Match 18: AUS vs PAK| Game Analysis| Pitch Report| Best 11

The 18th match of the tournament will be played between Australia (AUS) and Pakistan (PAK). 

Current Standings: 

Pakistan (PAK) Analysis:

Pakistan had shown their full potential in batting but their bowling might be a challenge for them in this World Cup. They started their journey with a win over Netherlands by 81 runs, then they got a record chase against Sri Lanka and won it by 6 wickets and then lost their last match against their arch rival India by 7 wickets.   

Abdullah Shafique who came as a replacement against Fakhar Zaman has shown tremendous batting where he scored a century in his first World Cup match and against India he scored 20 runs. Imam-ul-Haq didn’t look great with his batting till now where he scored 15,12 and 36 runs in three matches. But he is a dependable batsman from the side and the team is expecting more from him. Fakhar Zaman is out of form in his batting due to which he was replaced by Abdullah.

Pakistan’s most dependable batsman from the side Babar Azam scored his first fifty against India. Before that match he played two innings where he scored only 5 & 10 runs. He is slowly getting his rhythm back. Mohammad Rizwan is showing much dependability  with the bat as he scored 248 runs till now in the tournament so far which includes 1 century and 1 half century. He is batting at an average of 124. 

Saud Shakeel batted brilliantly against netherlands where he scored 68 runs after that he scored 31 & 6 runs for his team. He is scoring great in the middle order. Iftikhar Ahmed is having some problems with the bat. Till now he scored just 35 runs in 3 matches. Shadab Khan batted mostly in the death overs and is a great all rounder of the team. He batted well but with his bowling he only took 2 wickets. He needs to be more disciplined with the bowl. 

Mohammad Nawaz, the other all rounder of the team has shown average performance with bat and bowl. He is an aggressive batsman and can bat with a brilliant strike rate in the death overs. Hasan Ali who came as a replacement of Naseen Shah has been the most successful bowler in the team with 7 wickets in his pocket with an impressive average of 19.71. 

Shaheen Afridi misses his form in this tournament. He got 4 wickets but has expensive spells. Batsmen find him easy to play in the initial and in the death overs. Haris Rauf the speedstar of the team took 5 wickets but his economy is 6 which is not his best. He was looking good against Netherlands but against Sri Lanka and India he was not looking in his perfect line and length. 

Predicted 11 for the Match:

Babar Azam ©, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf.   

Australia (AUS) Analysis:

Australia must be feeling relief getting a victory after two successive losses. They lost their inaugural match against India by 6 wickets, then lost the match against South Africa by 134 runs and then they broke their losing streak by defeating Sri Lanka by 5 wickets. 

David Warner, the star opener of the side started with 41 runs against India but in the next two matches he scored only 13 runs against South Africa and 11 runs against Sri Lanka. He has a great record in India and needs to capitalize that experience here. Mitchell Marsh after failing in the first two matches, finally hit a half century against Lankans. A great relief for him and he will definitely want to keep that momentum going. 

Steve Smith scored 65 runs in 3 matches which doesn’t match his stats in international cricket. He got a good start against India but couldn’t convert it into a big innings. Marnus Labuschagne  has scored the most runs for his team in this World Cup with 113 runs but he is still to get par 50 runs here. Though getting a good start with the bat he failed to utilize it later on.  

Josh Inglis who was the replacement of Alex Carey, hit his maiden half century in the World Cup. Also he is doing well and will be a good middle order batsman for the team. Alex Carey who was the team’s prime wicket-keeper was removed in the last match due to being inconsistent with the bat. Glenn Maxwell the most destructive batsman from the side has some runs scored in the last match where he made 31 runs unbeaten but he has some expressiveness with his bowling where he took 3 wickets till now with an impressive economy.  

Marcus Stoinis is a great hitter of the ball and if he gets going then the stadium will be small for him. He can also bowl and is a great option for the team as an additional bowler. Against Lankans he scored 20 runs in just 10 balls and remained unbeaten till the end. Pat Cummins, the skipper leading from the front, is predominantly a bowler but also shines with the bat here in the death overs. He broke the partnership against Sri Lanka which eventually moved the atmosphere to their side. 

Mitchell Starc is a highly aggressive bowler in the death but this World Cup didn’t go well for him till now as he spent many runs in his spells. Josh Hazelwood got 4 wickets till now in the tournament, and has excelled bowling in the starting. Adam Zampa, the only main spinner from the side had a very bad first two matches but in the last match against Sri Lanka he got 4 wickets and was awarded player of the match. 

Predicted 11 for the Match:

Pat Cummins ©, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazelwood, Adam Zampa. 

Pitch and Weather Report:

The match will be played at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. It is definitely a batting paradise. Boundaries are short and batsmen can hit easy sixes here. Bowl also came to bat very easily. In the initial overs bowlers can find some swing here but there will be no spin. 

Weather will be pleasant throughout the day. No chances of rain. Temperature will be 30 degree celsius during the daytime while during evening it will drop down to 19 degree celsius. Humidity will be around 50%. 

Head to head (AUS vs PAK) in the World Cup:

They played 10 matches against each other in the World Cup. 

Best 11 for the Match:

Mohammad Rizwan, David Warner, Steve Smith, Babar Azam, Abdullah Shafique, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Hazelwood, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mitchell Starc.