The penultimate match in the group stages of the 2023 Cricket World Cup will see the outgoing world champions England taking on qualification hopefuls Pakistan at Eden Gardens on Saturday.
England have had a World Cup to forget and will be taking their final bow in the competition at the end of this match, while Pakistan's chances of progress have been dealt a massive blow following New Zealand's victory over Sri Lanka earlier this week.
Match preview
© Reuters
The world champions have suffered one of their worst-ever World Cup campaigns in the 2023 CWC, and with just two wins in the competition to date, they will play no further part in the competition beyond this match.
England's only victories in this tournament came against Bangladesh over a month ago now, and while they overcame the Netherlands in their last match, they did experience yet another mini-collapse toward the back end of their innings.
The normally formidable batting lineup of the Three Lions failed to deliver with any consistency in the tournament, while the bowling lineup, now without the likes of Stuart Broad and James Anderson, have struggled to find anything even close to their best on the pitches here in India.
Still, while it will be difficult to fire themselves up for a dead rubber match in this competition, the English will still need to ensure that they maintain a better net run rate than the sides below them, or they could also give up automatic qualification for the ICC Champions Trophy if they finish lower than eighth place.
© Reuters
Meanwhile, Pakistan are still alive in the tournament, but after New Zealand easily dispatched Sri Lanka by five wickets, it is going to take a once-in-a-lifetime performance to see them reach the final four.
The task for the Men in Green to displace the Black Caps in fourth place will require them to win this match and lift their net run rate to over +0.743 from their current rate of +0.036.
What that equates to in simple terms is a victory by a margin of over 275 runs or to chase down the target they are set with around 284 deliveries to spare, which means they will need to wrap up the match in under three overs if they bat second.
Based on the numbers, the toss will be an incredibly important moment in this match, and Pakistan will almost certainly opt to bat first if given a chance in search of a huge total before they turn to their bowlers to dismiss the England team as quickly as possible.
Still, regardless of whether they bat or bowl first, the task at hand is a huge one for the Pakistanis, but if they can find a way to pull it off, they will set up a blockbuster semi-final against the odds-on favourites and their arch-enemies India.
Team News
Ben Stokes's return from ODI retirement will not have the fairytale ending he would have hoped for, but the Test captain will want to mark the occasion with another big innings to follow his sensational knock against the Netherlands last week.
This could be the last time that we see the likes of Moeen Ali (36), Adil Rashid (35) and Dawid Malan (36) in an ODI World Cup for the Three Lions, and they will all be hoping to leave their mark before departing the sub-continent.
If Pakistan are to have any chance of progressing here, they are going to rely heavily on the likes of Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam to give them a big start at the top of the innings as they did against New Zealand last week.
Shaheen Afridi, who has been disappointing with the ball in this competition, will have the opportunity to become a national hero if he can find his form here and dominate the English top order, but he will need the support of Hasan Ali and Iftikhar Ahmed at the other end.
England squad: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler(w/c), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Sam Curran, Brydon Carse, Harry Brook, Gus Atkinson
Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jr.
Series so far
England
Match One: England lost by 9 wickets
England - 282/9 (50)
New Zealand - 283/1 (36.2)
Match Two: England won by 137 runs
England - 364/9 (50)
Bangladesh - 227 (48.2)
Match Three: England lost by 69 runs
Afghanistan - 284 (49.5)
England - 215 (40.3)
Match Four: England lost by 229 runs
South Africa - 399/7 (50)
England - 170 (22)
Match Five: England lost by 8 wickets
England - 156 (33.2)
Sri Lanka - 160/2 (25.4)
Match Six: England lost by 100 runs
India - 229/9 (50)
England - 129 (34.5)
Match Seven: England lost by 33 runs
Australia - 286 (49.3)
England - 253 (48.1)
Match Eight: England won by 160 runs
England - 339/9 (50)
Netherlands - 179 (37.2)
Pakistan
Match One: Pakistan won by 81 runs
Pakistan - 286 (49)
Netherlands - 205 (41)
Match Two: Pakistan won by 6 wickets
Sri Lanka - 344/9 (50)
Pakistan - 345/4 (48.2)
Match Three: Pakistan lost by 7 wickets
Pakistan - 191 (42.5)
India - 192/3 (30.3)
Match Four: Pakistan lost by 62 runs
Australia - 367/9 (50)
Pakistan - 305 (45.3)
Match Five: Pakistan won by 8 wickets
Pakistan - 282/7 (50)
Afghanistan - 286/2 (49)
Match Six: Pakistan lost by 1 wicket
Pakistan - 270 (46.4)
South Africa - 271/9 (47.2)
Match Seven: Pakistan won by 7 wickets
Bangladesh - 204 (45.1)
Pakistan - 205/3 (32.3)
Match Eight: Pakistan won by 21 runs (DLS method)
New Zealand - 401/6 (50)
Pakistan - 200/1 (25.3)
We say: Pakistan to win
Much of this match will hinge on the coin toss and the first 10 to 15 overs. If England get off to a strong start, it will likely mean that Pakistan's hopes of a huge win will go out the window, and with it will go their likelihood of qualification. However, as long as there is still a chance, we can expect the Men in Green to fight for it, and we feel that regardless of whether they progress or not, they will come out with the victory in this one.
Devesh Jaganath
