England will take on Pakistan in what is a must-win game for the visitors after not being up to the mark in the second T20I, which was the first completed game of the series at Edgbaston. England are 1-0 ahead with a couple of games to go and with no Jos Buttler, the regular captain for the hosts, Pakistan have a golden chance to make it count in Cardiff on Tuesday, May 28 and level the series.
Pakistan's biggest problem has been the execution of the aggressive and fearless brand of cricket which the team has talked about in the last few months, except Fakhar Zaman. Apart from the left-hander, who seems to be batting out of position, no other batter is able to take on the bowling as confidently and as consistently to put pressure on the opposition. The result was a half-hearted chase, like it panned out on Saturday and still they reached 160. Less hesitance and more belief in the approach would do a lot of good to Pakistan as they have a rather solid line-up with the return of two senior pros.
With Buttler, one of England's mainstays and Player of the Match in the Edgbaston encounter, not there, Pakistan would want to put pressure on the young English batting line-up and stay alive in the series, taking it to the decider at the Oval, a couple of days later. Despite conceding 183 runs, Pakistan's bowling has enough resources and quality in the tank to look after itself.
My Dream team for ENG vs PAK 3rd T20I
Fakhar Zaman, Phil Salt, Will Jacks (vc), Mohammad Rizwan, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi (c), Jofra Archer, Haris Rauf
Squads
England: Phil Salt (wk), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali (c), Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley, Mark Wood, Ben Duckett, Liam Livingstone, Tom Hartley
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam(c), Fakhar Zaman, Azam Khan(w), Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Amir, Naseem Shah, Shadab Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Abbas Afridi, Irfan Khan, Usman Khan, Agha Salman
