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England and Pakistan suffered their second washout of this four-match series in Cardiff on Tuesday, leaving just one game remaining here at the Kia Oval with England searching for the victory required to seal a 2-0 series win.
DATE/TIME: Thursday 30th May 2024, UK – 18:30 / PAKISTAN – 22:30 / INDIA – 23:00 / US EST – 13:30 / US PST – 11:30
VENUE: The Kia Oval, London, England
WEATHER: Possible rain showers come the start of play but they should clear early enough to ensure a completed game with temperatures remaining at around 16c
HOW TO WATCH ON TV: UNITED KINGDOM – Sky Sports / PAKISTAN – Ten Sports / INDIA – Sony Sports / UNITED STATES – Willow TV / AUSTRALIA – Fox Sports
HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: UNITED KINGDOM – Sky Go / PAKISTAN – Tapmad
ENGLAND FORM: WOOD EXPECTED TO PLAY FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS SUMMER AS ENGLAND AIM FOR SERIES TRIUMPH
England lead the series after having won the only match currently played between themselves and Pakistan, defeating the tourists by 23 runs at Edgbaston last weekend in what has turned out to be their penultimate fixture ahead of their ICC T20 World Cup campaign which begins next week.
LAST FIVE: AWALW
PAKISTAN FORM: FOLLOWING DEFEAT ON SATURDAY, TOURISTS NEED BACK-TO-BACK WINS TO CLINCH SERIES
Pakistan were denied the opportunity to level the series in Cardiff and are unable now to win it with just one game remaining, but motivation remains high for them as like England, entering the ICC T20 World Cup on the back of a win would be important from a momentum point of view.
LAST FIVE: ALAWW
ENGLAND BETTING ANALYSIS
Jofra Archer was likely to be rested in the third T20i, but may feature here as England give him as much match practice as possible without burning him out. Fellow fast bowler Mark Wood will definitely play and both offer a substantial wicket-taking option with their respective high levels of pace. With that in mind, consider stakes in both bowlers to take over 1.5 match wickets.
It remains to be seen if captain Jos Buttler will link back up with the squad after leaving prior to the third T20i for the birth of his third child. Therefore, avoid investment in Buttler until England’s starting line-up is revealed. But after scoring just 13 in the second T20i, fellow opener Phil Salt will be desperate to get more time at the crease and prove his worth. Salt may be the play worth making here, specifically to score 30+ runs via the ‘Batter Milestones’ market.
At the Kia Oval, the leg-spin of Adil Rashid may prove profitable as Pakistan’s batters look to attack at every opportunity and potentially eye up Rashid as a bowler that they capable of taking down. Whilst he may go for a high volume of runs, Rashid is still potentially worth backing to take 1+ wicket.
PAKISTAN BETTING ANALYSIS
As we mentioned in our preview for the third T20i, Haris Rauf bowled with extreme pace over the course of the second T20i and gained two wickets. Rauf will want to put together a collective run of good form as he continues to show his worth to Pakistan going into the ICC T20 World Cup. Therefore, explore investing in Rauf to take 2+ wickets.
Wicket-keeper and opener Mohammad Rizwan failed in Birmingham, dismissed for 0 from just three deliveries. But a player of Rizwan’s class isn’t going to let that affect him and it would be no surprise to see him come back strongly at the Kia Oval. He may look to build a long innings and backing him to record over 25.5 match runs warrants consideration.
Another player we touched upon in our most recent preview was Fakhar Zaman after the left-handed hitter struck 45 from 21 balls including eight boundaries (five 4s and three 6s). Although Fakhar is not batting at the top of the order, he has successfully maintained his highly aggressive style of play and being a left-armer offers a point of difference in Pakistan’s top order, so explore investing in Fakhar to score over 0.5 match sixes.
ENGLAND VS PAKISTAN EXPERT PREDICTION
Once again, a match involving these two nations could well find itself disrupted by bad weather, making the toss extremely important in regards to the overall outcome. However, a number of individual players are capable of putting in a match-winning performance and the smart play would be to look at the openers, who get to bat with the opposition field inside the circle.
This brings us back to Phil Salt, who showed promising signs before his dismissal in the second T20i. He had struck two boundaries for his 13 and is looking to show why he is the long-term answer opening the batting for England as Jos Buttler’s partner. Salt is expected to go hard at Pakistan during the powerplay and it looks a shrewd move backing him to record a healthy individual score.
ENGLAND VS PAKISTAN TIP: PHIL SALT TO SCORE OVER 25.5 MATCH RUNS