Preview: Confident Pakistan lock horns against England in 1st ODI

 

Azhar Ali will hope to replicate his Test form in ODIs

 

 

 

Having held England to a 2-2 stalemate in the recently held Test series, Pakistan will be oozing with confidence as they head into the first One-Day International (ODI) at the Rose Bowl stadium in Southampton here today.

Pakistan will surely look forward to carrying on the good work but this time there won’t be Misbah-ul-Haq to lead from the front. It will be a test for youngster Azhar Ali to captain the side against the Englishmen who have in the recent years been a force in the ODIs.

It will once again be a Test of Pakistan’s bowling versus the England batting as on paper the former does look weak with the willow. They also do not have the option of falling back on veterans like Misbah and Younis Khan who were instrumental in the Test series draw.Speaking of the England batting, they boast of firepower right from the start with Jason Roy and Alex Hales, who would look to get back into some kind of form after a low-key Test series.

It will be quite a fascinating contest with the quadrant of Yasir Shah, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz and Imad Wasim locking horns against the likes of Roy and Hales—both well known for their hard hitting. And even if they get rid of one of them early, they will have to deal with the likes of Joe Root who recently smashed a 254 against Pakistan in the Test series.

The pitch at the Rose Bowl is likely to be a flat one with lots of runs for the taking. One would also have to wait and see if Pakistan play Umar Gul – the veteran fast bowler who can be handy with his change of pace on such a wicket.England bat deep and Pakistan will know it, therefore the inclusion of Gul won’t be a surprise for many. Left-arm seamer David Willey has made it to the England squad for the ODI series but might not feature for the home side today as he is supposedly carrying an injury.

Teams:

England (From): Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan(captain), Jos Buttler(wicket-keeper), Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett, Mark Wood, Ben Stokes, Chris Jordan, Liam Dawson

Pakistan (From): Azhar Ali(captain), Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Sarfraz Ahmed(wicket-keeper), Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Nawaz, Imad Wasim, Hasan Ali, Umar Gul, Mohammad Amir, Yasir Shah, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Sami Aslam