Kensington Oval T20 World Cup records & stats ahead of Match 49, England vs USA

England vs USA. (Source – Getty Images)

England and USA will complete their fixtures in the Super 8 in the T20 World Cup, with neither team out of the tournament yet. Even though the USA’s chances are very low, they will want to sign the tournament off on a high note and show that they belong.

At this stadium, USA were treated to a bashing by co-hosts West Indies. USA lost wickets at regular intervals and collapsed from a spirited bowling performance led by Roston Chase that found support from rest of the bowling line up to shoot USA out for a low total. Shai Hope went all guns blazing in the chase and helped West Indies chase the total down just above the 10-over mark.

England too were kept away from the finish line by South Africa. While his partners struggled, Quinton de Kock used the powerplay to his advantage and came out all guns blazing. David Miller kept the tempo up but none of the other batters matched it up with Adil Rashid producing another good performance. England’s top order struggled to get going and it looked like they had been completely thrown out of the game, until Liam Livingstone and Harry Brook spirited a fightback that took England close but their dismissals eventually led South Africa to a narrow win.

Kensington Oval Pitch Report:

This will be the last match at this stadium before the grand final. This surface has been very good for the batters so far, and will continue to remain so. A high score can be expected here as well.

T20I Records & Stats at Kensington Oval:

9 matches out of 31 have been won batting second here. The average first innings score is 156.

Strategies & Match-ups for England vs USA:

England found it tough to get going in their chase, this is one area that USA and Saurabh Netravalkar should look to exploit. USA have also been inconsistent with the bat in this tournament, and need to work on that aspect as well. The important match-ups are: Andries Gous vs Adil Rashid, Steven Taylor vs Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler vs Saurabh Netravalkar, Phil Salt vs Nosthush Kenjige.

X-Factors for England vs USA:

England:

Adil Rashid is currently the number 1 ranked bowler in T20I’s, and he has been living up to that brand by being arguably England’s most consistent bowler. His skills will again be needed if England have to keep their semifinal hopes alive.

USA: 

USA’s best chance at sealing a win is through their bowling rather than batting, and the person at the forefront of that will be Saurabh Netravalkar. While he went for runs in the last match, it was only after he started well in the powerplay, and if he can back uo his economical powerplays with a wicket or two, USA could sniff ahead.