Pakistan vs Australia, 2nd ODI preview, likely XIs: Can Pakistan stop this rampant Australia?

Australia came to the UAE after a stunning ODI series win in India, where they came from 0-2 to clinch the series 3-2. They then won the first ODI against Pakistan, and given their momentum, they will take field at Sharjah on Sunday to go two-up in what will be the 100th match between the two sides.

Pakistan, on the other hand, have looked rusty. They are also without five key players, which showed on field. Neither Yasir Shah nor Imad Wasim looked impressive on a wicket where Adam Zampa bowled tightly to restrict the Pakistanis from getting away to a big score.

Aaron Finch‘s return to form have certainly boosted Australia’s spirits. Going into the World Cup, they now have a steady opening pair, who can blast away even if David Warner does not show enough form. They had also rested Pat Cummins and Ashton Turner, who should be back at some point in the series.

The Pakistan line-up, while strong, lacks hitters. Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam were sorely missed up the order, as was Sarfraz Ahmed in the middle. Umar Akmal, if used properly, may hold the key. And given his rich talent, Mohammad Hasnain definitely deserves a cap.

Head to head

Pakistan and Australia have met 98 times in ODIs, of which Australia have won 63 and lost 32. However, on Asian soil Pakistan trail by only 12-16, and in UAE, 6-9.

Venue details

Sharjah has traditionally been Pakistan’s den. They hold a win-loss ratio of 2.024 here (83 wins, 41 defeats), but a lot of that had happened during their golden era of the 1980s and 1990s. In this decade the ratio has come down to 1.125 (9 wins, 8 defeats).

But this has been an outstanding venue for Australia as well, for they have won 15 matches here and lost 8. This wins in every single of their their last 5 matches and 9 in the last 10.

Players to watch

Imam-ul-Haq (Pakistan): In the absence of Fakhar and Babar, the onus is on Imam to help Pakistan cross the 300-mark. Still in his early stages of his career, Imam took a mere 19 innings to reach 1,000 ODI runs – a record bettered by only Fakhar (18). An average of 58.39 reveals much about his class.

Aaron Finch (Australia): With Finch back in form, Khawaja can now lie back and play the long innings as Finch can go after the bowler. There are a handful of batsmen in contemporary cricket as dangerous as Finch, and if he gets going, Pakistan will have their job cut out.

Likely XIs

Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Haris Sohail, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik (c), Faheem Ashraf, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Yasir Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Abbas.

Australia: Usman Khawaja, Aaron Finch (c), Shaun Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins, Jhye Richardson, Nathan Lyon, Adam Zampa.

Prediction

The teams are evenly matched, but Pakistan should prevail.