Pakistan vs. Australia: A High Profile Tour After 24 Years

Australia is touring Pakistan after a vast gap of 24 years, and now it’s up to the officials and both boards how do they move ahead with the tour. Australia has been in decent form, and they would be up to the challenge of defeating the hosts. After sweeping England in the Ashes Test series, Australia is touring Pakistan. On the other hand, it’s Babar Azam’s eleven, who are playing at home against the elite touring nation team. Comparing the head-to-head statistics, both nations have so far played 66 Tests against each other, from which Australia has won 33 and Pakistan seized victory in 15 games. This would certainly be an interesting series, with both teams aiming to win.

Australia has always dominated Pakistan, be it either the UAE tracks or typical Asian wickets. Years back, analysts thought that Australians struggled against spin bowling attacks, but in the past few tours and home series, Australian batsmen have shown a reasonable approach against top spin bowling nations. Travis Head, Marcus Labuschagne, and Steve Smith would be the backbone for the Australian batting lineup, with David Warner and Marcus Harris at the top of the order. With the likes of Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, and the left arm sensation, Mitchel Starc, Australians stand a decent chance of winning the upcoming game against Pakistan. Though Pakistan is playing at home, the conditions won’t trick them much, but Australian bowlers can do for sure. With Pat Cummins and Scot Boland clicking 140 kph, it would be tough for Pakistani batters to get away and score big runs. The Rawalpindi wicket is not very different than typical Sydney patches, though the bounce would be less; for batting, it would be a genuine paradise.

• David Warner
• Marcus Labuschagne
• Scot Boland
• Pat Cummins
• Nathan Lyon

While playing at home in recent times, Pakistan has managed to defeat South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Zimbabwe. For the upcoming series, Pakistan would be playing in front of a jam-packed crowd which would certainly be pretty much encouraging for them. Talking about the test form of Pakistan, they are doing pretty well with the new bunch of players inducted into the main squad.

• Babar Azam
• Mohammad Rizwan
• Azhar Ali
• Shaheen Shah Afridi
• Nouman Ali

Pakistan has been practicing hard and smart to take on Australia, which is in full swing after winning the Ashes series at home. Though Pakistan has a reasonable bowling attack, they might struggle against top Australian batters who play fearless cricket. It is expected that Australia will dominate the hosts and win the opening game.