 The second T20I between England and Pakistan will be played in Dubai on
Saturday. England had easily beaten Pakistan in the first match to go up 1-0,
and the 'hosts' will now look to equal the series or run the risk of losing their
11th successive game ever since they were beaten by Aussies.
First the good news for Pakistan. Shahid Afridi, who was banned by the ICC
for biting into the ball has served his period out, and will be coming back
into the side. However, one is not sure whether he will come in as a captain
because Shoaib Malik had been appointed as the captain for the entire
series.
Click Here to Watch Pakistan vs England Live The inclusion of Afridi has other benefits though. For one, he will fancy his
chances as a batsman, probably more than the top-order of Pakistan which
has been struggling to get a move on. With the kind of batting on offer from
Imran Nazir, Imran Farhat and Khalid Latif, Afridi would do much better. And
as a bowler, Afridi has already shown how well he complements Saeed Ajmal,
the leg-spinner off-spinner pair have raked up some really good overs to thwart
the opposition runs.
The Pakistanis need to bat someone more experienced at the top of the order,
where they are losing their way and disallowing the middle order a suitable
platform. Malik made a well compiled 33 yesterday, but by the time he was at
the crease, the deed had been done and the English bowlers had made suitable
inroads.
The Pakistani bowlers began well on the other hand. But it was clear that the
absence of both, Mohammad Asif - due to his ban in Dubai - and Mohammad
Aamer - due to an injury - put paid to their chances in the series. The English
side took advantage of the absence of Afridi as the fifth bowler, played Ajmal
out and went after the rest of the bowling, which was shorn of any experience.
The efforts of Eoin Morgan in recent times make him a batsman to watch.
He is not your average smacker of the ball, who hits one and misses every other
delivery, but a batsman who can find gaps and play according to the situation
of the game. Kevin Pietersen had been so out of form that he had asked
Duncan Fletcher to help him out, and it looks like the same has worked - KP
scored a well-compiled 43 in the first game to guide the side to a win.
However, it was the English bowlers who set up the win, and will look to continue
doing the same. The medium pace bowlers obtained some disconcerting bounce from
the wicket and was one of the reasons why the Pakistanis performed so miserably
with the bat. If they continue to bowl as well, a 2-0 looks on the cards!
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