Left handed opening batsman, Salman Butt, made a dream debut of his Test captaincy as his team is looking to break the losing streak against the Australian cricket team. He saw the collapse of the opponent team for just 88 runs thanks to the dominant performance from Pakistani bowlers in the opening day of the second Test match at Headingley. However, Pakistan finished the day with 60-run lead and seven-wicket remaining at hand as they scored 148 for 3 in reply.
Pace trio Mohammad Asif (3), Mohammad Aamer (3) and Umar Gul (2) shared 8 wickets amongst them thanks to seam and swing. On the other hand, Umar Amin took the only wicket of Marcus North while the rest one batsman suffered run out.
Australian captain, Ricky Ponting should be criticized for his decision of batting first in an extremely challenging condition. Australian players were dismissed cheaply. Any of the batsmen could put any resistance.
Simon Katich, the man of the match in the first test at Lord’s, got early dismissed scoring 13 from 21. However, Marcus North, Tim Paine and Steven Smith could score 16, 17 and 10 respectively.
Pakistani bowlers are always good in dismissing the opponent team, but due to the failure of lack of batting they lost the match at the end. Now, the time has come for batsmen to prove their skill and talent to seal a victory and level the series. Pakistan cricket team is now trailing the series 0-1 following their 150-run defeat at Lord’s at the hand of Australia.
Pakistan cricket team should try hard to put on at least 200 run lead. If they can then they will have the strong possibility to taste their first test victory against Australia in a very long time.
Opening pair Imran Farhat and Salman Butt respectively scored 43 and 45 and made an 80-run partnership. Azhar Ali who made his Test debut against Australia at Lord’s scored 30. Umar Amin scored unbeaten 1 and finished the first day with Umar Akmal who was not out 8.
For Australia, Shane Watson took two wickets while Ben Hilfenhaus got one.
Pakistan and Australia are taking on each other on 21 July at the Headingley Cricket Ground, Leeds in England in the final test match of the two-match series with both sides looking to win the match. Pakistan needs a victory to level the series, while Australia would look to take their winning streak over Pakistan to 14, and thus, ensuring another series win over the South Asian competitions.
Time
The match kicks off at 09:30 GMT and 10:30 local time. According to Pakistan time, the match begins at 14:30, while Cricket fans in Australia can watch the match from 19:30 (Melbourne and Sydney time), 19:00 (Adelaide time) and 17:30 (Perth time). In the US, the match begins in New York time at 05:30 and in California time at 02:30.
Live Score
To get the live score of the match, visit the following link:
Pakistan is under huge pressure after losing the Lord’s test. The retirement of captain Shahid Afridi following their 150-run defeat did not help them in this cause either. Salman Butt, the new captain, is now left with a huge task to carry on, and so with a young inexperienced side.
In the absence of Afridi, Shoaib Malik is going to come in, while there is a possibility off spinner Saeed Ajmal could replace experienced leg spinner Danish Kaneria. Kaneria’s performance was not up to the mark at Lord’s, but he is the most experienced member of the squad with 59 test matches to his credit. Ajmal, on the other hand, is severely inexperienced with only 5 test matches to his name.
Moreover, Kaneria’s leg spin along with Shoaib Malik’s off spin could provide much-needed variety to their spin attack. So, playing Kaneria seems to be more justifiable.
Australia, on the other hand, is worried about two injury problems. Pacer Ben Hilfenhaus and batsman Marcus North are currently racing against time to recover from shoulder injury and illness respectively. However, Ponting indicated that both of them would be fit in time to take part in the match. Pacer Peter George and batsman Usman Khawaja could be their probable replacement, if they fail to get over their physical problems in time.
Overall, Pakistan has an inexperienced batting line up, but their pace attack featuring Umar Gul, Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif is their main hope. Australia has a balanced squad, but their batsmen could face some tough challenges from the Pakistani bowlers.
Pakistan takes on Australia in their second and the final test match of the ongoing two-match series at Leeds starting from 21 July. After winning the first test at Lord’s, Australia is now 1-0 ahead in the series and now Pakistan must defeat Australia in order to level the series.
Australian cricket fans would like to see continuation of Australia’s dominating form over Pakistan. Aussies are in a 13-match winning streak against Pakistan in test cricket. An Australian defeat to Pakistan in a test match last time came 15 years back.
Pakistani cricket fans have nothing to be hopeful of Pakistan’s come back at Leeds. Pakistan’s batting line up is pretty weak, especially their middle order featuring Azhar Ali, Umar Amin, Umar Akmal and Kamran Akmal looks toothless. Their pacers can only give some hopes, bit it is really highly doubtful if that is enough to win a test match against Australia.
Live on Ten Sports TV Channel
However, cricket fans in general would like to enjoy a competitive match. Though Australia won the first test by 150 runs in the end, there was a balance in the match till the 4th day. Ten Sports television channel is going to cover the second test live for its viewers. Ten Sports is a very popular sports channel in South Asia as well as in the Middle East. So, cricket fans of South Asia and Middle East can watch the match live on Ten Sports.
It is true that Australia is clearly favorite, but given Pakistan’s quality pace attack, one can not write off Pakistan yet. Even a draw would be considered as a satisfactory result for stand-in captain Salman Butt who now has to perform both as a leader as well as the most reliable batsman in his side.
In a repeat of what had been a regular picture of a test match involving Pakistan and Australia over the last one decade, Australia convincingly defeated Pakistan by 150 runs in the first of the two-match test series which is currently going on in England.
In the aftermath of the defeat at Lord’s, Shahid Afridi retired from test cricket just one match after coming back to test format following a four-year absence in the longer version of the game. Now, his deputy on the tour, Salman Butt, would lead Pakistan in the second and the final match with Pakistan needing a victory to level the series.
Pakistan could not even draw any test match against Australia over the last decade. So, winning the second test at Leeds starting from 21 July would take more than 100 percent from each of the Pakistani players. Stand-in captain Salman Butt now has a very tough goal to accomplish.
Pakistan’s batting line up, which was already missing Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan, would look feebler in the absence of Shahid Afridi and it could be an added pressure on opener Salman Butt. Though the possibility of brining back either Yousuf or Younis as Afridi’s replacement is being discussed at the moment, it is less likely that there would be any change in the current Pakistan squad ahead of the second test.
So, that means Pakistan would have to rely more on their experienced batsmen like Salman Butt and Kamran Akmal. The condition is so critical that even just a year back Butt and Kamran were among the younger members of the squad, and now they are among the experienced players.
Leg spinner Danish Kaneria is the most experienced member of the current squad with 59 test matches to his credit and interestingly there is a possibility Kaneria could be replaced by off spinner Saeed Ajmal who has played just 5 test matches so far in his career. Shoaib Malik could be the replacement for Afridi.
Overall, Salman Butt is facing perhaps the toughest job in his career. He must make a very good contribution with his bat and get the best out of a pool of inexperienced players, many of whom are playing just because the experienced player are missing. However, Butt could also be inspired to accomplish something that even many of his great predecessors could not achieve.
Australian cricket team is leading the two-match Test series 1-0 after winning the opening Test match by 150 runs in Lord’s. Marcus North helped his team to win the match after taking six wickets with the ball.
Pakistan captain, Shahid Afridi, has made his announcement of taking retirement from Test cricket after the second Test against Australia starting from 21st July 2010.
In the fourth day, coming to chase a winning score of 440, Pakistan were all out for 289. Despite making a good start, Pakistan cricket team failed to chase the score successfully. Wicket started falling continuously after the dismissal of Umar Akmal, who was caught by Michael Clarke on 22 off a ball from North.
When Umar Akmal got out, Pakistan was 216-4 in the 64th over. After that, they could not continue for a long time.
Thanks to a third-wicket partnership between Salman Butt and Azhar Ali, Pakistan could score 150 for 1. Butt and Azhar added 102 runs in third wicket stand. Salman Butt was dismissed on 92 and it showed the beginning of a collapse. Azhar Ali scored 42 before being trapped by Hilfenhaus.
Marcus North took his career best figure of 6 wickets for 55 runs in 18.1 overs. Other wickets were shared by Steven Smith (3) and Ben Hilfenhaus (1).
On the first day, winning the toss, Pakistan chose to field first. Australia scored 253 in its first innings while Pakistan scored 148 and was short of 105 runs from the first innings. Australia scored 334 runs in their second innings before being bowled out and set a tough chasing score to the opponent.
Simon Katich and Salman Butt were announced the player of the match.
The two-match test series between Pakistan and Australia is going to begin today (13 July) with the first test being scheduled to kick off from 09:30 GMT at Lord’s in England. Pakistan would be keen to put an end to their 12-successive defeat to Australia in test cricket, while the Aussies would love to clinch another victory over Pakistan.
Live Score
Cricket fans can get the live score of the match in the following link:
The last time Pakistan defeated Australia in a test match was in November 1995 at Sydney in Australia. So, the current members of Pakistan squad do not have any experience of winning over Australia in a test match. Since 1999 Brisbane test, Pakistan lost all their last 12 test matches against Australia including 3 Test matches being held in neutral venues in 2002. Even just six months back, Australia whitewashed Pakistan in a three-match test series at home.
Overall, Pakistan has nothing to get inspiration from their test record against Australia. However, the Pakistani players would be determined to end their poor run against the Aussies and new captain Shahid Afridi could inspire his young players to give their best against the world champions.
Australia would feature two debutants in leg spinning all rounder Steven Smith and wicketkeeper Tim Paine. Regular wicketkeeper Brad Haddin is recovering from injury, while Australia is also missing pacer Peter Siddle and spinner Nathan Hauritz due to their injury problems.
Australian pace attack, however, is pretty strong in the presence of Mitchell Johnson, Ben Hilfenhaus and Doug Bollinger. The inclusion of Steven Smith has given Australia a very good depth in their batting line up.
Pakistani pace attack features Umar Gul, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer, while Danish Kaneria would fill up the spinner’s slot. Shahid Afridi’s leg spin has been highly effective for Pakistan in the limited overs cricket over the last few years. Now, it is would be interesting to see if he can contribute with bowl in test cricket too.
The first test between Pakistan and Australia will start from 13 July 2010 and there is a bad news for the Aussies- Brad Haddin will not be able to play. The 32 year old wicketkeeper from New South Wales has played 25 Test matches and 65 ODIs so far for the national team. Tim Paine is most likely to guard the wickets in his absent.
The test series will be a home series for Pakistan but because of safety concerns in Pakistan, it will take place in England. Haddin cannot play because of an elbow injury.
This is a setback for the Aussies because Haddin is not only a good wicketkeeper but also he is a good batsman. His batting average of 38.78 in Test cricket is not bad for a wicketkeeper. He has scored 2 centuries and 5 half centuries in the 27 Test matches he took part. He has also taken 110 catches and 2 stumpings so far in the longer version of cricket.
On the other hand, 25 year old Tim Paine is yet to play in any test match. He has however played in just 19 ODI matches. So, it will be a big challenge for this young wicketkeeper.
Pakistan and Australia will take part in two T20 matches on July 5 and 6 before the test series.
Home team Australian has taken a 1-0 lead of the 3-match test series after winning the opening test match by 170 runs at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Now, they are moving towards the Sydney Cricket Ground to play the 2nd test match to ensure the series victory with one match remaining to play. However, second test match is a big challenge for touring team Pakistan to make their strong come back in the competition. This match will be played from 3rd to 7th January, 2010.
Batting and fielding are the main problems for Pakistan cricket team. These two problems put them under huge pressure. Pakistan skipper Mohammad Yousuf calls Younis Khan to join the Pakistan squad. Younis Khan has experience to play for South Australian club. Even his inclusion will help Pakistan cricket team to make strong batting line up.
Australian captain Ricky Ponting has not recovered yet. He is still suffering from elbow injury. But he is still confidence to lead his team in the second team. Ricky Ponting played in the 1st test match.
Pakistan leg spinner Danish Kaneria has been recovered from finger injury. Now, he is waiting to get a call from Pakistan squad. He has good experienced to play in Sydney. It is expected that he will demolish Australian batting line up with his spin magic.
Most of the people are eagerly waiting to see this game live. Even fans of both teams have already started searching on net to get the list of live TV channels name. I am giving some TV channels name in below where you can enjoy live match-
Fox Sports
Geo Super
Supersport
Nine Network
SKY Sport
Star Cricket
However, you can get live commentary from radio. I have given two radios name in below where from you will get live radio commentary –
Humara FM 94.6- Pakistan
ABC Radio Grandstand – Australia
It is not possible for Pakistani bowlers to seal the victory. I hope that Pakistani batsmen should give their best effort to make the series level.
Australian cricket team has sent the touring team Pakistan under huge pressure after declaring their first innings 454 for 5 in day 2 of the first test match. After coming to chase Australia’s innings, Pakistan has already lost their top four batsmen with just 109 runs at the end of second day. Umar Akmal is batting on 10 along with Mohammad Aamer who was remained unbeaten without scoring any run. Pakistan cricket team is still trailing by 345 runs.
Pakistan’s bowling line up was the main cause of concern for home team. But later it was found useless in the bouncy pitch. Australia finished the opening day with 305 for 3. On second day, they added 149 runs more after playing 38 overs. Michael Hussey and Nathan Hauritz scored 82 and 75 respectively. After the departure of Nathan Hauritz, Australia declared the first innings. Michael Clarke remained not out 28.
Saeed Ajmal took Michael Hussey’s wicket and Abdur Rauf dismissed Nathan Hauritz. The funny thing is that both wickets were trapped by LBW.
For Australian cricket team, Mitchell Johnson brought the first break through. Nathan Hauritz showed his all rounder form after taking Faisal Iqbal’s wicket. Peter Siddle made his good come back from injury. He claimed Mohammad Yousuf’s wicket. He gave the last break through at the end of the day. Salman Butt was in good form. He started well but could not continue. He was 5 runs away from half century. Shane Watson took his wicket.
The 3-match Test series between Pakistan and Australia has already caught the attention to the cricket world. Test series will start with the first test match which will be played on December 26 to 30, 2009. Host team Australia will face their opponent team at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Pakistan cricket team has huge fan. They should not want to miss the chance to see it live. This match will kick off at 23:30 GMT (10:30 local time).
It is going to be an important test series for touring side Pakistan cricket team. Their test series against Pakistan will be the fourth series for Pakistan cricket team this year. Pakistan is now hot favorite team in this series. But I want to remind you that this team has no good record in Aussie soil. However, fans of Pakistan cricket team is expecting to see a tough competition between them. Some cricket fans think that Australian cricket team can be beaten by Pakistan. The opposite thing can happen also.
In their last test match, Australia defeated West Indies by 2-0. Pakistan also played a test series against New Zealand but they finished the series with draw. This draw will inspire them to play well and beat home team.
No doubt, we can see a closely competitive match between them. Australia should want to continue their dominance and improve their ICC Test ranking. You may know that Pakistan cricket team is not in good position in the test ranking.
Australia is worried about the bowling strength of Pakistan team for the Boxing Day Test match. Pace attack of Pakistan cricket team can play an important role and help them to get the victory. Australian captain Ricky Ponting is now concerned about it. He should take the necessary steps to face Pakistan’s fears bowling attack. The young pace bowler Mohammad Aamir is in good form. The 17-year-old bowler has become the permanent member of Pakistan national team. Good news is that their leading bowler Mohammad Asif is now back after one year ban.
Batting is perhaps a major problem for Pakistan cricket team. To get victory, they would have to depend on their batsmen. Mohammad Yousuf is the captain of Pakistan cricket team. He is now concerned about this problem. He is trying to convince Younis Khan to make his come back from rest.
Injury is perhaps the biggest problem for Australian cricket team. Ricky Ponting may not play the first test match against Pakistan. However, Vice-captain Michael Clarke thinks that their captain Ponting will be fit to lead the national team in the Boxing Day Test which will be held at the MCG. But elbow injury has remained him doubt for the first test match. He was seen doing net practice. It can give some hope to his fans about his fitness. If he can not be fit fully then he will be replaced with Philip Hughes. Pacer Peter Siddle has joined in the 13-man squad.
When any team plays a test series against Australian cricket team then we can hear a common complain from the opponent team. The complain is that Australia is best for sledging. This matter breaches the rule of cricket game and also harms the mentality of cricket fans. Let us see if they can control themselves from sledging.
Who do you think can win the match? It is very complicated question. Both teams have equal possibility to seal the victory. As a host team Australia should take the advantage of home crowd support. Even their big victory against West Indies team will motivate them to continue their winning streak. Though Pakistan has not played much test cricket this year but their previous performance will encourage them to make a record in Australian soil.
Fans have already started searching to get the list of live TV channels name. This match will be shown live on Geo Super in Pakistan and Nine Network in Australia. If you can not enjoy it live on TV then get live updates from various websites. I have given some websites name in below-
action8cricket.com
cricinfo.com
thatscricket.oneindia.in
stickiewicket.com
cricandcric.com
cricbuzz.com
cricketnirvana.com
Both Pakistan and Australia is going to face each other after long time. Australia is a big opponent team for Pakistan this year. Let us see how they perform against the former top ranked team.
Bowling strength of Pakistan cricket team will create a big problem for host team Australia. This thing has put Australia under huge pressure. Australian captain Ricky Ponting should find some way to get relieved from this situation. Now, he is worried about the forthcoming test series against Pakistan. Ricky Ponting is doubtful for the first test match because of elbow injury. It is sure that we can see a competitive match between them.
Young pace bowler Mohammad Aamer has caught the attention of opponent team. He is continuously performing well. Mohammad Asif is another destructive bowler. He has come back from ban. Umar Gul is a tough bowler with good line and length. He can cause a lot of damage against Australian batting line up.
Though, Australian venues are helpful for pace bowling but Pakistan selectors may use some quality spin bowlers like Danish Kaneria and Saeed Ajmal.
Bowling strength of Pakistan cricket team is the main cause of concern for Australian captain Ricky Ponting. Let us see how Australian batsmen protect them.
Millions of fans are passionately waiting to see a Test series between Australia and Pakistan. Touring side Pakistan will take on the home team Australia on 26December 2009 in the first test match. These two giant teams will face each other at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. With the hope of Test series win in Australia, Pakistan selectors have announced a 17-member squad.
Test series against Australia is a big challenge for Pakistan cricket team. Pakistan cricket team has no good record in Australia. They may try to make new record against Australia. However, Pakistan cricket team is now in good form. They played a 3-match test series against New Zealand which finished with 1-1 draw. This result indicates that Pakistan cricket team has become able to acclimatize with test cricket.
After the terrorist attack on Sri Lanka team in Pakistan, no one came Pakistan team to play any series. Even India cancelled their series against Pakistan after the terror attack in Mumbai. This test series against Australia will be the fourth tour series for Pakistan in the past two years.
You already know that former Pakistan captain Younis Khan is now in rest. He has opted out his name from the Pakistan squad. His fans are expected that Younis Khan will travel to Australia to join with his team.
Bowling might be the big strength for Pakistan cricket team. The 17-year-old Mohammad Aamer is continuously performing well. He has become an inseparable member of Pakistan team. Aamer is a talented fast bowler. This left arm fast-medium bowler is said to be the future Wasim Akram. Mohammad Asif is back from one year ban from international cricket. He will play an important role in this test series. Danish Kaneria can demolish the opponent team with his spin.
I can not see anyone except Umar Akmal who can play well with the bat. He is just 19-year old. He has talent. Let us see if he can increase his record. Mohammad Yousuf is the captain of Pakistan cricket team.
Pakistan squad: Mohammad Yousuf (c), Salman Butt, Khurrum Manzoor, Imran Farhat, Shoaib Malik, Fawad Alam, Faisal Iqbal, Misbah-ul-Haq, Kamran Akmal (wk), Danish Kaneria, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Gul, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Aamer, Abdur Rauf, Umar Akmal, Mohammad Sami.
Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf is now under huge pressure. Let us see if he can handle this pressure successfully.
Pakistan cricket team is going to play against Australia in Australia full series including 3 Tests and five ODI matches. After the end of ODI series, both teams will play only one T20 international match. Only four days are left before the start of the first test match between Australia and Pakistan. These two strong teams will face each other on 26th December 2009 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. You may know that Australian selectors have already announced 13-man squad for the Boxing Day Test against Pakistan. There you can not find any big change. Selectors did not want to do any experiment in this squad. Even they kept the same squad which played against West Indies team and defeated the touring side in the third test at the WACA.
Australian regular captain Ricky Ponting is not sure for the first Test match. He is now suffering from elbow injury. Despite getting much treatment, no one can ensure that his presence in the Australian squad. Most probably, Phillip Hughes will replace Ricky Ponting for the first test match. He was dropped after the second test match against England in the Ashes series.
After suffering from hamstring injury for long time, fast bowler Peter Siddle has made his return to the Australian squad. No doubt, his return will boost home team to keep dominance in the longest version of cricket game. However, another pace bowler Ben Hilfenhaus can not play the test series because of knee injury.
Australia squad: Ricky Ponting (c), Michael Clarke, Doug Bollinger, Brad Haddin (wkt), Nathan Hauritz, Phillip Hughes, Mike Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Simon Katich, Clint McKay, Marcus North, Peter Siddle, Shane Watson.
The question is that who will lead Australia team if Ricky Ponting can not recover from injury. I think Vice-captain Michael Clarke will replace Ponting as captain for the first test match against Pakistan.
Looking for a semi final berth in Champions Trophy 2009, Australia is going to play their last group match against Pakistan tomorrow (30 September) at Centurion. After the match between India and Australia was washed out yesterday, Australia now needs to win over Pakistan in order to clinch their semi final place without having to face any complex calculation of net run rate. For Pakistan, it is not a very big match because they have already reached the semi final after winning over West Indies and India. However, Pakistan knows it very well that if they lose to Australia then Australia will go into the last four as Group A champion. Naturally, Pakistan would like to hold on to its leading place in the group.
Match: Australia vs Pakistan, Group A, ICC Champions Trophy 2009
Date: 30 September 2009
Venue: The SuperSportPark, Centurion, South Africa
Kick off: 07:30 GMT (Local Time 09:30)
Australia is now in the race with India to reach the semi final. Ponting and his side defeated West Indies by 50 runs in the first group match and then shared points with India in the washed-out game. So, they have 3 points from 2 games, while India, who lost to Pakistan in the first game, has only 1 point from 2 matches. The good thing for India is that they would face West Indies in their next match, and thus, having a good chance of maintaining a good net run rate by defeating the second string West Indies with a big margin.
India now have to beat West Indies on Wednesday if they hope to progress.
With Pakistan already into the last four with two wins from two games, India have one point and Australia three.
That means Mahendra Dhoni's men must beat the Windies convincingly and hope Pakistan see off Australia in Wednesday's other match.
At this moment, Australia has an advantage over India in terms of net run rate. Australia’s net run rate is +1.000, almost +2.08 above India. That means Australia can go through to the semi final, even if they lose against Pakistan. They just need to ensure that they do not suffer a big margin victory. The smaller the Pakistan’s winning margin over Australia would be, the bigger the India’s winning margin over West Indies would be required.
Australia got off to a winning start in the tournament when they defeated West Indies by 50 runs in the opening game. Against India, Australian batsmen were looking formidable until rain halted the game. Australian batsmen failed to appear with their best against West Indies, but their top order batsmen got their form back against India. Captain Ricky Ponting was impressive in both the games, scoring half centuries on both occasions. Naturally, Australia has nothing to worry about at this moment. They just need to according to their credit.
The Australians have had a reasonably good tournament, wining the opening match against the West Indies before dominating the abandoned game against India.
Ponting has led from the front in both the matches, scoring a couple of crucial fifties and putting together match-saving partnerships in tough conditions.
However, Australian batsmen might face a big test against Pakistan’s two in-from spinners: Shahid Afridi and Saeed Ajmal who are currently causing problems for the opposition batsmen consistently. I think, Pakistan would feature Mohammad Asif who has been back into the squad after serving a year of doping ban. The pacer has not played any international game over more than a year now. Naturally, Pakistan would like to play the pacer because they have already ensured their semi final berth and a defeat to Australia would not mar their aspiration of winning the Champions trophy 2009.
Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam nominated the presence of spinners Shahid Afridi and Saeed Ajmal as a worry for Australia's batsmen on the slower wicket at SuperSportPark.
"So far the way they are bowling, they are exceptional, so we have an edge over them (Australia)," Intikhab said.
"They are a world-class side, they're very professional cricketers, but it will be a great challenge for them to tackle the Pakistani spinners."
Pakistani batsmen got their form back against India, even though they struggled against West Indies while chasing a very low total in their opening game. They have a very good batting line up in the presence of Nazir, Kamran Akmal, Yousuf, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Afridi and Rana Naved. No doubt, Pakistan poses a threat for Australia in the next game.
Australia will also be careful on the net run rate criteria as well. Even if they see that things are going against them, they would then try to ensure that they would not lose by a big margin. So, at this moment, I think Australia seems to be favorite over India to join Pakistan in the semi final. I do not think that Australia would bring any change in their squad against Pakistan.
Online Live Score and Updates
You can get the live score and updates of the match from the following websites:
Cricinfo
Thatscricket
action8cricket
Stickiewicket
Pakistan seems to be favorite at this moment, but Australia has a very strong squad and more than anything, Aussies are determined to make it to the semi final. They know that elimination from the group stage would add to their pressure that they have been feeling since losing the Ashes 2009 series. Given Pakistan’s high-flying form, it seems that Younis Khan and his side would like to continue their winning run before playing their semi final match. So, we can expect a highly competitive affair on Wednesday.
