Australia vs Pakistan, 1st T20I: Confident Hosts Take On Unpredictable Tourists

For the Australian team, it took nowhere near a monumental effort to thrash Sri Lanka. An insipid performance from the islanders in all departments hardly put the hosts under any sort of pressure. The same couldn’t be gauged against the men in green, considering how unpredictable they can turn out on their day.

Australia are rolling on in an unstoppable manner. They were nothing less than impressive against Sri Lanka. Aaron Finch’s men could topple the visitors if they managed to secure another clean sweep. For that to happen, they would also require their neighbours New Zealand to favour them by avoiding to lose the series by a 5-0 margin.

? #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/stSBfwtc0X

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) November 2, 2019

Meanwhile, the tourists have made wholesale changes to their squad. Having picked several new faces, the series could be an uphill task for the new captain, Babar Azam. The upside is that the versatility and unknown players in the side also come in with an opportunity to spring some surprises on the Australians.

In the spotlight:-

David Warner (Australia)

Sri Lanka had no answers to Warner’s juggernaut. Pakistan, with their much-hyped bowling attack, along with the left-arm pacers could pose some threat to the left-hander. The Pakistan captain has admitted that they have a plan in place for the southpaw.

Babar Azam (Pakistan)

The number one T20 batsman suffered a horror run against Sri Lanka at home. With the added responsibility to captain the side, the move could backfire, or he could end up inspiring his team by bringing out the runs off his bat.

Team combination:-

Australia are likely to stick with their winning combination, having won the final game against Sri Lanka at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. A top-order failure may not be too bad, considering the likes of Alex Carey, Ashton Turner, and Ashton Agar will get some time to bat in the middle.

Probable XI: David Warner, Aaron Finch (C), Steve Smith, Ben McDermott, Ashton Turner, Alex Carey (WK), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson.

Having left the veterans out of the squad, Pakistan could still opt for their most experienced playing eleven as they did in the practice game. The uncapped Mohammad Musa Khan could be unleashed to unsettle the Australians about the unknown.

Probable XI: Babar Azam (capt), Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Asif Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Irfan, Wahab Riaz

Head to Head:-

Played: 20, Australia won – 7, Pakistan won – 12, Tied – 1

At the Sydney Cricket Ground – No matches played

Weather forecast:

The weather may play a crucial part in the game at Sydney, and there exist forecasts of thunderstorms for Sunday afternoon.

Match prediction:-

Having already said that Pakistan would fight hard to protect their number one T20 ranking. The contest is expected to be a closely fought one; however, we could still see Australia prevail, given they have all their bases covered and their key players in exceptional touch.