England made a winning start to their tour of Pakistan on Tuesday but a seven-match Twenty20 series means it is a marathon not a sprint.
Playing their first international fixture in Pakistan for 17 years, England won the series opener in Karachi by six wickets and they are 11/10 to take a 2-0 lead with a victory in Thursday's second T20 at the National Stadium.
| What: | Pakistan vs England, first Twenty20 |
| Where: | National Stadium, Karachi |
| When: | 15:30, Tuesday 20th September 2022 |
| How to watch: | Sky Sports Main Event and Cricket |
| Odds | Pakistan 8/11, England 11/10 |
Local knowledge paying off for Hales and Brook
While England have not played international cricket in Pakistan since 2005, several members of their squad have featured in the Pakistan Super League, including their top two runscorers in the first T20 international.
Alex Hales, returning to the England team after three years in the international wilderness, anchored their successful chase of 159 with a classy half-century and the opener is 8/1 to be player of the match on Thursday.
The most fluent innings of the first game came from Harry Brook, who made his Test debut against South Africa earlier this month, and his unbeaten 42 off 25 deliveries steered England home with four balls to spare.
Brook already has a lofty reputation thanks to his county and T20 franchise league performances and in February he became the youngest player to score a century in the Pakistan Super League, cracking 102 not out off 49 balls for Lahore Qalandars against Islamabad United.
He enjoyed his return to Pakistan, hitting seven boundaries in a classic finisher's knock, and he is 13/2 to be England's top batter in the second T20.
England looked in control throughout their run-chase in the series opener and that was reflected by the fact that they hit only one six to Pakistan's five.
There are big hitters all the way down the England batting line-up – stand-in captain Moeen Ali struck six maximums in a 16-ball T20 half-century against South Africa in July – and the tourists are 21/20 to hit more sixes than Pakistan in the second game.
Prolific Pakistan pair need to up the tempo
Pakistan opener Mohammad Rizwan scored 68 in the first game, becoming the joint-fastest batsman to reach 2,000 Twenty20 international runs.
The man whose record he equalled is his opening partner, and captain, Babar Azam but despite those impressive stats the pair are under pressure to deliver for the 8/11 hosts on Thursday.
Babar had a disappointing Asia Cup campaign, scoring just 68 runs in six innings, and he contributed a modest 31 off 24 balls in an opening stand of 85 with Rizwan before being bowled by an Adil Rashid googly.
Both Pakistan openers have T20 career strike-rates of under 130 runs per 100 balls and there are suggestions that a more dynamic player is needed at the top of the order going into next month's T20 World Cup in Australia.
Rizwan is 9/4 to score a fifty in the second match in Karachi, having made 43, 78 not out, 71, 20, 14 and 55 in six appearances at the Asia Cup earlier this month, but England are tempting at 1/1 to post the higher score in the first six overs.
Hales and opening partner Phil Salt, another England player with PSL experience, have licence to attack the new ball given the depth of England's batting line-up and they could get off to a flyer in the second T20.
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Experienced Rashid could star for England
With the T20 World Cup less than a month away, England will be managing the workload of their injury-prone fast bowlers carefully and international debutant Luke Wood seized his opportunity in the first T20 in Karachi.
The Lancashire left-armer, who is not even on the reserve list for the World Cup, took 3-24 from four overs to claim the player-of-the-match award and he is 4/1 to be England's top bowler on Thursday.
Wood has fellow left-armers David Willey, Sam Curran and Reece Topley ahead of him in the pecking order while the fit-again Mark Wood and Chris Woakes are also in England's World Cup pace battery.
The rookie stole the show on his debut but leg-spinner Rashid, a veteran of 77 T20 internationals, also played a key role in England's win. He bamboozled Babar, dismissed the dangerous Shan Masood cheaply, and conceded only one boundary from his 24 deliveries.
Rashid is 3/1 to be the top England bowler in the second match of the series although the tourists will be wary of Pakistan paceman Haris Rauf, who is 3/1 to be the top wicket-taker for his side.
Rauf took 2-26, 2-19 and 3-29 in his last three outings at the Asia Cup and unsettled England with his changes of pace in the first T20, picking up the wicket of Hales and going for only 23 runs in four overs.
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