England v Pakistan (Eng v Pak), 2nd T20I at Cardiff, Preview, Score, Streaming, Videos, Highlights

The second T20I between England and Pakistan will be played on the same ground as the first, Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on Tuesday, September 7.

The game will begin at 1430 hours GMT (8.00 pm IST) and you can watch the second England-Pakistan T20I live on Star Cricket if you are in India. You can also watch the second England-Pakistan T20I live on Sky Sports if you are in UK. You can also watch the highlights of the second England-Pakistan T20I on Star Cricket.

England’s issues with the lack of batsmen almost came to haunt them in the first T20I and that was despite chasing a moderate 127 for a win. Going into the series with only three frontline batsmen, a wicket-keeper who could bat, another wicket-keeper making a debut and a bits and pieces all-rounder was always going to become difficult, and in the first T20I it did prove to be a big hurdle. Fortunately, Michael Yardy batted sensibly to support Eoin Morgan and saw the side through.

However, there were more eyes on Pakistan than anything. One skeleton after another has come out of the closet in the recent times, and despite captain Shahid Afridi’s assertions that they were focussing on cricket only, it was evident that they were reeling from the effects of the suspension of the three players – Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir and Salman Butt. With the news running rife that a fourth, Kamran Akmal, may also be under investigation, it has only become stiffer.

England may lead the series 1-0, with Pakistan lying in doldrums currently. However, they will know well the ability of the Pakistani team to bounce off the rut. Especially given the manner in which they bowled in the defence of their 126 in the first T20I.

Live Scorecard and Commentary, England v Pakistan 2^nd T20I, Cardiff

Track Tale:

For a track that did not have too much for the bowlers, it was a surprise to see the sides struggle to touch 130. To be fair, Pakistan did seem weighed down by the issues of last week, whereas England had an atrocious start against the bowling of Shoaib Akhtar – whose pace did cause some issues. But one gets the sense that this is a track where 140 should be chased, and that does mean that the team batting first needs to get there in the first place.

Team News:

What’s happened so far:

There isn’t much that England can do with their squad, given that they have gone into the T20Is with only 12 players in their squad. This means the only change, if they did need one was to get in James Anderson, but for some reason, they have been averse to that – especially in this format. It could well be to rest him for the rest of the season, but then, it was a surprise that he was even in the squad.

If Anderson does play, it could be at the expense of Ryan Sidebottom who conceded 32 in his four overs in a game where the opposition reached only 126 off 20.

What was surprising to see was Steven Davies’ push to the top of the innings, something that he has done for Surrey, but on his debut for England, looked to be a tough task. That said, he did a good job of it, and the pair of Craig Kieswetter and Davies could well become the first ever wicket-keepers to open an innings in this format of the game.

Pakistan had gone in with a very much expected line-up, but one got the sense that they were a batsman short. That was probably one of the reasons that they could not get out of their shelves and scored only 126. What the captain, Shahid Afridi will know is that apart from Fawad Alam – who can bowl – they had six regular bowlers, which is something of a luxury in this format of the game.

With Abdul Razzaq’s batting form, a bit of a suspect, it could well worth be the gamble to get in somebody like Azhar Ali or Mohammad Hafeez into the top-order. With Hafeez, the Pakistanis can get that other part-time bowling option as well.

Pakistan-England T20, Cardiff Live:

You can watch the live streaming of the second T20I between England and Pakistan on September 7, 2010 at Cardiff on the official Star Cricket website.

You can also watch the second T20I between England and Pakistan on September 7, 2010 at Cardiff on Ten Sports.

You can follow the second T20I between England and Pakistan on September 7, 2010 at Cardiff here.

Related posts:

1. England v Pakistan (Eng v Pak), 1st T20I at Cardiff, Preview, Score, Streaming, Videos, Highlights
2. England v Australia (Eng v Aus) 2nd ODI, Cardiff, Preview, Score, Streaming, Videos, Highlights
3. India v Zimbabwe (Ind v Zim) 1st T20I, Harare Preview, Live Streaming, Videos, Highlights
4. England v Pakistan (Eng v Pak) 2nd Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham, Preview, Score, Streaming, Videos, Highlights
5. England v Pakistan (Eng v Pak) 3rd Test at The Oval, Preview, Score, Streaming, Videos, Highlights

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Posted by Sam on Sep 6 2010. Filed under Match Highlights. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry