The Rose bowl in Southampton is the venue for the final game in the ODI series
between England and Pakistan. The series has heated up after Pakistan's
38 run victory at Lords to level the series 2-2 and the off field comment of
the PCB chairman Ijaz Butt. Butt accused England of throwing the third game
away, which was played at the Oval. Pakistan won that game in tremendous fashion,
which helped them to reduce the deficit.
Click for Live Score Card of England Vs Pakistan Pakistan are in great form at the moment and England are suddenly staring
at a side that can compete toe to toe against them rather than a side that surrenders
meekly. The arrival of Abdur Razzaq into the side has totally changed the outlook
of Pakistan. He bowled well with the new ball along with Shoaib Akhtar
in the third game and then in the last game contributed with the bat, scoring
some vital runs that differentiated a good score and a par score. He replaced
the hapless Mohammed Irfan, who was well punished in the first two games.
Akhtar bowled in the last game as well along with the very dangerous looking
Umar Gul. Gul's form has taken a 180 degree turn after the first two games.
In those games, he looked like a man who was short on confidence and bowled
poorly. He has started looking very dangerous in the third and fourth ODIs picking
up ten wickets in total. Mohammed Hafeez played a solid knock that set up the
game nicely for Shahid Afridi and Abdur Razzaq to explode in the final
overs. They did just that with Razzaq, hammering 400 off the last 10 balls he
faced.
England are relying too much on their captain. Andrew Strauss played well
in this game as well and along with Steve Davies, scored 113 for the first wicket.
But the failure of the middle order in the second consecutive game is a worry
for them. Ian Bell played well, but slowed down the tempo of the England
innings. Eoin Morgan waged a lone battle in the end and got no support from
the lower order.
The form of Paul Collingwood is also a great concern for England. He
has not contributed in the series thus far and will feel the pressure once more
on Wednesday. Pakistan have momentum on their sides and their bowling has sharpened
as the series has gone on. Engalnd will have to be back to their best if they
want to stop this Pakistani side that means business at the moment.
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