England captain Jos Buttler won the toss and opted to bowl first against Pakistan in the fourth and final T20I at the Kennington Oval in London on Thursday (May 30, 2024). England are 1-0 ahead and cannot lose the series. (Streaming | Full IPL Coverage | More Cricket News)
Buttler said that there is "a little bit of green grass, little bit of weather around" and that his side are looking to chase. Pakistan skipper Babar Azam said he would have bowled first too, had he won the toss.
Babar added that Pakistan "batted well in patches" in the second game, but they are looking to improve in the final T20I. The tourists made two changes to their playing XI, bringing in Usman Khan and Naseem Shah for Saim Ayub and Imad Wasim.
The third T20I at the Sophia Gardens, Cardiff was abandoned without a ball bowled. The first game, too, was washed out in Leeds, and England had won the second encounter by 23 runs in Birmingham.
Playing XIs
England: Jos Buttler (wk/c), Philip Salt, Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.
Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan, Usman Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, Azam Khan (wk), Iftikhar Ahmed, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Amir.
The focus for both teams would be valuable match practice ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup, where England are the defending champions. England, placed in Group B, will take on neighbours Scotland in Bridgetown for their World Cup campaign opener. Meanwhile, Pakistan, who are in Group A alongside arch-rivals India, will face hosts United States in Texas on June 6 to kick things off.
