Kolkata on November 11, Saturday. This is the final league game for both teams with semi-final qualification at stake for the Men in Green.
Pakistan’s win against New Zealand in the previous match keeps them in the contest right till their last league game. They are below the Kiwis on the points table.
The Men in Green have a few permutations and combinations to go in their favor. They will need the Kiwis to lose to Sri Lanka and need to win their match against England. There are reports of rain in Bengaluru. In that case, if the match does not happen, both teams will share a point each.
This will take the Kiwis to nine points from nine games. In that scenario, Pakistan will need to beat England get to 10 points, and qualify as the fourth team through to the semi-final. Afghanistan in their last game against South Africa will need to win by a big margin to surpass Pakistan’s net run-rate.
The odds have started favoring Pakistan since their win against the Kiwis in their last game. Ahead of that game, things looked tricky for the side. However, their win has opened the table up once again.
Pakistan played very positively in their last match against the Kiwis chasing over 402 to win, they were 200/1 in the 26th over and won the DLS method. Their batters will need to bat with the same intensity in this must-win game.
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On the bowling front, they should play with three spinners if possible resting one of their pacers. The Kolkata pitch offered a lot of turn in the IND vs SA game and the Pakistan team should learn from that game.
Pakistan Playing 11 vs England – ICC World Cup 2023, Match 44
Fakhar Zaman
Fakhar will open the batting for Pakistan. He scored an unbeaten 126 off 81 balls to keep his team ahead of the NRR and ultimately win the match for his side. His team needs another similar innings from him.
Abdullah Shafique
Shafique will open the batting with Fakhar. He scored just four in the last match. Overall, he has scored 336 runs in 8 games and is Pakistan’s second-highest run-getter in the tournament.
Babar Azam (C)
The skipper will slot in at three. He scored an unbeaten 66 notching up his second fifty of the tournament. He has scored consistently for his team and needs runs in this must-win game.
Mohammad Rizwan (WK)
Rizwan will bat at four. He has been Pakistan’s top-scorer in the tournament with 359 runs from 8 games at an average of 71.80. He has a chance to get to 400 runs.
Saud Shakeel
The southpaw will bat at five, He has not got consistent chances with the bat in this World Cup but has made the most of his chances. He has been a good addition in the lineup.
Iftikhar Ahmed
Iftikhar will slot in at six. He has been used as a pinch-hitter in the batting lineup and has bowled inside the powerplay more often than not. is big-hitting prowess will be useful for Pakistan.
Shadab Khan
Credit: Twitter)
The all-rounder will slot in at seven. He has scored 117 runs and picked up just two wickets from five games. At Eden, he will get enough support from the wicket to be effective.
Mohammad Nawaz
Nawaz can bat at eight. Plus he will be handy with his left-arm spin bowling. He should also get a lot of purchase from the Eden track. The southpaw has picked up just two wickets from five games.
Shaheen Afridi
Afridi will lead the pace attack for his side. He is the highest-wicket-take for his side in this World Cup with 16 wickets in 8 games at an average of 25.56. He went past 100 ODI wickets in the tournament.
Haris Rauf
Haris should bowl from the other end. He has picked up 13 wickets from 8 games at an average of 36.08. He picked 1 for 85 against New Zealand in Bengaluru.
Usama Mir
Mir should conclude the likely playing XI for Pakistan. He should be the third specialist spinner in the side in place of Hasan Ali. He did not play against the Kiwis but should be a handful against England.
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