ICC 2026 Men's T20 WC | Match 45: England vs Pakistan | Preview and Prediction

Two teams, who have struggled and stumbled their way through the Group Stages, have now a clean slate in the Super Eight stage. Their losses in the group stages don’t matter now as England and Pakistan will look to secure their spot at the top of their groups in the Super Eight to get closer to the semi-finals.

Here, we present our preview and predictions for match no. 45 between England and Pakistan.

ICC 2026 Men’s T20 WC Super 8 Group 2 | Match 45: England vs Pakistan | 19:00, 24 February

England kicked off their campaign with a nervy win against Nepal and then went down to West Indies before picking up two less than ideal wins against Scotland and Italy to qualify for the Super Eight stage. The biggest issue for the English this tournament so far has been their batting. Their batting has not clicked as a unit yet and they will hope that they come together as the tournament gets to its deeper stages. The dangerous English opening pair of Phil Salt and Jos Buttler, both have struggled for runs throughout but there is plenty of experience there and the English management will back them to step up when it matters most. Jacob Bethell has been one of the shining stars with the bat with captain Harry Brook and Tom Banton also having impactful knocks in the middle order. Will Jacks stepped up against Italy to give England so much-need depth. Sam Curran has been handy with his cameos and his team will expect him to continue in that role.

England’s slower bowlers have been the ones doing the heavy-lifting with the spin-trio of Adil Rashid, Liam Dawson and Will Jacks being the main wicket takers with Sam Curran being impactful with his variations as well. Jamie Overton has been handy at the start as well as England will hope their bowlers continue their good form. 

Like England, Pakistan also started with a nervy win and a loss to India to follow that but since then has picked up some form coming into the Super Eight. Sahibzada Farhan has been at his explosive best at the top of the order and with Saim Ayub yet to get going, Farhan has been key for Pakistan with the bat. Salman Agha and Babar Azam have had two individual decent contributions but barring that, the Pakistani middle order is yet to contribute and Agha will hope his middle order stands up if and when expected. 

Pakistan have played all their games in Sri Lanka and on slow and turning pitches, unsurprisingly it’s been the spinners and slow bowlers who have been thriving. The Pakistani spin attack, consisting of Usman Tariq, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz and Abrar Ahmed have been leading with the ball and Pakistan also have more options in Salman Agha and Saim Ayub as well, who have shown that they can pick up the wickets and keep it tight. 

The Pallekele ground has provided runs for the batters this tournament with the spinners having a good time as well. Pakistan have played all their games in Sri Lanka and will be more familiar with the conditions compared to England but given their squad strength and big moment experiences, we have England as the surprise winners. 

Fantasy 11: Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Sam Curran (c), Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Adil Rashid, Usman Tariq

Winners Prediction: England

Venue: Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele, Kandy