England and Pakistan are ready to face off in the second One-Day International (ODI) in the five-match series in Southampton on Saturday. First game of the series was washed out therefore, the series is now effectively a four-game contest and teams will be eyeing a positive result. The Rose Bowl in Southampton will be used as the venue for the contest, which will hosting its 23rd ODI on Saturday. Highest team score of 359-3 at the ground in a 50-over contest was registered by New Zealand in the match against England in 2013, whereas lowest team score of 65 was registered by United States in the match against Australia during the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy in 2004. Highest individual score of 189 not out at the venue was registered by Black Caps' veteran opener Martin Guptill whereas best bowling figures of 5-29 was registered by West Indies' fast-bowler Merwyn Dillon.
In the batting department, the home side will be relying on the likes of captain Eoin Morgan, veteran right-hander Joe Root, opener Jonny Bairstow and wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler to score bulk of the runs, whereas on the bowling front, the onus will be once again on pacers Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes and Liam Plunkett to provide timely breakthroughs. There are no changes expected in the playing eleven as Jason Roy has not recovered completely from the back spasm, which means there will be at least another opportunity for James Vince to shine
England and Pakistan are ready to face off in the second One-Day International (ODI) in the five-match series in Southampton on Saturday. First game of the series was washed out therefore, the series is now effectively a four-game contest and teams will be eyeing a positive result. The Rose Bowl in Southampton will be used as the venue for the contest, which will hosting its 23rd ODI on Saturday. Highest team score of 359-3 at the ground in a 50-over contest was registered by New Zealand in the match against England in 2013, whereas lowest team score of 65 was registered by United States in the match against Australia during the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy in 2004. Highest individual score of 189 not out at the venue was registered by Black Caps' veteran opener Martin Guptill whereas best bowling figures of 5-29 was registered by West Indies' fast-bowler Merwyn Dillon.
In the batting department, the home side will be relying on the likes of captain Eoin Morgan, veteran right-hander Joe Root, opener Jonny Bairstow and wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler to score bulk of the runs, whereas on the bowling front, the onus will be once again on pacers Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes and Liam Plunkett to provide timely breakthroughs. There are no changes expected in the playing eleven as Jason Roy has not recovered completely from the back spasm, which means there will be at least another opportunity for James Vince to shine at the top of the order.
On the other hand, visitors will be relying on the likes of young Babar Azam, opener Imam Ul Haq, Fakhar Zaman and left-hander Haris Sohail to score bulk of the runs, whereas on the bowling front, the onus will be on the pace trio of Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali and Shaheen Shah Afridi to provide timely breakthroughs. Veteran all-rounder Shoaib Malik have rejoined the squad after a 10-day break but his participation in the second ODI will be depending on his late fitness test, which will be conducted before the match.
Player Recommendations:
Batsman: Babar Azam
First in the list of key players features Pakistan's Babar Azam. The right-hander is one of the best batsman in white-ball cricket and has represented the Men in Green in 60 ODIs, where he has scored 2,478 runs at an impressive average of 50.57, which included eight centuries and 10 fifties.
Wicketkeeper: Jos Buttler
Second in the list of key players features England's Jos Buttler. The wicketkeeper-batsman is one of the best in his role in white-ball cricket and has represented his national team in 128 ODIs, where he has scored 3,387 at an average of 40.80 and with a strike-rate of 118.34, which included seven centuries and 18 fifties.
All-rounder: Ben Stokes
Third in the list of key players features England's Ben Stokes. The 27-year-old is being rated as one of the very best in all formats of the game. Stokes has represented England in 80 ODIs, where he has scored 2,088 runs at an average of 36.63 and also has 63 wickets to his name.
Bowler: Jofra Archer
Last in the list of key players features England's Jofra Archer. The right-arm pacer is highly-rate in the cricketing circles and showed his true colours in the first ODI where he was easily the best bowler on show.
Predicted Playing XI:
England: James Vince, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (captain), Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Ben Stokes, Joe Denly, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Chris Woakes, Liam Plunkett.
Pakistan: Imam Ul Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Sarfaraz Ahmed (captain, wicketkeeper), Asif Ali, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Amir
