Pakistan and Australia will face each other in the second T20 of the ongoing series on 16h November at SCG.
Match Preview:
Australia will enter in the second T20 with much confidence after beating Pakistan effortlessly in the 1st T20. All thanks to Maxwell’s quickfire 43 runs in 19 balls. It was a rain-curtailed match as the match was set to be decided in seven overs.
Pakistan won the toss and bowl first. Although the bowling unit conceded 20+ extra runs, the batting unit of Pakistan cut a sorry figure. Rizwan departed for a duck while Babar Azam could only score three runs.
If Pakistan win the second Test, their batting unit will have to step-up, especially Babar Azam. Azam has found himself among lack of runs in the recent past. He was dropped from the Test squad, showed a bit of a comeback during ODIs against Australia, but failed to make an impact in the first T20.
Another problem for Pakistan is their squad is raw like Irfan Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Haseebullah, has not played much T20Is and playing in Australia is not an easy feat for Asian batters.
Talking about Australia, they made a thumping comeback after losing the ODI series against Pakistan. Josh Inglis finally has a victory under his belt as an Australian captain, much thanks to Maxwell and Australia’s bowlers. Xavier Bartlett
Nathan Ellis took three wickets apiece to dismantle the batting lineup of pakistan.
They will look to carry the same momentum in the second T20 as well and would look for TIm David to fire and dispatch Pakistan bowlers to the cleaners.
Probable Playing XI:
Australia – Matt Short, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Josh Inglis (wk/c), Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Hardie, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Sean Abbott, Spencer Johnson, Adam Zampa, Nathan Ellis
Pakistan: Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Haseebullah Khan, Usman Khan, Omair Yousuf, Sufyan Moqim, Abbas Afridi, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf
Pitch and weather report:
Talking about pitch, the SCG usually supports batting so a high-score game is expected. A captain who wins the toss should bat first and rack up a great total on the board to put the pressure on the opposition.
About the weather, the rain is predicted in the second encounter as well but it is before the game so probably it won’t affect the game.
Head-to-head record:
A total of 26 games have been played between Pakistan and Australia. Pakistan has won 13 games while Australia stood victorious in 12 games.
Prediction:
Given how Australia performed in the 1st T20, they will be favourites to win the game. But Pakistan made a great comeback in the ODI series as well after losing the 1st game so maybe Rizwan and co can make a great comeback, you just never know which Pakistan comes up in the second T20.
Where to watch:
Australia: Kayo Sports
Pakistan: Tapmad
India: Star Sports 1
