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Match Preview – CAN vs PAK Match 22, Group A, T20 World Cup

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Match details

Canada vs Pakistan
New York, 10:30 a.m. local time

The bigger picture: Will the 2022 finalists survive?

The nature of the T20 World Cup 2024 schedule means that forgetting must be shelved, at least temporarily. Pakistan may have time to process the sorrow of their defeat to India, a defeat that will leave scars long after the tournament has faded into a distant, unpleasant memory. But they don’t have that time now. Less than 48 hours after their failed chase, Babar Azam’s team must stagger off the canvas and stand upright once again with Canada calling.

Pakistan always knew they would be playing two matches in three days but during their chase on Sunday, it looked more like a blessing than a curse. A win over India would have given Pakistan the momentum they needed to erase the damage of their opening loss to the United States. But Babar will lead a demoralised team into the match against Canada and will only ensure Pakistan survive a few more days.

Canada, meanwhile, finds itself in a somewhat unusual position, overlooking better opposition further down the table. Saad Bin Zafar’s side would have come into the match with two wins from two games had it not been for Aaron Jones’s onslaught in the tournament’s opening game. Canada then showed impressive composure, bouncing back from a painful defeat to beat Ireland with a thumping performance.

Canada showed in the first game that they have a solid batting line-up capable of scoring big runs, but in the second game they showed the quality of their bowlers by effectively limiting Ireland to 137 runs. That, combined with some great fielding, shows this team has both the hunger and the ability to give most teams in Group A a hard time, and with a Pakistan batting line-up still licking their wounds, there could never be a better opportunity to bring them back to the canvas one last time.

Form Guide

Pakistan: LLLLW (Last 5 completed matches, most recent first)
Canada: Wow

Notable people: RizBar and Nicholas Carton

It will be interesting to see how Babar and Mohammed Rizwan approach their innings. After being criticised for playing a moderate pace to target low scores against India, both players are expected to go all out against Canada, regardless of whether Pakistan bats first or second. This could lead to Rizba’s trademark partnership that heats up the strokeplay. At the same time, it could give Canada an opportunity to pick up an early wicket or two and stave off a confidence-dwindling middle order.

Canada will be thankful that 26-year-old Barbados-born Nicholas Kirton wasn’t picked by the West Indies, because here he showed the character and ability to perform on the big stage. He came into the tournament with 52 off 39 balls in a warm-up game against Nepal, before scoring 51 and 49 off a combined 66 balls against the USA and Ireland. The left-hander is difficult to bowl to, with grace and flair in his shot-making and the ability to use his wrists to clear as much ground as possible. If Kirton can pull off another such innings on a New York pitch where no one is sure, he will be a real problem for Pakistan.

Team news: Will Pakistan turn to Ayub?

With no new injury concerns, Pakistan have limited options for reshuffling their current 15-man squad. Saim Ayub could return to the team, but this could mean either Usman Khan or Shadab being left out.

Pakistan (Prediction): 1 Mohammed Rizwan (wk), 2 Saim Ayub, 3 Babar Azam (captain), 4 Fakhar Zaman, 5 Shadab Khan/Usman Khan, 6 Iftikhar Ahmed, 7 Imad Wasim, 8 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 9 Naseem Shah, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Mohammed Amir

Canada is likely to enter the match with an unchanged roster following their win over Ireland.

Canada (Predictions): 1 Aaron Johnson, 2 Navneet Dhaliwal, 3 Pargat Singh, 4 Dilpreet Bajwa, 5 Nicholas Carton, 6 Shreyas Mova (weekend), 7 Dillon Heyliger, 8 Saad Bin Zafar (captain), 9 Kareem Sana, 10 Junaid Siddiqui, 11 Jeremy Gordon

Pitch and conditions: Expect a fresh surface

Rain delayed the start of India’s match against Pakistan in New York but no weather interruptions are expected on Tuesday. A new pitch will be used for Canada’s match against Pakistan.

Stats and trivia: Pakistan expect more from their batsmen

  • Babar’s dry run for the T20 World Cup has been on since the start of the tournament in 2022. During that time, he has averaged 20.11 and scored 181 runs in nine innings at a strike-rate of 97.31.
  • The only time Pakistan lost their first two matches in a T20 World Cup was in 2022. They have never lost their first three matches.
  • Only three players have scored more than Kilton’s hundred in this T20 World Cup, with Babar being Pakistan’s highest run-scorer by a wide margin with 57 runs.

Quote

“We have no room for complacency. Whoever gets complacent after two defeats does not deserve to play for the country. No team can be taken lightly in T20 cricket. We have to be fully prepared. The team’s morale is low but now is the time to show our mettle. We will play good cricket.”
Azhar Mahmud He doesn’t think Pakistani players will let their guard down against Canada.

“They are [Pakistan] “They are very skilled players. Most of them have travelled all over the world not just in international cricket but in league matches so the skills are there. But if you want to take your chances you have to enjoy these moments. I believe the fact that the wicket is tricking will level the playing field for us and we will want to use it to our advantage.”
Aaron Johnson He feels the New York pitch will be a level playing field for Canada.

Danyal Rasool is ESPNcricinfo’s Pakistan correspondent. @Danny61000



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