Tag: Australia vs Pakistan

LAHORE: Australia’s Test captain Pat Cummins has revealed that the touring side has made plans to tackle Pakistan’s skipper Babar Azam and is confident of executing them in the upcoming third Test.

Cummins, while talking to the virtual pressed conference, ahead of the third Test of the historic series between Pakistan and Australia, unveiled that the touring side has made several plans to tackle Pakistan’s top-batter Babar.

“Babar Azam played an extraordinary knock. We have made plans for him. Now we will be looking to execute those plans, but I must say that he played a good long knock,” he said.

Cummins also revealed that the Aussies will be taking the field with the same combination.

“I have full confidence in my boys. We will take the field with the same Playing XI,” he said.

“We need two spinners. We also considered other options but we think this is the best Playing XI,” he added.

Cummins also claimed that the missed opportunities in the last Test prevented us from winning. However, the right-arm pacer is confident of not losing the chances in the third Test.

“We had a chance to win the Karachi Test but we missed on the given opportunities which really halted us from winning,” he said.

“We can no longer afford to miss out on the opportunities, we need to field well in the Lahore Test,” he added.

The right-arm pacer also commented about the playing conditions in Gaddafi Stadium, said the bowlers do not have much experience of playing in hot conditions.

“This is a big match. The weather is very hot for the fast bowlers. They do not have much experience of playing in these sorts of conditions,” he said.

“There is no grass on the pitch. I can’t say much about this pitch, how different it is
from the first two Tests. But, I think the reverse swing will play an important role in this match,” he concluded.

The Aussie captain however is confident of claiming the series by winning the third Test of the ongoing Benaud-Qadir Trophy.

READ: ‘Fawad Alam knows how to make a comeback’ Babar Azam 

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced on Saturday that the white-ball series between Pakistan and Australia will be shifted from Rawalpindi to here, the two boards have mutually agreed on the same.

In an official statement released by the PCB, the cricket board shared the decision of shifting the matches to the headquarters of Pakistan Cricket. PCB and Cricket Australia (CA) have mutually agreed on the decision.

The ODI series between Pakistan and Australia will commence on March 29, while the one-off T20I will be played on April 5.

Furthermore, Australia’s white-ball squad will land here on March 24 and will be allowed to integrate with the remaining members after the completion of the mandatory one-day room isolation. Whereas, Pakistan’s white-ball players are scheduled to assemble on March 22, and will then be able to resume the training on March 25.

Following the change in the venue, the PCB will shortly announce the ticket details.

SQUADS

Pakistan (ODI): Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan (vc), Abdullah Shafique, Asif Afridi, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imam-Ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir

Pakistan (T20I): Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan (vc), Asif Afridi, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir

Australia (ODI and T20I): Aaron Finch (captain), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis and Adam Zampa

READ: Egypt’s Karim, Youssef reach GFS Karachi Open Squash Final 

KARACHI: Pakistan’s skipper Babar Azam and the wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan scored centuries to propel Pakistan to save the second Test against Australia, here on Wednesday.

The historic second Test between Pakistan and Australia resulted in a draw after an eventful final session. Pakistan needed 196 runs to pull off the highest-ever run chase, while the visitors needed six wickets.

Pakistan, in the end, managed to bat through and scored 443/7 before the conclusion of the second Test.

The wall for the hosts Babar tumbled various records with his brilliant knock of 196. The right-handed batter missed on his maiden double hundred as he fell short to Nathan Lyon. The skipper faced a record 425 balls and hit 26 boundaries including a six.

His partner, Rizwan, however, carried his bat till the stumps on the final day and amassed his second Test century in the closing minutes. He scored 104* off 177 balls, laced with 11 boundaries and a six.

His heroic knock bolstered the home side to hang on for the draw despite quick wickets.

The second session of the final day of the second Test turned out to be an interesting one as the visitors made one scalp. Aussie skipper Pat Cummins removed Fawad Alam in the opening minutes of the session.

Resuming at an overnight score of 192/2, the pair of Babar and Abdullah Shafique propelled the home side’s score in the run chase at a decent rate in the first session of the final day. The pair added a further 57 runs into their overnight third-wicket partnership before the Australian captain dismissed Abdullah for 96.

The right-handed batter missed on his second Test century by a mere four runs. He faced 305 balls and smashed seven boundaries including a six.

After a valiant 228-runs partnership with Abdullah, Babar joined hands with the newly joined Fawad Alam and made sure that the side do not lose any more wickets. The pair of Babar and Fawad managed to put on a brief five-runs partnership before the lunch.

For Australia, Lyon led the way; taking three wickets, while Cummins bagged two. Cameron Green, on the other hand, made one scalp.

KARACHI: Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam and the opening batter Abdullah Shafique carried their bat till the stumps of day four of the ongoing second Test to keep Pakistan in the hunt as they need 314 runs to win.

Pakistan enjoyed a delightful last session of the fourth day as the home side added 88 runs without losing any wicket as they finished at 192/2 at the stumps on day four.

Pakistan’s skipper Babar notched up his sixth Test century in the closing minutes and remained unbeaten. He has faced 198 deliveries and smashed a dozen boundaries.

His partner Abdullah, on the other hand, also batted exceptionally well as he remained unbeaten on 71 with the help of four boundaries and a six.

The pair have put on a 171-runs partnership for the third wicket and will now resume the proceedings for Pakistan at 192/2 on the final day.

After a series of frustrating sessions, Pakistan got hold of the second session of day four as they added 86 runs for the loss of just one wicket.

In the first session, resuming at an overnight score of 81/1, Australia’s top-order batters Marnus Labuschagne and the left-handed opener Usman Khawaja managed to add just 16 runs into their overnight partnership.

Pakistan’s left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi managed to break their partnership in the 24th over as he castled Labuschagne for 44.

With his dismissal, Australian captain Pat Cummins decided to declare the innings at 97/2, Khawaja remained unbeaten with 44.

Set to chase a mammoth 506, Pakistan were off to a poor start as they lost their in-form opening batter Imam-ul-Haq for a combined score of two. Imam made his way back after managing to score just one as Nathan Lyon trapped him in his legs.

Pakistan’s young opening batter Abdullah Shafique and Azhar Ali then anchored the innings and made sure that the home side do not lose any further wickets. The pair batted for 15 overs and add 18 runs to the team’s total.

KARACHI: Australia’s left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc has revealed that Australia’s decision of not enforcing the follow-on in the ongoing second Test against Pakistan was unanimous.

Starc, in a media interaction after the conclusion of the third day of the Karachi Test, revealed that it was the touring side’s unanimous decision of not enforcing the follow-on.

“I think we bowled pretty well in the afternoon session. The decision of not enforcing the follow-on was unanimous and everybody was quick to agree on that,” he said.

Starc further claimed the cracks have started to appear on the pitch and the wicket is now helping the ball to reverse swing.

“Cracks have started appearing in the pitch which is supporting the bowling. The bowlers are also getting the reverse swing,” he said.

The left-arm pacer went on to comment on his performance, also lauded the youngsters for their ‘exceptional’ performance on their first tour to Pakistan.

“I am pretty satisfied with my performance. Also, there are a lot of youngsters in our side, who did well on their first tour to Pakistan,” he said.

It is worth mentioning here that the touring side is in control in the ongoing second Test against Pakistan. The Aussies are leading by a mammoth 489 runs as Pakistan could only score 148 in response to Australia’s 556 in the first innings.

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KARACHI: Australia’s left-handed opener Usman Khawaja and the top-order batter Marnus Labuschagne stood firm as Australia extended their lead to 489 before the stumps on day three of the second Test, here on Monday.

Before the conclusion of the third day of the Karachi Test, Australia finished at 81/1 as Khawaja and Labuschagne made sure that the touring side do not lose any wicket. Khawaja scored an unbeaten 35, while Labuschagne remained not out with his 37.

David Warner, on the other hand, fell short after scoring just seven.

Australia continued their momentum with the ball in the third session as the touring side bowled out Pakistan for 148 to take a massive lead of 408 runs.

Pakistan’s skipper Babar Azam remained the lone-warrior for the home side; scoring 36, while the rest of the batters could not manage to score much.

Earlier, Australia experienced a resounding session as they put the hosts on the backfoot by taking six wickets. In the eventful second session, Pakistan, on the other hand, could only add 62 runs.

Pakistan’s last-match centurion Imam-ul-Haq fell in the first over after Lunch as the left-handed batter threw his wicket to Nathan Lyon after attempting to slog the ball. He scored 20 off 64 balls and hit three boundaries.

Following his departure, Azhar Ali put on a brief 15-runs partnership with Babar before the former made his way back after edging the ball to the slip. He scored 14 off 37 balls.

Azhar’s dismissal sparked the collapse which reduced Pakistan to 97/7 as Fawad Alam bagged a golden duck, while Mohammad Rizwan, Faheem Ashraf, and Sajid Khan scored cheaply and could not get to the double-figures.

The first session of the third day was also an eventful one as the touring side first declared their innings at 556/9 and then an early wicket of Abdullah slightly tilted the game in the favour of the Aussies.

The right-handed batter scored 13 before a direct hit from Swepson stopped his stay at the crease.

Resuming at an overnight score of 505/8, Australian skipper Pat Cummins’s fiery cameo of 34 runs bolstered the visitors’ score to 556/9 as his partner Mitchell Starc could only face two balls on the ongoing third day and walked back without adding to his overnight score of 28.

Cummins, on the other hand, added a valuable 51 runs with the debutant for the 10th wicket as Swepson also chipped in with his unbeaten 15.

For Pakistan, Faheem and Sajid bagged two wickets each, while Nauman Ali, Babar, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Hasan struck out a batter each.

READ: Pakistan Cup: Sindh, KPK, SP secure sixth-round triumphs 

KARACHI: Australia’s wicket-keeper batter Alex Carey missed on his century after Usman Khawaja’s 160 but the touring side finished at 505/8 on the stumps of the second day of the Karachi Test, here on Sunday.

Australia added 98 runs in the final session of the second day, while Pakistan managed to take one wicket.

Australia’s wicket-keeper batter Carey, who notched up his half-century in the opening minutes of the third session, missed on his well-deserved century by just seven runs as Babar Azam castled the left-handed batter for 93.

His partner Mitchell Starc, stood firm and carried his bat till the stumps. Starc (26*) and Cummins (0*) will now resume the proceedings at 505/8 on the third day.

For Pakistan, Faheem Ashraf and Sajid Khan bagged two wickets each, while Babar, Hasan Ali, and Nauman Ali managed to make one scalp apiece.

After four sessions in favour of Australia, Pakistan managed to dominate the fifth. The home side managed to take three wickets in the eventful second session of the second day; taking three wickets including a big one of Khawaja.

Khawaja, who was looking exceptional, fell short to Sajid Khan in the 131st over as the right-arm spinner castled the left-hander to provide a major breakthrough to the home side. Khawaja scored a splendid 160 off 369 balls with the help of 15 boundaries and a six.

Before, Khawaja’s dismissal, Head also perished earlier in the second session as Nauman Ali trapped him in his legs for 23. Furthermore, in the last over before the Tea break, Nauman provided another success to Pakistan in the form of Cameron Green’s wicket.

The right-handed batter 28 off 73 balls including two boundaries and a six.

Earlier in the morning session, Australia, resuming at an overnight score of 251/3, managed to pile a further 81-runs to set their sights on a 450 plus mark.

The nightwatchman acted as the aggressor during his valuable fifty-plus partnership with Khawaja and assisted the touring side to score at a quick rate.

Lyon’s cameo however came to an end in the 106th over as Faheem Ashraf delivered a peach to castle the right-handed batter for 38. He faced 62 balls and smashed five boundaries.

Khawaja, on the other hand, batted sensibly before and after Lyon’s dismissal and became the third opening batter to score 150 against Pakistan.

It was a frustrating session for Pakistan as they leaked 81 runs in 27 overs and managed to get just one wicket.

READ: Blind Cricket: Pakistan, India, Bangladesh to compete in a tri-series

KARACHI: Pakistan’s wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan said that Australia benefited by winning the toss and batting first on the first day of the Karachi Test of the Benaud-Qadir Trophy here on Saturday.

Rizwan, while talking to the presser after the conclusion of the opening day of the Karachi Test, claimed that the touring side benefited by opting to bat first.

“I think it has benefited Australia to win the toss and opt to bat first,” Rizwan said.

“The Australian batsmen took advantage of the wicket at the start,” he added.

Rizwan then went on to opine about Karachi’s pitch and said it is different to that of Pindi, while at the same time expressing his hope for a consequential match.

“Karachi’s wicket is different from Pindi. I hope Karachi’s Test will be consequential,” he said.

“In my opinion, the ball will gradually get more spin on Karachi wicket in the coming days,” he concluded.

It is pertinent to mention here that Australia scored 251/3 after the first day’s play of the second Test. Australia’s Usman Khawaja scored a magnificent first hundred in his country of birth, while Steve Smith followed with his 72 before getting out in closing minutes of the day.

For Pakistan, Hasan Ali and Faheem Ashraf managed to make one scalp each.

READ: Usman’s century remains in spotlight as Australia score 251/3 at stumps

KARACHI: Australian Test captain Pat Cummins has said that the Aussies are capable enough of taking 20 wickets in the second Test of the Benaud-Qadir Trophy, starting from tomorrow.

In a virtual media interaction, the Australian captain claimed that his side can pick 20 wickets in the upcoming second Test while relying on their spin bowling options. Cummins also confirmed that the leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson will be debuting against Pakistan tomorrow.

“Karachi’s pitch looks good for the spin. Therefore, we have decided to rest [Josh] Hazlewood and Swepson will make his debut,” he said.

“Nathan Lyon and leg-spinner Swepson will make a big difference in our bowling attack for Karachi Test. I think we are eligible enough of taking all the 20 wickets,” he added.

Cummins then went on to opine about NSK’s pitch and said the pitch looks dry and beneficial for the bowlers.

“We had a look at the pitch and it seems a bit dry and favourable for the bowlers. It looks like there will be a break on the wicket,” he said.

“If the ball gets to start reverse swing that Mitchell Starc can put a major threat for the batters,” he added.

Cummins further stated about his side’s preparation for the Karachi Test and said they are ready for the contest and looking forward to continuing their ‘pretty satisfactory’ performance from Pindi.

READ: ‘Haven’t seen Swepson playing yet, will try to plan against him’ Babar

KARACHI: The National Stadium Karachi (NSK) is likely to invite students from schools, colleges and universities to watch the second Test between Pakistan and Australia, according to reports.

As per the details, the administration of the NSK has set a quota of free tickets for students.

In an addition, the General Manager of NSK also contacted Commissioner Karachi and requested the lists of interested students.

Furthermore, interested schools can also get tickets by contacting the NSK administration.

It is pertinent to mention here that the second Test between Pakistan and Australia will roll into action on March 12. The touring side will play their first match in NSK after a gap of 24 years.

READ: ‘Pitch curator is not my relative’ Imam hits back at his critics