England Women vs Pakistan Women Prediction: Resolute England takes on distraught Pakistan

The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup has entered the knockout stages and we are into the final games of the Group Stage. The Australians made it to the Semis without breaking a sweat and there are other contenders that have looked imperious. One of those contenders England is going to take on Pakistan on the final day of the Group Stage affair.

England comes into the game after defeating the Indian outfit by 11 runs in what was their third win in a row. England is already through and this has been a fascinating period of play where things look amazing. Batting first, England scored 151. They had a terrible start where they lost three wickets for 29 runs under five overs. However, the persistent rescuer Heather Knight came to the pitch and played a solid hand alongside Nat Sciver-Brunt. They formed a crucial 51 partnership and although Heather fell after making 28 runs in 23 balls.

Then Amy Jones joined the proceedings and upped the ante, Sciver-Brunt fell after making 50 runs whereas Amy finished with 40 runs off just 27 balls. Courtesy of another solid hand by Eccleston, England reached 151 runs for 7 wickets. Bowling-wise, it was the English spinners that dominated the proceedings. Shafali Verma fell early again whereas Jemimah Rodrigues and Harmanpreet Kaur fell cheaply too. Mandhana and Richa Ghosh looked persistent but England's spinners put a choke on the chase and the run rate exceeded 10 with plenty of overs to go.

The chase got derailed and despite a sub-par last over by Brunt-Sciver, India couldn’t get home, requiring 31 off the Katherine Brunt-Sciver over. Eccleston was phenomenal, conceding just 14 runs in four overs for a wicket. Glenn took two wickets for just 27 runs. Lauren Bell took one wicket for 22 runs in four overs and looked impeccable to start the game. Charlie Dean had a so-so spell and Katherine Sciver-Brunt was off the line, whereas Nat Sciver-Brunt was decent at best.

Pakistan suffered yet another defeat as they succumbed to West Indies by three runs. Pakistan bowlers kept it simple to begin the game and restricted West Indies to 116. It was their spinners who kept a tight leash and didn’t let the run rate go awry. Hayley Matthews fell after she was looking to pull the ball and was caught at midwicket after making 20 runs off 21 balls. Rashada Williams looked threatening and put on an impressive stand of 40 runs for the second wicket but after she fell, the innings fell apart too, thanks to some precise bowling by Pakistani bowlers. Nida Dar was the pick of the bowlers, claiming two wickets for 13 runs in four overs to seize the momentum. Sadiq Iqbal made deep impressions with a spell of 18 runs in four overs for a wicket.

Pakistan had the worst possible start to the chase, losing Muneeba Ali and Sidra Amin, both openers when the score was just 15 runs. This made the chase an uphill task because of which Nida Dar and Bismah Maroof had to play cautiously. With the asking rate soaring, West Indies claimed Nida when the score was 59 in 13.1 Overs and that was when Aliya Riaz entered the scene. Bismah couldn’t get the boundaries ticking and fell when the team needed 28 runs in 15 deliveries. Things were turning in West Indies’ favor and the match came to the last over.

Pakistan needed 18 runs in the last over and Farima Raza started positively with a boundary and a single. With 13 needed in four, Aliya hit two straight fours and brought the equation down to 5 in 2 balls but then got bowled. Omaima Sohail had to at least hit a four on the legal delivery and she missed her swipe which gave Pakistan a win by one run. West Indies won by a run and Aliyah Riaz's top effort of 29 runs in 23 deliveries went in vain. This loss knocked out Pakistan and they lost two games that they could have won in the tournament.

• Expected Leading Scorers: Sophia Dunkley(31+ Runs), Bismah Maroof(26+ Runs);
• Expected Leading Wicket-Takers: Sophie Ecclestone(2+ Wickets), Nashra Sandhu(1+ Wicket).

The English women will be on the hunt for a fourth straight win and the Pakistani women can play without the pressure of qualifications since they are already out. This is a sort-out of a dead rubber in the context of qualifications but there But this is an international professional game so there is still a lot at stake, England will like to go into the Semis with a lot of momentum whereas the Pakistan outfit will have one of the biggest boosts in their women’s cricket history if they get a win here. However, I see a clear-cut England win here.