ICC World Cup 2023 | ENG vs PAK: England lose wickets of Malan and Bairstow

Pakistan cricket team celebrating after a wicket (Pic: AFP)

After the dismissal of both the openers, Joe Root and Ben Stokes are trying to get their team back in the run tempo. Pakistan are slowly turning the tables in their favour. They are not letting the English batters score easy runs. England's run flow decreased after the fall of wickets.

Stokes smashed 108 runs in their previous match against the Netherlands.

Ahmed broke the opening partnership in the 13th over's third ball that was going a long way. Jonny Bairstow continued to bat sensibly and raised his bat as he completed his half-century in 52 deliveries. Joe Root walked in to shoulder Bairstow to guide England to a respectable total.

Jonny Bairstow's excellent stroke play earned him a fantastic half-century in Kolkata and with this, he achieved his 17th ODI fifty before getting caught in the hands of Salman Ali Agha.

Also Read: 'Keep learning new strokes rather than focusing on being complete batter': Kohli

Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow, both got off to a strong start to put Pakistan on the back foot in the first powerplay. Later, Iftikhar Ahmed made a first breakthrough by dismissing Malan for 31 runs.

Also Read: ICC World Cup 2023: Pakistan living on hope!

The toss falls in the favour of England as they make Pakistan field first. The 'Green Shirst' will look for an emphatic win against all odds versus England as they hunt for a semi-final spot in the ICC World Cup 2023.

Squad changes:

All-rounder Shadab Khan starts ahead of Hasan Ali as Pakistan looks to extend their batting line-up.

Squads:

Pakistan Squad:

Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim.

England Squad:

Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes.