England defeated Pakistan by 23 runs in the second T20I at Edgbaston Stadium, Birmingham. Following the match, Shoaib Malik, shared his insights on the team’s batting order for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024.
Malik, a veteran of 446 international matches, proposed a revised batting order for the World Cup. He omitted Saim Ayub from the lineup.
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Following Pakistan’s defeat in the second T20I against England, Malik said that batsmen like Azam Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed need more time and over to be truly effective.
“This is not PSL this is international cricket that too, just before T20 World Cup,” Malik posted on X (formerly Twitter). “IMO, the batting order should be…Fakhar, Rizwan, Babar, Azam, Iftkar, Imad, Shadab.”
“Captain needs to utilise the options on bench wisely,” he added. “Moving forward, the captain should give time & enough overs to Azam & Iftikhar to settle first, expecting them to score 12-14 rightaway is unfair. All the best for remaining matches!!!”
– This is not PSL this is international cricket that too, just before T20 World Cup. IMO, the batting order should be…
Fakhar
Rizwan
Babar
Azam
Iftkar
Imad
Shadab
Captain needs to utilise the options on bench wisely. Moving forward, the captain should give time & enough…
Despite Fakhar Zaman’s explosive 45-run innings off 21 balls and Azam’s contribution of 32 runs off 26 balls, Pakistan fell short in their chase, being bowled out for 160 while chasing a target of 184.
Notable performances down the order from Iftikhar Ahmed (23 off 17) and Imad Wasim (22 off 13) weren’t sufficient to secure a win for Pakistan. England’s Reece Topley took three wickets, supported by Moeen Ali and Jofra Archer with two each, which contributed to England’s eighth win in their last 11 T20Is against Pakistan.
READ MORE: Pakistan squad for the T20 World Cup 2024
In the match, England’s Jos Buttler’s impressive 84 runs off 51 balls, along with a partnership with Will Jacks (37 off 23), got England to a competitive total of 183/7. Despite Pakistan’s early breakthroughs, contributions from Jacks and Jonny Bairstow (21 runs), ensured a defendable score.
Shaheen Afridi led Pakistan’s bowling attack with three wickets. While Imad Wasim and Haris Rauf got two wickets each, while Shadab Khan and Mohammad Amir remained wicketless.
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Divy Dubey is a content producer for The Sporting News’ India edition.
