Champions Trophy: England vs Pakistan

England face Pakistan in the first semfinal of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 at Sophia Gardens Cardiff.

England are the favourites and Pakistan are the unpredictable darkhorse going into this game.

England will be buoyed by the form of Eoin Morgan and Ben Stokes who were so incredible against Australia. Their partenership was one of the best in the tournament and came against an incredible bowling side. Joe Root had a wonderful start to the tournament when he scored 133 against Bangladesh to chase down a total of 305.

Pakistan however have always had it in them to create an upset. They have managed to claw their way into contention even when they looked like they were flailing.

Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur said:” "We've got nothing to lose, yes, but we've always said we're in it to win it. We know that realistically England are playing unbelievably well. They're a really, really good one-day unit with no apparent weaknesses."

This is Pakistan's 14th appearance in the semi-finals of an ICC event - the joint most for a team alongside Australia and India.

Eoin Morgan hinted that there may be a change to his side's top order for the match after Jason Roy disappointing outings.

Facts and Stats

This will be the first time England Pakistan play each other in the history of the Champions Trophy. Moreover, they have also not clashed in any semi-final match of an ICC ODI tournament.

England have won twice in the semifinal stage of the Champions Trophy, having played in three. England won in 2004 and 2013 while they were defeated in 2009.

Pakistan have lost all their semifinal appearances in this tournament -- in 2000, 2004 and 2009.

Pakistan and England have faced each other twice at Cardiff. One was a no result while Pakistan won the other game by chasing 304 in 2016.

England need just one win over Pakistan to complete 50 ODI victories against them. England will become 5th team to achieve this feat against Pakistan. If that happens, Pakistan will become 2nd team to lose 50 ODIs against England after Australia (52).

Form guide

England WWWLW

Pakistan WWLWW

Pakistan’s batting is their most unpredictable aspect. Mohammad Hafiz scores slowly and Ahmed Shehzad has been ineffective. Fakhar Zaman could be the only bright spark for Pakistan at the top of the order while skipper Sarfraz Ahmed has the ability to thrive under pressure situations.

Nobody is quite sure what to expect from Pakistan and that’s the theme of this match.