Pakistan vs England, 2nd ODI preview: can Pakistan end a four-match losing run in Rawalpindi?
Fresh from beating Sri Lanka, Pakistan face Harry Brook's England in the tri-series on October 20. England have won the last four ODIs between them.
Pakistan started the ODI tri-series with a win. Now comes the bigger test.
On Tuesday, October 20, Pakistan play England in the second match of the tri-series at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. England have won the last four ODIs between the two sides, and Pakistan haven’t beaten them in this format since the 2019 World Cup.
Where the series stands
Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by 37 runs in the opener on Sunday. Batting first, they made 305 all out in 49 overs, built around Salman Ali Agha’s 107 off 90 balls, his fourth ODI hundred. Sri Lanka threatened through a 119-run fifth-wicket stand, then lost their last five wickets for 15 runs.
It wasn’t all smooth. Naseem Shah was the most controlled bowler, but several others went for runs and the fielding was loose, according to Yahoo Sports. England, led by Harry Brook, will test that far harder.
Head to head
- ODIs played: 92
- England won: 57
- Pakistan won: 32
- No result: 3
- Last Pakistan win: June 3, 2019 (World Cup, by 14 runs)
- Last meeting: England won by 93 runs at the 2023 World Cup
The pitch
Rawalpindi is usually good for batting. The average first-innings ODI score here’s 246, and teams batting second have won 18 of the 32 ODIs played at the ground. Dew arrived during Sri Lanka’s chase on Sunday, which could make chasing easier again.
Possible line-ups
These are predicted line-ups from Yahoo Sports, not confirmed teams.
Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Salman Ali Agha, Hasan Nawaz, Saad Baig (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Arafat Minhas, Shaheen Shah Afridi (c), Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf.
England: Tom Banton, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook (c), Jordan Cox (wk), Will Jacks, Sam Curran, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Gus Atkinson, Josh Tongue.
What comes next
The series runs until October 31. After this match, Sri Lanka play England in Rawalpindi on October 22, then the action moves to Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore: Pakistan vs England on October 25, Pakistan vs Sri Lanka on October 27, Sri Lanka vs England on October 29, and the final between the top two on October 31.
With the 2027 World Cup on the horizon, a win over England would mean more than two points. We’ll have the result as soon as the match ends.
Sources
This story was researched and drafted with AI assistance, then checked and edited by our editor before publishing.
