England vs Pakistan 3rd ODI: Preview, likely XIs, predictions

Pakistan have pushed England hard in their tour so far, but that’s no longer enough. England have displayed the necessary quality for any champion side – the ability to grind out victories, having done precisely that in the T20I and the second ODI (the first was abandoned due to rain).

Pakistan need to quickly find their ability to do that, especially with the World Cup 2019 now just a couple of weeks away. Because irrespective of how well they have been playing on this tour, they are on a losing streak going back to the the 0-5 mauling at the hands of Australia in the UAE.

That said, they have things to work with. The fact that they lost just by 12 runs in Southampton, in a big chase of 374, is a positive. It showed that the side, despite concerns about their ability to score big and quick, were quite capable of doing that. More of the same is the only way to arrest this unwanted losing streak.

That’ll prove difficult against England’s plethora of attacking batsmen. And it comes down to how Pakistan’s bowlers can cope with them.

Head to head

England have won 50 of their 84 ODIs against Pakistan and lost 31. At home, however, England are, unsurprisingly, the superior side – they’ve won 27 of the 44 matches played against Pakistan.

However, there were two consecutive defeats against Pakistan in Cardiff in 2016 and 2017, the last two matches they played in England before the ongoing series. Don’t discount the visitors yet.

Key players

Jos Buttler (England): He has been an outstanding enforcer for England, with his unstoppable power-hitting. His strike rate is incredible, and Pakistan’s chances in the next match will rest on high early they can dismiss him.

Hasan Ali (Pakistan): Hasan has been prolific for Pakistan over the last few years, but has underwhelmed so far on tour – he returned 1/42 in the T20, and 1/81 in Southampton. The minute he finds his groove, England will be in trouble, and the hope for Pakistan is that he can do it in their next outing.

Likely XIs

England: James Vince, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (c), Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Joe Denly, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Chris Woakes, Liam Plunkett.

Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Sarfaraz Ahmed (c & wk), Asif Ali, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Amir.

Prediction

Pakistan to finally come good and get on the right side of a result.