4th T20 Preview: Pakistan vs England

Pakistan will face England in their fourth game of the seven-match T20 series at the National Stadium on Sunday

England lead the series 2-1 with four games in hand.

Pakistan are a team in turmoil.

They are facing big issues both in their bowling and batting.

Lack of consistency from their key players and injuries have ensured that the squad looks unsettled just weeks before the T20 World Cup.

In the third T20 match, Pakistan went with the same team while England made three changes, bringing in pacers Reece Topley and Mark Wood, who both clicked.

Debutant Will Jacks also made a big impact with the bat, scoring a 22-ball brisk 40.

This laid the stage for Harry Brook (81*) and Ben Duckett (70*) to sculpt a 139-run unbroken partnership – the fourth highest stand for the fourth wicket in T20Is.

Mark Wood ended the evening with figures of three for 25 runs, but he is unlikely to play in Sunday’s clash.

A return for Luke Wood could be on the cards, whereas David Willey, who is without a wicket in this series so far, may also be given the nod.

Hales, who sat out the third match, is in contention to return, as England search for an opener to partner captain Jos Buttler at the top of the order.

The double-pronged spin attack of Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid should retain their positions in England’s bowling lineup.

Pakistan’s bowling has been wayward which helped England post a huge total of 221-3 in the allotted 20 overs.

In reply, Pakistan were reduced to 28 for 4 wickets and the match was effectively over.

The only bright spot was Shan Masood, who played a few superb strokes and showed his intent against the spinners.

However, the middle order definitely needs strengthening.

Khushdil showed some semblance of form but Iftikhar Ahmed failed again.

Pakistan will need to test at least one uncapped player as they need to widen their pool, as the current members are failing repeatedly.

Thankfully, defeat is hurting and some of them are trying to get back into form.

Mohammad Haris, Shan Masood, Asif Ali, Khushdil Shah, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed, and Amir Jamal participated in an optional training session here at the NSK on Saturday.

This is the last T20 match in Karachi.

After this, the teams will move to Lahore for the three final matches which will be held at the Gaddafi Stadium.

Pakistan squad

Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Aamir Jamal, Abrar Ahmed, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Junior, Naseem Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani, Shan Masood, Usman Qadir

England squad:

Jos Buttler (captain), Moeen Ali (vice-captain), Harry Brook, Jordan Cox, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Liam Dawson, Richard Gleeson, Alex Hales, Tom Helm, Will Jacks, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Olly Stone, Reece Topley, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Luke Wood, Mark Wood.