KARACHI: England captain Moeen Ali announced to make changes in the touring side’s Playing XI for the third T20I of the historic seven-match series following their 10-wicket defeat against Pakistan in the second T20I on Thursday.
Moeen, while talking to the media after England’s 10-wicket loss to England in the second T20I, acknowledged the blunders made by the touring side in the match and also announced that the side would consider making changes for the next match, scheduled on Friday.
“We did not play well and also dropped a few catches. We tried to break the partnership but credit goes to Babar and Rizwan as they did not let it happen,” said Moeen.
“But, we also played good cricket overall and scored more runs which was quite a positive for us. We will make changes in the third match,” Moeen confirmed.
The English captain further opined regarding his Pakistan counterpart Babar Azam, who had been facing a lot of criticism for a paltry strike rate and shared that the former thinks the opposite.
“Babar was facing a lot of criticism for an allegedly lower strike rate. But, I don’t think his strike rate is bad,” said Moeen.
Moeen then went on to comment on the pitch and the playing conditions and acknowledged that the touring side was expecting it to be more favourable for the spin.
“We were hoping that the wicket would be more favourable for the spinners. Karachi’s wicket seemed normal to us,” he concluded.
It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan cruised to a perfect 10-wicket victory in the second T20I courtesy of an astounding performance from their openers Babar and Mohammad Rizwan, who proved lethal for the English bowling attack.
READ: Centurion Babar, Rizwan cruise Pakistan to a perfect win in second T20I
