Hosts England will be riding high on confidence as they take on Pakistan in their second match of the ICC World Cup 2019 at Trent Bridge, Nottinghamshire.
While England are roaring like a Lion, a lackluster Pakistan has to dig in deep to stand up against Eoin Morgan and his band of merry men. If history has a lesson, England must realize to never take the Pakistan side lightly.
Back in 1992, when Pakistan were on the verge of elimination after a horror start to their world cup campaign, the rain gods washed out a no-result game against England and gifted them a point.
This proved to be the one chance that Pakistan needed and they grabbed it with both their hands. The point was Pakistan’s passport to the knockout stage and they went on to reach the final that year locking horns with England once again at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
After an initial scare, skipper Imran Khan and Javed Miandad stitched together 139 runs that enabling Pakistan to set England a target of 250 runs. The bowling prowess spearheaded by Wasim Akram had the English collapse at 227 all out. England were 22 runs short thus crowning Pakistan as winners of the 1992 Cricket World Cup.
England and Pakistan have faced each other nine times in World Cup cricket where England won on 4 occasions and Pakistan have finished on the winning side 4 times. While there have been no draws, the rain interrupted opening game of their 1992 campaign ended with no result.
Pakistan have a maiden world cup win to their credit and England surprisingly are one of the most unfortunate sides in the game as they had to console their second place finish on three occasions. In 1979 when they were hosts, West Indies beat them by 92 runs.
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In 1987, when the World Cup was jointly hosted by India and Pakistan, Australia beat the English by 7 runs to win their first World Cup. England were left to ponder on what went wrong as Pakistan finished champions in 1992, in Australia.
At the 2019 Cricket World Cup, England dominated the proceedings in their opening league match against South Africa, at the Oval in London on May 30 with a 104 runs victory. The Proteas had won the toss and elected to field inviting the hosts to take the crease. England put up 311 for the loss of 8 wickets.
While Jason Roy set the mood for the English, scoring 54 from 53 balls, Joe Root with 51, Captain Eoin Morgan with 57 and Ben stokes top of the Batsmen with a smashing 79 ball 89 that was brilliantly punctuated with 9 fours.
With the ball Jofra Archer picked up 3 wickets from his 7 overs and impressed the home fans with an economy rate of 3.85 runs per over. Liam Plunkett and Ben Stokes pitched in with 2 wickets each. The visitors were bundled out 207 runs in 39.5 overs.
Pakistan had a nightmare start to their campaign for a dismal 105 on Friday May 31, as West Indies demolition squad pocketed full points. Having won the toss and elected to field, West Indies made full use of the overcast conditions by bundling out the Pakistan side for 105 runs in 21.4 overs.
Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman top scored for the men in green with 22 runs while Oshane Thomas-led pace attack with a haul of 4 wickets for 27 runs. Jason Holder with 3 scalps and Andre Russell with 2 were the pick of the Caribbean side.
What to Expect from England Vs Pakistan Encounter:
Sarfaraz Ahmed-led Pakistan have already seen what the pitch has to offer at Trent Bridge. Their batting was found wanting against the short pitch bowling attack and this fact can be exploited by the duo of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood. Pakistan have lost their last 11 ODIs, including a recent 4-0 series defeat during their tour of England.
The English look good with the bat as they would be eager to return to their batting paradise Trent Bridge, where they have twice registered the highest One-Day International total. With Captain Eoin Morgan , Joe Root, and Ben stokes in good form with the willow, the home advantage will add fuel to their firepower.
The weatherman is expecting a cloudy but dry day in Nottingham so expecting some swing early on seems the general prediction. The pitch at Trent Bridge is said to be amongst the most run-laden in the world cricket right now. A high scoring match is up on the cards but the question is which one of these teams’ fires with the bat.
Monday, June 3, 2019- England Vs Pakistan