Tag: Pakistan vs Australia

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: Australia’s left-handed opener Usman Khawaja scored his first Test century in Pakistan to propel Australia to finish at 251/3 after Steve Smith’s dismissal in the closing minutes of the first day of the second Test of Benaud-Qadir Trophy, here on Saturday.

Usman stole the limelight by notching up his first century in the country he was born. The left-handed batter remained unbeaten on 127 runs off 266 balls with the help of 13 boundaries and a six.

Smith, on the other hand, scored a brilliant half-century before walking back to the pavilion in the second last over of the first day. The right-handed batter scored 72 off 214 balls, laced with seven boundaries before Faheem Ashraf took a stunning catch at slip cordon on Hassan Ali’s delivery.

The pair of Smith and Usman batted for almost 69 overs and put on a valuable 159 runs partnership for the third wicket.

At the toss, the touring side opted to bat first and managed to score 100/2 before the lunch break of the first day of the Karachi Test after an eventful session.

Australia’s opener Usman remained firm and scored an unbeaten half-century, while Warner walked back after scoring 36.

The pair provided a solid 82-runs partnership for the first wicket before Faheem Ashraf provided the first breakthrough to Pakistan as Warner nicked one behind into the safe hands of Mohammad Rizwan.

Usman then put on a brief nine runs partnership with Marnus Labuschagne but the latter went back cheaply for a duck following a direct hit from Sajid Khan.

For Pakistan, Faheem managed to pick up a wicket so far.

READ: Pakistan’s Ahsan beats Iran’s Amir to win World Snooker Championship

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: Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam said that he has not watched Mitchell Swepson playing as of yet and will try to plan against him, here on Friday.

Babar while talking to a virtual presser ahead of the second Test of the ongoing series, has acknowledged that he has not watched Swepson bowl and will look to plan against him.

“We never saw Swepson bowling but will try to plan against him,” he said.

“We will try to make plans against the leg-spinner by watching the videos of him bowling,” he added.

The young leg-spinner Swepson will make his international debut against Pakistan tomorrow in the second Test of the ongoing Benaud-Qadir Trophy, Australian Test captain Pat Cummins also confirmed.

Babar claimed he is familiar with the conditions and pitch offered at the National Stadium Karachi (NSK) and termed it ‘spin-friendly.’ He further stated that the playing XI will be finalized tomorrow.

“We had a look at the pitch yesterday and planned things initially. We will again have a look today and will finalise our playing XI for tomorrow,” he said.

“We are well aware of the spin-friendly nature of the NSK pitch and are determined of giving tough time to our opposition,” he added.

In response to a question about preparing a favourable pitch in Pindi due to the Australian team’s pressure, Babar stated that their team is strong enough and capable of defeating the Aussies.

“We are not afraid of the Australian team. Every home team makes the most of their home conditions, so did we,” he responded.

Babar further heaped praises on the team’s performance in the Pindi Test, said both batters and bowlers performed really well.

READ: Women’s WC: South Africa edge past Pakistan in a thriller by six runs

KARACHI: Pakistan’s fast bowling all-rounder Faheem Ashraf has recovered from COVID-19 and will rejoin the squad for the team’s scheduled practice session tomorrow ahead of the second Test of the Benaud-Qadir Trophy, here on Thursday.

As per the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Faheem, who, previously contracted the virus, has returned negative in his repeat Rapid Antigen Test on Thursday.

The all-rounder will now rejoin the squad in the training session tomorrow for the Karachi Test.

It is pertinent to mention here that both teams – Pakistan and Australia – held practice sessions here at National Stadium Karachi. Captains and coaches had a look at the pitch here before the second Test, which will roll into action on March 12.

READ: ICC rates Rawalpindi Test’s pitch as ‘below average’ 

KARACHI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) assessed the Rawalpindi surface as ‘below average’ on Thursday, where the first Test of the historic Pakistan-Australia series was played.

Following this, the venue has been given one demerit point under the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process.

The match referee of the Rawalpindi Test Ranjan Madugalle, who is also a member of the ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees, rated the pitch and said the character of ‘pitch hardly changed’.

“The character of the pitch hardly changed over the course of five days and that there has been no deterioration apart from the bounce getting slightly lower,” he said.

“The pitch did not have a great deal of pace and bounce in it for the seamers nor assisted the spinners as the match progressed. In my view, this does not represent an even contest between bat and ball. Therefore, in keeping with the ICC guidelines, I rate this pitch as below average,” he further stated.

It is pertinent to mention here that according to the amended ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process, match referees will award one demerit point to venues with below-average pitches, while three and five demerit points would be handed to venues with poor and unsuitable pitches, respectively. Whereas, demerit points will remain active for a rolling five-year period.

READ: Pakistan Cup: KPK, Balochistan, Sindh claim fifth-round victories

KARACHI: Pakistan’s batting consultant Mohammad Yousuf has come into the defence of the slow pitch of the Pindi Stadium for the first Test between Pakistan and Australia.

Yousuf, while talking to the media here ahead of the second Test between the two sides, said Australians also benefit from their conditions.

“I was happy to see Pakistan batting in Rawalpindi Test. Australia also benefit from their conditions,” he said.

The batting consultant further shared his views on the slow nature of the pitch and claimed the insufficient sunlight affected the pitch.

“Pindi’s wicket was acting strangely since it didn’t get enough sunshine. This was also due to using a heavy roll on the wicket,” he opined.

“However, I am hopeful that Karachi’s wicket will be able to produce a result,” he added.

Yousuf then also praised the top-performers with the bat for Pakistan Imam-ul-Haq, Azhar Ali, and Abdullah Shafique, also termed the latter as the next big thing.

“Azhar, Imam, and Abdullah played brilliantly. Abdullah’s future is bright,” he said.

Yousuf then went on to express his desire for the players to perform well in the away matches as well.

READ: Pakistan javelin-thrower Arshad flies to South Africa for training

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

KARACHI: Pakistan’s left-handed opener Imam-ul-Haq has opened up for the first time after facing criticism for performing on a slow pitch of the Pindi Cricket Stadium against Australia.

Imam, while talking to a virtual presser ahead of the Karachi Test of the Benaud-Qadir Trophy has hit back at his critics for performing on the slow pitch of the Rawalpindi Test.

“Pitch curator is not my relative and I did not ask him to prepare a slow pitch,” he said.

“I believe in the hard work I have put in. Facing criticism is now commonplace for me,” he added.

The left-handed opener also stated that Australia too, would not prepare wickets as per our instructions.

“If we go to Australia, they too, will not prepare wickets by asking us,” he said.

Imam then, also showed his gratitude for his brilliant performance against Australia in the home conditions as the left-handed batter scored centuries in both innings of the Rawalpindi Test.

“I can not put my feelings into words about my performance against Australia in our home conditions,” he said.

Imam further revealed that the 26-years-old also revealed that he kept trying to correct his mistakes when he was out of the Playing XI for two years.

“I was also performing in the domestic circuit. However, I kept trying to rectify my mistakes when I was not part of the Playing XI,” he said.

Imam also termed Karachi Test an important one and also emphasized that Australia can not be written off as they know how to make a comeback.

He further claimed that the green shirts would get Australia out twice if the bad light did not come into play.

READ: Abdullah, Imam score centuries but Rawalpindi Test ends in a draw

KARACHI: Australia’s left-handed opener David Warner has revealed that he does not take part in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) due to Australia’s international matches, here on Thursday.

Warner, while talking to the virtual press conference, has revealed the reason behind him not participating in the marquee event of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

“We are often playing international cricket during the window of the PSL. That is the reason why I could not take part in the tournament,” he said.

Warner further said that he is enjoying his time in Pakistan and thinks that entertainment is a must to keep entertaining the crowd.

“I think entertainment is a must. I try to make cricket fans enjoy being on the ground,” he said.

Warner further appreciated the support from the Pakistan cricket fans and said they are very passionate and cricket-loving people.

“My fans follow me on Instagram and also come to the ground for support. The amount of support we have received in Pindi is unbelievable and I think these people are very passionate and love cricket so much,” he said.

The left-handed opener then went on to opine about the Karachi Test and the playing conditions on offer said it is a bit strange for us.

“Karachi’s wicket is a bit strange to us. Playing on the wicket here will also be a challenge,” he said.

“We will analyze the pitch during the practice session,” he added.

The left-handed opener however is determined to perform well in the Karachi Test. He also thanked the PCB, Cricket Australia (CA), and Pakistan’s law-enforcement agencies for making this tour a success.

READ: ‘We are open to host Pakistan, India in a tri-series’ Nick Hockley