http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 v England – 2nd T20I – Match Preview
Momentum seems to be shifting quite abruptly on England’s tour of the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/United-Arab-Emirates-c3033 (UAE). At first Pakistan, out of nowhere, cleaned swept the number one Test side 3-0 and then England responded by winning the ODI series 4-0 but the now the balance
of power has once again tilted in favour of the Men in Green, who lead the three match T20I series 1-0.
Both Pakistan and England have set their eyes on the second T20I match, which will be played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Saturday, February 25, 2012. It is do or die match for England, and the English are also the number one side in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625
T20 rankings. The Men in Green, on the other have a cushion of one game, thanks to their eight run win on Thursday.
Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain has immense experience of leading a side while England skipper, Stuart Broad, is still learning the art of captaincy.
Broad’s inexperience to captain may very well work in Pakistan’s favour, as was evident from the first T20I game, when he sent Graeme Swann to bat ahead of himself. Despite all his efforts, Swann end up missing deliveries at a crucial time and it eventually
cost England the match.
Pakistan’s strength lies in their bowling while batting and fielding is their Achilles heel. In comparison, England has a well balanced unit. Nonetheless, the English will find it hard to score against a bowling attack that has the likes of Umar Gul, Saeed
Ajmal, Shahid Afridi and Muhammad Hafeez. The pitch at Dubai seems to favour Pakistan’s style of play and a score of 140 is quite defendable.
Team Form:
Pakistan is on a winning run, the Men in Green have won five matches on the trot and will equal their best run ever, if they go on to win the next two games. England, on the other hand, has lost two matches from their last five fixtures.
Key Players
Umar Gul is a specialist when it comes to bowling at the death. The Gull-Dozer not only takes wickets but also hampers the flow of runs. Muhammad Hafeez is one of the most dangerous T20 cricketer at present, he is very handy with the bat and is quite misery
with the ball.
Kevin Pietersen is England’s man of the hour. KP along with Ravi Bopara holds the English batting line-up together. Eoin Morgan has so far had a silent tour, the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ireland-c751 born cricketer will be hoping for a reverse in fortunes in the second T20I.
Pakistan (probable): 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Awais Zia, 3 Asad Shafiq, 4 Umar Akmal, 5 http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Aizaz-Cheema-c961
England (probable): 1 http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ST-Finn-c2566
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