World Cup 2023: England vs Pakistan, Game 44 – Dafanews Match Preview

England will take on Pakistan in the 44th match of the ongoing World Cup 2023 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Saturday. The defending champions haven’t played at their best throughout the tournament but would want to end their campaign on a high and qualify for the Champions Trophy.

Pakistan, on the other hand, has almost an impossible task ahead of them to qualify for the semifinal. We look at the current form, head-to-head, players to look out for, and squads of both teams in our match preview.

Current form for Pakistan: W W L L L

Pakistan has done a fine job to win their last two matches against New Zealand and Bangladesh but they need to either win by more than 287 runs or with 284 balls to spare against Three Lions to qualify for the last four.

Current form for England: W L L L L

England was able to get the much-needed win against the Netherlands in their previous game. Ben Stokes scored a fine century as he added 108 runs whereas the bowlers also did a good job as they skittled out the Dutch at 179.

Head to Head: Matches: 91, Won by England: 51, Won by Pakistan: 32, NR: 3.

England clearly holds the big advantage against Pakistan in H2H.

Players to look out for: Babar Azam, Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Haris Rauf will be the crucial players for Pakistan.

Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes, and Adil Rashid will hold the key.

England squad: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Brydon Carse, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes.

Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim.