Super 12 stage kicks off on Saturday with the 2nd match of day to be played between England and Afghanistan. The two teams come into the tournament with contrasting forms. England have won two back to back T20I series against Pakistan and Australia. Jos Buttler and his men have just played Australia and have dominated them. Afghanistan on the other hand began 2022 Asia Cup on a high before losing all their games in the Super 4 Stage.
Venue – Optus Stadium Perth, Western Australia
Time – 430 PM IST
Likely Pitch Conditions – England recently played their first T20I versus Australia and scored 208 on the board. They went onto win the game by 8 runs and it is safe to say that this is a high scoring ground. The team that wins the toss will look to bat first and make use of the true bounce and electric outfield at their disposal. Pace bowlers can get a lot of carry and there could be a bit of swing on offer during the 2nd half of the innings. The average score while batting first is 157 at the Optus stadium.
Likely England playing XI –
Jos Buttler (Captain and WK), Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood and David Willey
Likely Afghanistan playing XI –
H. Zazai, R. Gurbaz (WK), I, Zadran, D. Rasooli, N. Zadran, M. Nabi, A. Omarzai, R. Khan, U. Ghani, M. Rehman, F. Farooqi.
Head to Head record –
Matches Played -2
Games won by England – 2
This is the first match for both the teams against each other at Perth
Optus Stadium Perth T20I record –
Matches Played – 2
Matches won by England -1
Matches won after batting 1st -1
Matches won after batting 2nd – 1
Matches won after winning the toss -1
Matches won after losing the toss -1
Highest score by batter at Perth – Alex Hales – 84 vs Australia
Best bowling figures at Perth – Kane Richardson – 3/18 vs Pakistan
Highest team score -208/6 by England vs Australia
Approaching milestones –
·Ben Stokes needs 25 runs to complete 500 runs in T20I cricket
·Moeen Ali needs 13 runs to complete 1000 runs in T20I cricket
·Hazratullah Zazai needs 39 runs more to complete 1000 runs in T20I cricket
·Mujeeb Ur Rahman needs 5 more wickets to complete 50 wickets in T20I cricket