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Pakistan will look to seal the T20I series when they take on Australia in the second T20I at Dubai tonight. Join us at 2.00am AEST for live score updates and commentary
That Pakistan won wasn’t as much a surprise as the manner of their victory.
More specifically, it was Australia’s abject batting display that stunned the fans on Wednesday. Invited to bat by Pakistan, Australia crumbled quicker than a cookie and were bowled out for 89, which now takes second place in their worst ever batting displays in this format of the game.
The Australian boat was rocked early with the dismissal of the recently returned Shane Watson and barring Dave Warner’s 22, no other batsman got more than 15.
What will be even more disheartening is that the problems continue to remain the same: batting against spin bowling.
Captain Mohammad Hafeez, nemesis-in-chief Saeed Ajmal and even debutant Raza Hasan combined to pick up six wickets for only 52 runs in their 12 overs.
Spinners aside, Umar Gul and Sohail Tanvir had a good workout for Pakistan as well and it was one of the better bowling displays as a team in recent times.
So much so that Shahid Afridi wasn’t missed at all. He could continue to sit out of this game if the management have even the slightest doubt about his fitness.
Australian captain George Bailey admitted that the side would find it very difficult to win the World T20 if they batted as badly as they did in the opener.
Interestingly, batting-wise this is the best that Australia can manage, as can be seen from the three changes announced for this game.
Daniel Christian, Mitchell Starc and Brad Hogg will get a game here, as they replace Ben Hilfenhaus, Glenn Maxwell and Xavier Doherty.
Pakistan will do well to be wary of a backlash though.
The inclusion of Starc, who had an excellent tournament in the Friends Life t20 this year, should make a difference to their bowling attack.
As should the selection of Hogg, whose ability to bowl his left-arm wrist spin will be a bigger challenge for the Pakistani batsmen.
While Watson is still feeling his way back into the side after his fitness issues, Dave Warner’s form will be a concern.
The Hussey brothers will also hope to get some runs under their belt going into the World T20. Cameron White’s return to the team yielded only a 22-ball 15 and an over of bowling too late in the innings to trouble the opposition.
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