England vs Pakistan, Cricket World Cup 2023: Fantasy XI Prediction, Top Captaincy And Vice-Captaincy Picks

England and Pakistan will take the field in their last ICC World Cup 2023 group phase match on Saturday, November 11. The Eden Gardens Stadium will witness this encounter, with a scheduled start time of 2:00 PM IST. Choosing a perfect XI for fantasy cricket players that guarantees maximum points can prove to be a task, with a handful of players from both sides showcasing good form. Defending champions England haven’t been at their lethal best this time out, winning two and losing six of their eight matches so far. They registered their second victory in the previous match against Netherlands by a margin of 160 runs.

On the other hand, Pakistan have won and lost four matches apiece to collect eight points from as many matches. The Babar Azam-led side defeated New Zealand by 21 runs (DLS method) in their last fixture courtesy of a scintillating century by the opener Fakhar Zaman.

As far as head-to-head match-ups in ODIs are concerned, the two teams have faced each other on 91 occasions, with England emerging triumphant in 56 matches. The tide turned in favour of Pakistan on 32 instances. Three encounters concluded with no result.

Weather conditions

The temperature at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata is anticipated to hover around 32 degree Celsius, with 55 per cent humidity.

Pitch report

Eden Gardens is known for providing decent assistance to the batters early in the match, with spinners expected to provide breakthroughs later on.

Teams usually elect to bat first here and set a challenging total for the opposition. The average score batting first here is 242 runs.

In the three ICC World Cup 2023 matches played so far at the Eden Gardens, teams batting first have won twice and the chasing side has won once.

ENG vs PAK predicted playing XI

England: Jos Buttler (c and wk), Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Chris Woakes, David Willey, Mark Wood, Adil Rashid

Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Agha Salman, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim, Haris Rauf

ENG vs PAK fantasy XI World Cup 2023

Wicket-keepers: Mohammad Rizwan

Batters: Ben Stokes, Babar Azam, Dawid Malan, Fakhar Zaman

All-rounders: Chris Woakes, Iftikhar Ahmed

Bowlers: Adil Rashid, David Willey, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim

Among the available wicket-keepers, Mohammad Rizwan will be our best bet to provide decent returns. He has scored 359 runs in eight innings, including one ton and one half-century.

England duo Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler have been underwhelming so far and hence, they won’t make it to our fantasy XI for this contest.

Ben Stokes, Babar Azam, Dawid Malan and Fakhar Zaman are the four batters to make the cut.

While Ben Stokes returned to form with a century versus Netherlands in the previous match, Dawid Malan consistency at the top of the order has made him England’s leading run-getter with 373 runs in eight matches. Moreover, Malan has two fifties in the last two matches to his credit.

Pakistan’s Fakhar Zaman has been a revelation, scoring 219 runs in the three matches he has featured in. His unbeaten 81-ball 126 against New Zealand helped his side remain alive in the competition. Captain Babar Azam, meanwhile, has accumulated 282 runs in eight matches with the help of four half-centuries.

Chris Woakes and Iftikhar Ahmed will handle the all-rounders’ responsibilities. Woakes has chipped in with 127 runs and nine wickets whereas Iftikhar Ahmed’s performances have seen him score 139 runs and three scalps in eight matches.

The quartet of bowlers Adil Rashid, David Willey, Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Wasim will have the onus of providing highest points through their wicket-taking abilities.

Adil Rashid has been a regular wicket-taker for England, accounting for 13 scalps in eight innings at an economy of 5.13. Willey, too, has been crucial in the powerplay phase with a total of eight wickets in five matches.

Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Wasim have been Pakistan’s strike bowlers with a combined total of 24 wickets between them.

Captain: Fakhar Zaman

Given Fakhar Zaman’s exploits in the last two matches, he will be the go-to choice for captaincy on a batter-friendly Eden Gardens track. Among bowlers, Shaheen Afridi can also be considered to lead your fantasy teams.

Vice-captain: Adil Rashid

Adil Rashid has recorded 2/35 (vs India), 2/38 (vs Australia) and 3/54 (vs Netherlands) in his last three matches and hence, he becomes an ideal choice for vice-captaincy.