Australia should be wary of the resurgent Pakistani team
It might have been the case that both the first and the second quarter finals were a dud, but the Australia vs Pakistan quarter final will surely be an interesting one, the reason being that Pakistan is playing in it. The men in greens have been the one the most unpredictable teams in the history of cricket. Friday’s clash will be between the unpredictable Pakistan and the tournament favourites Australia.
They are two completely different teams. While Pakistan had a terrible start to their World Cup campaign, Australia had a decent tournament, with only one major hiccup, when they lost to New Zealand. Pakistan had lost both its opening matches against India and West Indies respectively. The kind of cricket Pakistan has played in this tournament is amazing. From being written hopelessly off, by critics and fans alike, Pakistan has bounced back and even managed to defeat South Africa in the group stage, and are now fighting for a berth in the semi-finals against Australia.
World Cup over for Mohammad Irfan
As far as the players are concerned, there is no doubt that Pakistan has a talented pool of players, but they need to get their act together if they want to proceed to the next round. The decision to pick up Sarfaraz Ahmed has done well for the team. They now have a good and a reliable batting line-up and even their fielding has become better. Unfortunately for them Mohammad Irfan has been ruled out due to a stress fracture in the pelvis. Misbah will definitely be missing the services of Irfan as he has a knack of picking up early wickets. But Pakistan still has a decent bowling attack in Sohail Khan, Wahab Riaz and Rahat Ali.
Solid middle order
As far as Australia is concerned, Mitchell Starc is having a dream run in this World Cup. He is one of the leading wicket takers in this world Cup and paired with Mitchell Jhonson, both can become Pakistan’s worst nightmare. The Aussies have a good batting line-up and it bats deep. They have a good opening pair in David Warner and Aaron Finch. With the likes of Michael Clarke, Steven Smith, Shane Watson and Glen Maxwell, Australians have a solid middle order.
Although, the Aussie had a good run in the tournament so far, they will have to start fresh, as a loss will mean that they will be out of the tournament, and the resurgent Pakistani team is quite capable of doing that.
For regular updates on sports, visit our social media pages by clicking the options below:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Pinterest
Pakistan vs Australia
