England vs Pakistan only T20I, Preview and Predicted Playing XI

England and Pakistan are set to lock horns in the one-off T20 International at the Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on Sunday, May 5.

Head to Head Overall Stats: Both teams have shared the field on 14 occasions and England lead 9-4 head to head.

Head to Head in England: England holds the edge at home. They have trounced the visitors three out the five head to head games in England, including two wins at the Sophia Gardens, which gives them an edge ahead of the clash.

England

England are expected to go with the same team they played against Ireland a day earlier. Though they registered a four-wicket win over the hosts, their batting concerns were clearly viable, which they need to address ahead of the fixture.

Batting

Key Batsmen - Eoin Morgan, Joe Root & Dawid Malan

Both Joe Root and Eoin Morgan failed to make an impact against the Irish men, but the team will need their stalwarts to make quick turnaround against Pakistan. James Vince (18 runs) and David Malan (24 runs) showed some promising signs against Ireland and will be expected to make it better against Pakistan.

Bowling

Key Bowlers - Tom Curran & Liam Plunkett

Tom Curran, Jofra Archer, and Liam Plunkett will lead the attack with the ball. Curran was quite impressive during his all-round show against Ireland. Jofra Archer and Liam Plunkett are the other pace options who can provide early breakthroughs.

With the management expected to provide all of their new entrants a chance, there might be a playing xi tussle between Chris Jordan and Adil Rashid.

Expected Playing XI

Eoin Morgan (C), Joe Denly, Joe Root, Ben Foakes (W), David Willey, Tom Curran, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid/Chris Jordan, Liam Plunkett, James Vince and Dawid Malan.

Pakistan

The Pakistan side is currently ranked at the peak of the ICC T20I rankings. They have some quality and experienced T20 players in the squad.

Batting

Key Batsmen - Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman & Imam-ul-Haq

Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam and Imam-ul-Haq are vital cogs in Pakistan batting lineup. All of them have been in good form in recent times and will be expected to get them off to a challenging total. Sarfaraz Khan and Asif Ali provide support in the middle order.

Bowling

Key Bowlers - Imad Wasim & Hasan Ali

When it comes to bowling, the duo of Hasan Ali and Imad Wasim will be the key strikers for the team. They will also need Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Amir to give their best and put the shackles in the opponents scoring rate.

Expected Playing XI

Sarfaraz Ahmed (C & W), Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Asif Ali and Haris Sohail.