Clashing Teams- Pakistan and England

Date-1st December (Thursday)

Time- 10:00 A.M (IST)

Venue-Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi   

Live Telecast- Sony Sports Network and Sony LIV App

Pakistan

After consolidating for runners-up spot in the T20 World Cup final, Pakistan will kick-off the home cricket season with a historic three-match Test series against England kicking-off on Thursday. Babar Azam & Co. will carry ample confidence heading into the inaugural game, as the side is loaded with a settled batting unit which is complemented with the presence of a rugged bowling attack. Pakistan is yet to lose a game in Rawalpindi and England will be a tough nut to crack.

Pakistan will look to start with a win, as Men In Green are trailing in the World Test Championship’s leaderboard with just 51.85 winning percentage. The home side will be hoping to get a good start in the opening game, and Abdullah Shafique along Imam-Ul-Haq will dare the new ball’s challenge. Mohammad Wasim and Naseem Shah will lead the bowling attack and should look to knock-out English batters with early swing and seam.

England

Backing a terrific summer under their belt, England will walk into Rawalpindi Test with six Test wins in the last seven red-ball games. The duo of Ben Stokes-Brendon McCulum have revamped the Brits game-play, and now it's either win or loss in every red-ball game. England have named a strong team for the Test series, and T20 star Liam Livingstone is expected to make his debut in Thursday’s game. England have an edge against Pakistan

England will be playing a Test match in Pakistan after almost 17 years gap, and Pakistan will be a formidable opponent to beat in its backyard. England have not gained success in away games, and Stokes will be eager to get rid of this miserable run. Brits openers Zak Crawley and Keaton Jennings shall score some handy runs against fiery Pakistan pacers. The middle order will be flooded with known red ball faces with Ollie Pope, Joe Root and Ben Foakes at their ranks. Veteran speedster James Anderson will lead the bowling attack alongside James Overton.   

Topbets Prediction

England comes here with a poor away from home stats and will be under pressure. Their top order looks unsettled and will face a big challenge from ace Pakistani pacers. They need to negotiate the spin attack to challenge the hosts. Pakistan’s deep batting line-up combined with home advantage will prove a game changer. They have three spinners in the side, and it will put them ahead of England during 5-days gameplay.

Market Odds (As on 08:10 P.M)

Top Batter For Pakistan- Babar Azam- Babar has composed a total of 3122 runs while having played as many as 42 Test matches at an impressive average of over 47.

Top Batter For England- Joe Root- Root smashed a fabulous match-winning century against India in the fifth and final Test match. The right-handed batsman has notched up a brilliant total of more than 10,000 Test runs at an average of 50.02.

Probable Playing XI For The Match

Pakistan- Babar Azam (c), Muhammad Rizwan (wk), Abdullah Shafiq, Imam-ul-Haq, Azhar Ali, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed

England-  Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Ben Foakes (wk), Liam Livingstone, Jack Leach, Ollie Robinson, James Anderson