England vs Pakistan | Prediction for Day 4 of the Old Trafford Test

By1XBet, SportsCafe Editor

08/08/2020

After Day 2 handed Pakistan the initiative, Day3 put the visitors in complete control against England at Old Trafford. With Pakistan leading by 244 runs and a couple of wickets in hand, we are guaranteed a result in the game and if the last two days are anything to go by, England are in big trouble.

Brief Scores : Pakistan 326 & 137/8 (Asad Shafiq 29, Asad Shafiq 27, Chris Woakes 2/11, Ben Stokes 2/11) lead England 219 (Ollie Pope 62, Jos Buttler 38, Yasir Shah 4/66, Shahdab Khan 2/13) by 244 runs at the end of Day 3.

Weather forecast for Day 3

As Master Oogway once said, “There is just news. There is no good or bad.” Well, England fans will disagree when they read what I am about to write. According to Accuweather, there is no chance of rain tomorrow which means that England will have to dig themselves out of the hole without any help from the Gods. Manchester is known for its rain but it looks very unlikely that it will have a telling impact on the result.

Pitch report for Day 3

If England’s first innings is anything to go by, England are in big big trouble. As we mentioned a couple of days ago, this is the second Test match that is being played on this pitch inside a month. The ECB have done very well to ensure that the pitch lasts a full five days but that has come at a cost. The wicket looks like a spinning track now and with Yasir Shah and Shahdab Khan in the team, this is going to be a tough pitch to bat on.

Key Batsman

While Ben Stokes has been the man who has dragged England out of trouble in recent times, it is their skipper who has to take the responsibility to anchor the innings if England want to get out of the woods. And the numbers would suggest that Joe Root has the capability to pull it off as well. The English skipper averages a cool 58.21 against Pakistan and has an average of 50.80 at home. Based on these numbers, 1xBet are trusting him to come back with a half century for his side.

Key Bowler

There can only be one name in this category - Yasir Shah. The leggie averages 30.26 with the ball in his career but when it comes to fourth innings performances, he is at a different level. While bowling in the last innings of matches, Yasir averages an incredible 21.72 in 17 innings. With the amount of turn he was able to generate in the first innings, England know that they have their work cut out for them in the fourth. That is why 1xBet is handing the leggie a great chance to take 4+ wickets in the second innings and who are we to argue with that.

Even though Pakistan were able to pile on some runs with their tail in the first innings, it does not look like they will do the same this time around. Currently, they have Yasir Shah batting on 12 and the scoreboard reading 137 for the loss of 8 wickets. 1xBet are giving them a chance of scoring a mere 19 more runs before they fold. That looks very very likely considering Pakistan’s history.

1xBet Predictions

When to watch : August 8, 2020, 3.30 PM IST

Where to watch : Sony Six, Sony Six HD and Sony LIV