After three consecutive defeats, Pakistan’s hopes of reaching the knockout stage hang by a thread following their loss to Australia last week.

The team has made two changes as Aliya Riaz and Omaima Sohail return to the playing XI.

Speaking at the toss, captain Fatima Sana said, “The pitch looks like it will spin, and we want to take advantage. Our aim is to bat longer and build partnerships to finish games strongly.”

Ahead of the match, all-rounder Syeda Aroob Shah said the team was determined to “perform better with the bat” against England.

Meanwhile, Shawaal Zulfiqar continues to play despite her father’s passing in Sialkot, as confirmed by the Pakistan Cricket Board.

Last week, Australia’s Beth Mooney scored a remarkable century to pull her side from 76-7 to a 107-run victory over Pakistan.

Pakistan’s campaign has been marked by inconsistent batting and occasional lapses in the field, despite strong bowling spells in parts of the matches. The team now sits at the bottom of the eight-team table, needing a win to stay alive in the tournament.

Opener Muneeba Ali, who came into the event in decent form, is under pressure to provide a solid start at the top of the order.

England, on the other hand, enters the game unbeaten with three straight wins. Ahead of the match, England’s Alice Capsey acknowledged Pakistan’s fighting spirit, saying they’ve played some “exciting cricket” throughout the competition.

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“I think what we’ve seen by Pakistan so far is that they’ve been involved in some really exciting games of cricket, and they’ve had teams’ kind of on the back burner a little bit,” the 21-year-old batter said.

She added that England were making sure that they were really specific with what their plans were for each individual bowler — whether that be seam or spin.