Pallekele [Sri Lanka], February 24 : Pakistan are bating first after winning the toss in their second Super Eight fixture against England being played at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Sri Lanka on Tuesday.
After winning the toss, Pakistan skipper Salman Agha said, "We're going to bat first. It looks like a good pitch and we want to put up an above-par score and then try to defend it. It's our first game of the tournament here in Pallekele, but we've been playing most of our cricket in Colombo."
Pakistan made one change in their playing XI as Shaheen Shah Afridi came in the place of Faheem Ashraf.
Speaking about the team combination, Agha said, "From the rained-off game, Faheem misses out and Shaheen comes back into the side. We have a strong spin attack, but our fast bowling is just as good. Depending on the situation, I can go either way. This being my first ICC tournament as captain, it's obviously a responsibility, but I'm enjoying it and really looking forward to the challenge."
England have made no change in their playing XI. After the toss, England captain Harry Brook said, "We would have batted as well. It's a fresh pitch compared to what we played on a couple of days ago, so hopefully it's a bit better and gives us a good chance to chase later on. We're going in with the same team and there's a lot of confidence in the group."
Pakistan's opener batter Sahibzada Farhan is the leading run-scorer in this tournament with 220 runs in four matches. Spinner Usman Tariq has taken eight wickets for his side in just three innings and the onus will be on these two as Pakistan look to seal their first victory in Super Eights.
Pakistan are coming to this match after their first Super Eight match against New Zealand. Both teams shared one point each.
No England batter is present in the top-15 run-scorers of the tournament, but they have managed to win their first fixture of Super Eight against Sri Lanka with the help of their spinners.
Will Jacks have been spectacular for England so far, winning three Player of the Match awards in the tournament. He will play a vital role if England eye their second win in Super Eights.
England (Playing XI): Philip Salt, Jos Buttler (w), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Harry Brook (c), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid.
Pakistan (Playing XI): Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha (c), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Usman Khan (w), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Salman Mirza, Usman Tariq.