As Tim Paine played the penultimate ball of the Dubai
test , he punched his fist , it was a moment of achievement for a team who had
risen from the ashes of Ball tampering saga and discarded every prediction of a
clean sweep. The Question is can they sustain their performance ? The Series is
online and teams are in battle to prove themselves
As Tim Paine
practiced before second test there was a sense of satisfaction on his face. His
team have risen like a Phoenix from the ashes of one of the most humiliating
phase in their cricket history.But as they say the once you have confidence
your bars are set higher. Now the skipper is targeting a test series win
against the Host. While few days before you may have been tagged as naive for
predicting this Australian side to win series in UAE ( Pakistan’s second home )
but now they seem to have a real chance to be in . Paine however knows it will
not be easier considering Pakistan have been hurt after missing out so narrowly
on a remarkable win .
Pakistan on the
other hand were brilliant at their adopted home venue, a country where in 9
years they have only lost one series ( Against Sri Lanka in 2017) however
sports are cruel we tend to forget which team have dominated the match and tend
to judge the success on the basis of results which is to an extent fair. This
is why Sarfaraz Khan finds himself under immense pressure. After a below par
2018 where he have struggled as Keeper and Batsman,lot of questions have
already started to float about his place in playing eleven and now with failed
Asia cup and some strange decisions in first tests have put question mark on
his captaincy and the Karachi man will be eager to resolve all these issues by
winning against Aussies. More importantly Pakistan doesn't want to loose another
series at home ground as the general perception in the recent years have been
that its easier to win at home especially against non Asian countries and vice
versa.
Pakistan are expected
to give test cap to Fakar Zaman in place of injured Imam Ul Haq. Chances are
that Mir Hamza the prolific wicket taker in domestic cricket will get a go, if
that happens then Wahab Riaz might have to sit out . Chances are Pakistan might
go in with 3 spinners with Shadab Khan might get a peek in. While this might be
unlikely considering Pakistan have Mohammad Hafeez already in playing eleven
but considering Australia’s frailities against spin you never know Pakistan may
go with four spinners including Hafeez.
On the other
hand Australia might be tempted to try out some other personals especially the
second spinner. If thats the case then Ashton Agar is in real chance in place
of Jhon Holland. While Mark Labuchagne has an impressive outing with ball and
might play the role of third spinner bowling more regularly.
|
No.
|
Pakistan Expected Playing 11
|
Australia Expected Playing 11
|
|
1
|
Mohammad Hafeez
|
Usman Khawaja
|
|
2
|
Fakar Zaman
|
Aaron Finch
|
|
3
|
Azhar Ali
|
Shaun Marsh
|
|
4
|
Haris Sohail
|
Mitchell Marsh
|
|
5
|
Asad Shafiq
|
Travis Head
|
|
6
|
Babar Azam
|
Mark Labuchagne
|
|
7
|
Sarafraz Khan ( C and Keeper )
|
Tim Paine (C and Keeper)
|
|
8
|
Bilal Asif
|
Mitchell Starc
|
|
9
|
Shadab Khan/Mir Hamza
|
Peter Siddle
|
|
10
|
Mohammad Abbas
|
Nathan Lyon
|
|
11
|
Yasir Shah
|
Ashton Agar
|
Some of the
interesting Facts between the famous rivalry
l Australia and Pakistan have played 63 Tests with
Australia winning 31 and Pakistan 14 while remaining 18 have been draws.
l In Pakistan and other neutral venues the teams have
played 28 Tests with Australia winning 07 and Pakistan 10 of them while
remaining 11 have been draws.
l Australia last won an away series against Pakistan in
2002 when they defeated them 3-0 in UAE/Sri Lanka
l Since then these sides have played two series as
Pakistan being the host nation one in 2009 in England with the series being
draw at 1-1 and other in 2014 in UAE with Pakistan winning 2-0.
l That is Pakistan’s only series win over Australia in
24 years (Since 1994)
l Captains of both the sides are wicket keeper
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