Match Preview

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

ENGLAND LOOK FOR SEVENTH T20I WIN ON THE TROT

Having drawn first blood on Sunday, England aim to maintain their dominant run as they go for a series win against Pakistan in the second and final T20I at Cardiff on Tuesday.

Once again, as has been the case throughout this summer, the English bowling was bang on target as they restricted Pakistan to a mere 126 in 20 overs. There was not much swing on offer but the bowlers held back their lengths a little bit, using the extra bounce, adjusting wonderfully to the conditions. Swann continued to show why he is the numero uno off-spinner in the world and was well supported by Yardy as well. The batting did suffer some jitters and there will be some doubts over the form of the top order, which has been inconsistent right from the Test series.

The visitors went ahead with plenty of off-field pressure, looking to shrug it off, but there was no improvement from what transpired in the Test series, in spite of a new captain. The bowling looked sharp though, as Shoaib Akhtar led the attack from the front, giving the visitors a sniff, but they clearly missed Amir and Asif. The fielding ghosts emerged once again as catches were dropped and the English batsmen got a reprieve.

There are chances of light showers which could sweep across the ground but we might still get a full game. The hosts look well poised to clinch the series but if the Afridi-led side improve their basics, they might well spring in a surprise and get some momentum ahead of the ODI series.

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Saturday, September 04, 2010

Teams look to regain focus

After a long week of news for the wrong reasons, England and Pakistan get ready to battle once more, this time in a limited series format, consisting of 2 T20Is and 5 ODIs.

Shahid Afridi gets set to resume captaincy in his favourite format, after retiring from Tests earlier this year. Pakistan batting has been having lot of problems but in T20Is, it is a different ball game altogether and the young guns will be geared up for it. The bowling will surely miss Amir, but the return of Gul and Razzaq, along with the wily Ajmal will test the Brits. Fielding is one aspect they need to improve on and the players need to take all their catches.

England, too, have a different captain for the limited version in Paul Collingwood and will be pretty confident after their World title in the Caribbean, followed by a dominating Test series. The bowling looks well set and in form, especially in home conditions. The batting seems to be a bit of a problem and this is the final opportunity to sort it out before the Ashes. The home side has taken a big step in dropping Kevin Pietersen and the other batsmen would be looking to grab this opportunity to make a strong impression on the selectors.

It is bound to be an interesting tussle as England, who have been dominant in the last few months, take on an unpredictable Pakistan, who are masters in this format. The visitors, though, could be a bit low after what has been happening around them in the past one week.

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