Australia is all set to visit Pakistan for a multi-format series with the Test series starting tomorrow, the 4th of March 2022. Australia has been going great guns, having whitewashed absolutely everyone who has come to their home ground, but the true test will be to see if this team can replicate their success away from home as well.
The Pakistan team has a great rebuild ongoing and they will be hosting a nation after quite some time. They performed really well in the World T20 and since then, their players have been honing their skills in the Pakistan Super League and as such, they all seem ready to go.
Australia vs Pakistan 1st Test – Pitch Report
The pitch at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium is well-balanced, providing good support for both batsmen and bowlers. It is likely to offer some early assistance to swing bowlers, and spinners will be vital in the second half.
Australia vs Pakistan 1st Test – Probable XI
Australia
David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
Pakistan
Shan Masood, Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam(c), Fawad Alam, Mohammad Rizwan, Iftikhar-Ahmed, Nauman Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Sajid Khan, Naseem-Shah
Australia vs Pakistan 1st Test – Players to Watch
Babar Azam
He is one of the finest batters in the Pakistan Test Team at the moment and also one of the highest run-scorers as well. He has amassed 2461 runs from the 37 test matches that he has played so far, and with the home conditions favoring his game, we expect him to pile on some more runs as well.
Shaheen Afridi
The hotshot bowler from Pakistan is just coming out of a successful PSL season, where his team walked away with the title. He has a love for taking wickets and we expect him to scalp a lot of Australian wickets in the upcoming series.
Marnus Labuschagne
He is one of the most consistent players for Australia and is adaptive in his playing style. He scores big runs and can play a role with the ball as well. It will be interesting to see how he performs on a track that he has not played n for a long while.
Josh Hazlewood
When it comes to experience in the bowling attack, no one is as good as Josh Hazlewood on the Australian side. He has seen plenty of action in his career and he knows exactly how to exploit the conditions to get those quick and crucial wickets.
Australia vs Pakistan 1st Test – Fantasy Lineup No.1
Wicket Keeper – Mohammad Rizwan, Alex Carey
Batters – Babar Azam (vc), David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne (c)
All-Rounders – Mitchell Marsh, Iftikhar Ahmed
Bowlers – Josh Hazlewood, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Pat Cummins
Australia vs Pakistan 1st Test – Fantasy Lineup No.2
Wicket Keeper – Mohammad Rizwan, Josh Inglis
Batters – Babar Azam, Marnus Labuschagne (c), Shan Masood, Usman Khawaja
All-Rounders – Ashton Agar, Iftikhar Ahmed
Bowlers – Shaheen Afridi (vc), Josh Hazlewood, Haris Rauf
Australia vs Pakistan 1st Test – Predicted Winner
The match promises to be an absolute cracker of a contest, but we are inching for the Pakistan side to pick up a victory owing to the favorable home conditions.
