Tag: Pakistan vs Australia

LAHORE: Australian leg-spinner Adam Zampa claimed that he is fairly aware of the strengths and weaknesses of Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam and wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan and will plan against them.

Zampa, while talking to the virtual press conference, has claimed that he is aware of the strengths and weaknesses of all the Pakistan batters including Babar and Rizwan and is hopeful of planning against them in the next two days.

“I am aware of the strengths and weaknesses of all Pakistani batters including Babar and Rizwan. We have two days to formulate a strategy against Pakistan’s in-form batting,” he said.

“ODI is a different format than the Test cricket so we will have to plan accordingly,” he added.

The right-arm leggie then opined about the inexperienced Australian bowling attack and said the youngsters have a vital chance to prove themselves.

“Pakistan is a very good and balanced team. We will see an interesting competition between the two teams. However, the absence of our key players will be a challenge for us,” he said.

Zampa then went on to comment about his fitness and said he is doing better now and will try to live up to his captain – Aaron Finch’s trust.

“I have been in trouble for the past year due to a shoulder injury. But, I am feeling much better now,” he said.

“My captain Aaron Finch supports me a lot. I will try to live up to his trust,” he added.

The spinner then also commented about the role of the pitches in the white-ball series, said the pitches will be different to that of Tests.

“The pitches will be different in the white-ball series than that of the Tests. We will thrive to make good use of these pitches and bowl well,” he concluded.

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LAHORE: Pakistan captain Babar Azam claimed that his men did not play with the defensive approach against Australia in the third and deciding Test of the Benaud-Qadir Trophy, here on Friday.

Babar, while talking to a virtual press conference, backed his team following a home series defeat against Australia in a recently concluded Benaud-Qadir Trophy, claiming that the green shirts played according to the situation.

“We didn’t play with a defensive mindset; instead, we played in accordance with the situation, with a positive attitude, and a desire to reach the goal. Back-to-back dismissals, however, altered the game’s dynamics “he stated

“It’s not correct to imply that the two teams’ mindsets were different,” he added.

The 27-years-old captain further backed Hasan Ali and othe players, saying that he has confidence in all the players.

“Hasan Ali is a match winner and I still trust him as much as I did before. It is unnecessary to call for the changes after one bad series. These players have performed for the team in the past,” he said.

Babar then went on to review his team’s overall performance in the recently concluded home series and claimed that the team played good cricket.

“We played good cricket overall in this series. But, the performance in Karachi Test was exceptional,” he concluded.

It is apropos to mention here that Australia defeared Pakistan by 115 runs in the third and final Test of the Benaud-Qadir Trophy today. The first two matches of the series could not conclude a result.

READ: All main pitches of National Stadium Karachi to be rebuilt

LAHORE: Australia beat Pakistan by 115 runs in the third and deciding Test of the recently concluded Benaud-Qadir Trophy at the back of Nathan Lyon’s heroics, who bagged five wickets in the fourth innings, here on Friday.

In the final session of the final day, Pakistan were jolted by a massive blow as the skipper Babar Azam, who was fighting hard with his gritty knock also fell victim to Lyon. He perished in the 84th over after scoring 55 off 104 balls with the help of six boundaries.

Following his dismissal, the batting tail could not do much against the strong Australian bowling attack and the home side, in the end, bowled out for 235; handing the touring side a resounding 115 runs victory.

Earlier, the home side Pakistan experienced a disastrous second session as the side collapsed from 142/2 to 167/5 with the top-scorer Imam-ul-Haq, alongside Fawad Alam, and Mohammad Rizwan making their way back to the pavilion.

Imam remained the top scorer for the home side with 70 runs in 199 deliveries, while Babar followed back with a gritty 55. The rest of the batters, on the other hand, could not manage to score significantly.

In the morning, Pakistan resumed at an overnight score of 73/0, the set pair of Abdullah Shafique and Imam broke as the former walked back to the pavilion without scoring a run on the fifth day.

Abdullah scored 27 off 80 balls with the help of three boundaries and a six before Cameron Green dismissed him in the fourth over of the morning session.

Azhar Ali then arrived at the crease and put on a brief partnership with Imam. The pair could only add 28 runs for the second wicket before the former perished on Nathan Lyon’s delivery. The right-handed batter scored 17 off 47 deliveries.

READ: Sarfaraz Ahmed opts to leave Test squad to join Sindh in Pakistan Cup

LAHORE: Australia’s experienced batter Steve Smith has replaced Sri Lanka’s legendary batter Kumar Sangakkara to become the fastest batter to score 8,000 runs in Test cricket, here on Thursday.

Smith, 32, reached the exceptional milestone in the second innings of the ongoing third Test between Pakistan and Australia here. The right-handed batter took only 151 innings to achieve the milestone.

Smith has replaced Sangakkara as the fastest batter to the 8,000 Test runs, bettering the former’s 152 innings.

The list of the batters – fastest to 8,000 Test runs, features three Australian, three Indian, two West Indian, and only Pakistan batter Javed Miandad, who took 162 innings to achieve the milestone.

It is pertinent to mention here that Australia is currently in command of the third and deciding Test of the series as the touring side is leading by 325 runs against Pakistan.

READ: Australia’s white-ball squad reaches Pakistan for historic series

LAHORE: Pakistan’s experienced batter Azhar Ali, who recently became fifth Pakistani and 54th overall batter to reach the milestone of scoring 7,000 runs in Test cricket, said he is happy that he achieved the milestone in his home ground.

Azhar, while talking to the virtual press conference, expressed happiness for completing the remarkable feat in his first Test at his home ground.

“I am happy to complete 7,000 runs in Lahore. But unfortunately, I could not stay at the crease for long and score big,” he said.

The right-handed batter then commented about Pakistan’s collapse in the third session of day three, said it happens in Test cricket, while at the same time lauded Australian captain Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc for the brilliance with the ball.

“It happens in a Test match. But, the credit must go to Cummins and Starc, who bowled really well,” he said.

“Their bowlers are world-class, and the way they bowled in these conditions is simply outstanding,” he added.

The former Pakistan captain also opined about the pitch and the playing conditions, commented it is not easy to score runs in these conditions.

“It is not so easy on such pitch. It is difficult for new batsmen to get set and score freely,” he said.

“It is unfortunate that our batters could not set and as a result wickets tumble one after the other. But, we trust the abilities of our batters, it happens sometimes that the batting line-up flops. I think we should not doubt the ability of our players,” he said.

The right-handed batter went on to comment about the match situation, shared that now the target is to take early wickets of the opposition.

“We are having a hard time at the moment, now the aim is to get Australia out early,” he said.

“Tomorrow is an important day for us and we need to bowl well. No target is easy in the fourth innings as Australia are already leading by more than 130 runs,” he concluded.

It is pertinent to mention here that Australia have scored 11/0 at the stumps on day three. The touring side is currently leading by 134 runs as Pakistan bowled out for 268 in response to Australia’s 391.

READ: Cummins, Starc star to put Australia in the commanding position 

LAHORE: Pakistan’s former captain and the right-handed experienced batter has completed 7,000 runs in Test cricket during the ongoing third Test between Pakistan and Australia, here on Wednesday.

Azhar, who is playing his first Test at his home ground and the 94th overall for Pakistan, has become only the fifth Pakistani batter to achieve the milestone of scoring 7,000 Test runs.

The right-handed batter has joined Younis Khan, Javed Miandad, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Yousuf in the list of the Pakistani batters to score more than 7,000 runs.

In world cricket, however, Azhar has become the 54th cricketer to achieve this stunning feat.

The right-handed batter has scored 19 centuries and 35 half-centuries in his ongoing Test career. He was also the first batter to score a triple-century in a day-night Test.

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LAHORE: Australian pacers Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc wreaked havoc over the Pakistan batting line-up dismissing the home side on 268 to hand their team a massive lead of 123 runs before the openers take the touring side to 11/0 at the stumps on day three of the ongoing third Test.

After bowling out Pakistan on 268, Australian openers Usman Khawaja and David Warner could only bat for three overs. The openers took their side to 11/0 before the umpire dislodged the bails to call off the day.

Khawaja (7*) and Warner (4*) will now resume the proceedings for the touring side on the fourth day of the third Test. The touring side currently has a massive lead of 134 runs.

On the other hand, Pakistan had a forgetful third session as the touring bowlers wreaked havoc over their batting lineup. The home side lost all their remaining seven wickets and could only manage to add 41 runs after the Tea break.

Australian captain Cummins led the way with a five-for, while Starc followed back with four. Nathan Lyon, on the other hand, made one scalp.

Coming out to bat after tea, the home side soon lost their fourth wicket as the left-arm pacer Starc castled Fawad Alam on 13.

Following his departure, the side began to lose wickets at an alarming rate. Babar Azam, who was standing firm at the other end, also became the victim of the collapse as he lost his wicket to Starc after scoring 67.

The home side’s batting tail had no answers to the Australian bowling attack as Nauman Ali, Hasan Ali, and Naseem Shah bagged ducks. Mohammad Rizwan and Sajid Khan, on the other hand, scored one and six respectively.

Following the match-defining collapse, Pakistan bowled out on 268; handing a massive 123-runs lead to the Kangaroos.

The second session of the third day turned out to be an eventful one as the visitors removed both set batters Abdullah and Azhar, while the home side added 68 runs at 2.7 runs per over.

The top-scorer for the home side – Abdullah walked back to the pavilion in the fourth over of the second session as Nathan Lyon removed the former for 81. He faced 228 balls and smashed 11 boundaries.

Later, Azhar also made his way back a few overs before the Tea break as Australian captain Pat Cummins took a screamer off his bowling to remove Azhar for 78. The right-handed batter 208 deliveries and hit eight boundaries including a six.

In the morning session, the set pair of Abdullah and Azhar resumed at an overnight score of 90/1, extending their important partnership by adding a further 69-runs; making sure that the home side do not lose any wicket. Pakistan added 69 runs at a decent rate of 2.4.

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LAHORE: Australian all-rounder Cameron Green opened up about missing on a chance to score his maiden Test century, said nobody wants to miss out on the milestone.

Green while talking to the post-day virtual press conference expressed his disappointment in missing out on an opportunity to score his maiden ton.

“Nobody wants to be out close to hundred. Unfortunately, I couldn’t play more,” he said.

“A century has its own significance in Test cricket. I would have always remembered this feat if I ended up getting a ton,” he added.

The right-handed batter also praised Naseem Shah for his brilliant performance with the ball, while termed his dismissal ‘unfortunate’.

“Naseem bowled really well, we were looking for a long partnership, it is unfortunate for me to get out,” he said.

“Naseem made good use of the old ball. Hopefully, we too can get the ball to reverse swing when the ball gets old,” he added.

The Australian all-rounder further shared about his experience of batting on a sub-continent pitch, said he is learning to play according to the pitch condition here.

“I am still learning to play according to the conditions of the subcontinent pitches. We have to stay long at the crease here and the ball gets a low bounce,” he concluded.

READ: ‘Naseem Shah is the future of Pakistan’ Shaheen Shah Afridi

LAHORE: Pakistan’s left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi heaped praises on young speedster Naseem Shah, said he is the future of Pakistan.

Shaheen, while talking to a virtual press conference praised Naseem’s bowling abilities and termed him as the future of Pakistan cricket.

“Naseem is a very promising bowler. I think he is the future of Pakistan,” he said.

“We have supported each other throughout the innings and the way he bowled was outstanding,” he added.

Shaheen then opined about the pitch and the playing conditions of the ongoing Test said it is challenging to bowl here.

“It is not that easy to bowl according to the pitch and the conditions. However, we are trying our best to stick to our plan,” he said.

“We are getting reverse swing on this pitch but not getting much help from the new ball,” he added.

The left-arm pacer also commented about Australia’s performance with the bat and claimed their two partnerships turned out to be good for them, however, claimed that the home side bowled decently.

“Two partnerships turned out to be important for them but I think we bowled with quite a discipline,” he concluded.

The young pacer then went on to expressed his desire to win the ongoing third Test, said we will do every bit to win this match.

It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan have scored 90/1 at the stumps on day two, in response to Australia’s 391.

READ: Abdullah, Azhar stand solid as Pakistan get to 90/1 at the stumps

MELBOURNE: Australia’s white-ball captain Aaron Finch claimed that the away series against Pakistan will be a tough challenge.

Finch, while talking to the media via a virtual press conference, termed Pakistan as a good side, while claiming it would be a competitive series.

“Pakistan is a strong team and it will be a tough competition between the two sides,” he said.

“It is their home series so we have to prepare accordingly. It is an important series for both of us,” he added.

The Australian captain also commented about their preparation for the tour, said there are a lot of inexperienced players in the squad, however, backed them that they are capable of doing well.

“They are quite inexperienced for Australia but I think playing T20 cricket will help them in that regard. There is a lot of skill in the group and guys that have been around one-day cricket for a long time domestically as well,” he said.

“We have started training here. The players are looking in good touch, we just need to adjust in 50-overs conditions,” he added.

The 35-years-old captain then went on to comment about his fitness, said he is doing completely fit and is looking to score as many runs as he could before the upcoming ICC T20I World Cup later this year.

“I am 100 percent fit now. Looking forward to scoring as many runs as possible before the World Cup,” he said.

It is pertinent to mention here that the white-ball series between Pakistan and Australia will commence on March 29 in Lahore.

READ: Pakistan’s white-ball squad players to enter the bio-secure bubble today