Australia vs Pakistan: Match preview, pitch report and TV listing
The ICC World Cup 2019 is witnessing a dull period with two successive matches getting washed out. The 17th match would see title holders Australia and Pakistan locking horns at The Cooper Associates County Ground in Taunton on Wednesday. This tie is going to be a stunner, as giant slayer Pakistan would look to upset Australia. Here, we present the match preview.
Australia suffered a loss, Pakistan saw their match washed-out
While Pakistan are coming off an abandoned match against Sri Lanka, Australia lost against an in-form India. Australia went on to lose to India by 36 runs, even though they have lots of positives to build upon. The last match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka had to be abandoned due to rain, as the teams shared the points. Before that, Pakistan had defeated England.
Steve Smith, Hafeez and many more to watch out for
As for the team news, there are several players who can change the match tomorrow. From Australia, David Warner, Steve Smith and Alex Carey's batting form makes them a must watch. As for Pakistan, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez and skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed have been doing great with the bat as well, putting the focus on them, along with pacer Wahab Riaz.
Australia hold strong edge over Pakistan
In the World Cup's history, both these teams have clashed nine times, as Australia have won five times, while Pakistan have pocketed four. In England, both the teams have clashed in seven ODIs, with Australia winning four and Pakistan winning three. Overall, in ODIs to date, both teams have come across 103 times, with Australia winning 67, while Pakistan have scripted 32 victories.
A sporty wicket awaits in Taunton
So far, there has been only a match at this venue in this tournament, involving Afghanistan and New Zealand, which was a low-scoring encounter. It is likely that the track would be sporty, favoring both batsmen and bowlers. Thus, the teams are likely to move in with a balanced XI, while bowling first would be the ideal option.
Here are the predicted XI for the sides
Australia: David Warner, Aaron Finch (captain), Usman Khawaja, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey (wicket-keeper), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa. Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicket-keeper and captain), Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir.
When, where and how to watch?
Match: Australia vs Pakistan Venue: The Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton Time: 3:00 PM IST Where to watch (TV): Star Sports 1, 2, Select 1 and other regional languages channels of Star Sports. Where to watch (Online): Hotstar
