- Australia reached 367/9 thanks to centuries from Mitchell Marsh and David Warner.
- Australia wants to keep up its winning streak, while Pakistan wants to bounce back strongly.
- Like the Australian openers in the first innings, both openers have now passed 50
Despite Shaheen Afridi’s five wickets, Australia reached 367/9 thanks to centuries from Mitchell Marsh and David Warner.
After losing Warner and Marsh, Australia’s momentum persisted even though they had earlier appeared to be headed for a 400+ score. Josh Hazlewood, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Starc, Glenn Maxwell, and Marsh took Afridi’s spot.
2023 World Cup
On a level M Chinnaswamy track, Pakistani captain Babar Azam chose to bowl first against Australia. Australia wants to keep up its winning streak, while Pakistan wants to bounce back strongly from their defeat to India in Ahmedabad.
Returned to his second tenure, Mitchell Starc has performed better for Starc than he did in his first. Given that Maxwell has a tendency to collect wickets and Babar has struggled against off-spin, it will be intriguing to watch whether Cummins adds an off-spinner to the attack.
Shafique attempts to get down the track and draw the ball on the leg side, mistiming the ball, but Marcus Stoinis breaks the opening partnership. Australia’s major blow is that the alliance was about to shift into a new gear. To prevent complacency and a few wicket loss, Pakistan needs another partnership with Babar Azam, who walks in the middle.
Like the Australian openers in the first innings, both openers have now passed 50. Pakistan looks to consolidate in the first overs and chase the bowling in the last overs, demonstrating the clear difference in strategy between the two teams.
This could turn out to be a smart move today, since if Pakistan can hold onto the wicket, ultimately dew will settle in and make it harder for the Australian spinners to grip the ball and facilitate easier batting.
In addition to finger spinners getting anything off the surface in the first innings, Glenn Maxwell has been introduced into the attack. In contrast, groundskeepers worked on the outfield to remove dew during the first water break while ropes were out.
Pakistan emerged victorious as the ball grew older, and they began to put in a lovely slower one that gripped and made it difficult for the Australian batters to pick. In addition to Warner and Marsh, who both had outstanding days with their strokes, there was also Haris-Rauf and Shaheen.
In addition, Stoinis’ slower wicket went awry, and was trapped in front of the wicket, giving Shaheen Shah Afridi his third wicket of the night. In the latter part of the innings, the Australians had a mini-collapse, and in the last part of the match, they did the same.
