Pakistan take on the USA in the T20 World Cup tomorrow. Read our in-depth preview here…
Pakistan overcame one tricky fixture at the weekend but walk straight into another in Colombo when they take on the United States tomorrow.
The USA caused one of the biggest shocks in T20 World Cup history two years ago when they beat Pakistan in a Super Over, and they weren’t far from eclipsing that on Saturday only to be denied by India captain Suryakumar Yadav in Mumbai.
Yadav smashed a brilliant 84 not out while those around him failed before Mohammed Siraj did the damage with the ball for the tournament co-hosts.
The United States left with an enormous amount of credit and Pakistan paceman Salman Mirza says no-one should be surprised by the performances of the Associate Members any more.
“That’s the beauty of cricket; close games are great to watch,” he said. “The main objective is to win the match. We won the game against the Netherlands and will try to win the upcoming games as well.
“T20 cricket is a format where I believe there is very little difference between two teams. One good innings or one good spell can make the difference, and the way matches have gone so far proves that.”
Tomorrow’s game at the Sinhalese Sports Club is the first day/night T20I staged at the venue, adding another layer of intrigue.
“Once we get to the ground and assess the conditions, only then can we plan properly. As the game progresses, we’ll keep tweaking our approach accordingly,” Mirza added.
“In night games, fast bowlers usually get a bit of assistance. We’ll see tomorrow what the conditions are like and whether there is any dew.”
Pakistan’s win against the Netherlands was inspired by Faheem Ashraf’s lower-order heroics in an opening encounter that was too close for comfort for their legions of fans.
Assuming they do boycott the game with India – talks between the cricket boards of Pakistan, India and Bangladesh are ongoing – then there is again no room for error for Salman Agha’s team. A defeat here and qualification for the next stage would be very difficult.
Team News for Pakistan v USA
Babar Azam went into the game with the Netherlands under pressure but his 18-ball 15 did little to silence the critics of the former Pakistan captain. Nevertheless, he will be given another chance to impress.
The US are likely to be without bowler Ali Khan due to injury.
Predicted line-ups for Pakistan v USA
Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha (c), Babar Azam, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Salman Mirza, Abrar Ahmed
USA: Andries Gous (wk), Saiteja Mukkamalla, Monank Patel (c), Milind Kumar, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Shubham Ranjane, Harmeet Singh, Mohammad Mohsin, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Jasdeep Singh, Saurabh Netravalkar
How to watch Pakistan v USA
The T20 World Cup will be shown exclusively live in the UK on Sky Sports. You can stream it on the Sky Go app.
For coverage elsewhere in the world, click HERE for details of your local rights holder.
Prediction
Pakistan really need their most experienced players to come to the fore. Babar and paceman Shaheen Shah Afridi have been off-colour for some time and their input is required if Pakistan are to go deep in the competition.
Before entertaining any thoughts of the Super Eights, Pakistan have to navigate another nasty test against a USA team with nothing to lose and everything to gain.
A repeat of 2024 looks a stretch but this could be another topsy-turvy encounter that could go all the way.
We fancy Pakistan to edge it because they have more matchwinners in their line-up. It is unlikely to be easy, though.