Australia lost the 1996 Final to Sri Lanka and since then has been on a 27-match streak (1999-2011) without a loss in World Cup matches (longest ever) but Pakistan was the team to break this legendary streak and defeated them in the last group stage game of 2011 Cricket World Cup.
Australia eliminated Pakistan in the quarter-final of World Cup 2015 and went on to become the champions. In the 2019 World Cup too, Australia emerged as winners of this contest.
Both the teams have already lost to hosts India in their previous matches. Pakistan won the other 2 and is placed at 4 in the points table while Australia won just 1 of their total 3 matches and is in the bottom 3 at the moment.
Team Preview
Australia
Batting has been a problem for Australia till now. They were unable to reach the 200 runs mark in their first 2 matches and thus lost both of them. Labuschagne is the only batsman who is among runs and has scored 2 40+ scores and got a start against India too.
Bowling has been comparatively better for Australia and has performed well in 2 matches. Defending 191 against India, Australian pacers were able to take 3 wickets for just 2 runs but couldn’t carry the momentum and lost the match by 6 wickets. Maxwell was the only bowler to bowl well against South Africa and Zampa was the hero of Australia’s first win of the tournament.
Pakistan
Pakistan defeated the Netherlands by 81 runs and chased 345 against Sri Lanka (the highest ever in World Cup history). They were doing well in the first 2 matches but were defeated by arch-rivals India in a one-sided affair. The main reason for this was their batting collapse after the wicket of captain Babar Azam. Pakistan were going good at 155/2 but lost their last 8 wickets for just 36 runs.
Indian captain Rohit Sharma never gave them a chance for a comeback and attacked Pakistan from ball 1. Shaheen resisted him scoring his second consecutive World Cup century against Pakistan but it was too late then. India defeated Pakistan by 7 wickets with around 20 overs left.
Pakistan needs to get at least 3 wickets in powerplay if they want to solidify their chances as the Australian long batting order can score well at the batting-supporting surface of Bengaluru. Shaheen Shah needs to come in his top form to support the in-form Hasan Ali.
Pitch Report
The match will be played at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
- Total Matches Played- 23
- Matches Won Batting First- 10
- Matches Won Batting Second- 12
- Average First Innings Score- 266
The pitch at Bengaluru is known to produce one of the best batting tracks in India. The pitch has a good pace and bounce which assist the batsman to play shots. The outfield is fast and shorter boundaries are like cherry on top.
But as the match progresses, spinners who can turn the ball and have variations can also play a role in the game. It will be the first match of World Cup 2023 in Bengaluru so it will be exciting to see how curators have prepared the pitch for the big event.
The only tied match played here was the high-scoring encounter of India vs England in World Cup 2011. A total of 676 runs were scored in that match.
Probable Playing XI
Australia: David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazelwood
Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Imam Ul Haq, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Ifthikar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf
Players to Watch Out For
Glenn Maxwell
Australia entered the World Cup with just one spinner in the form of Adam Zampa but Glenn Maxwell never bowled like a part-timer in the tournament. With bowlers above 15 overs, he has the third-best economy (after Bumrah and Jadeja) in the tournament and also has 3 wickets in 3 matches. Maxi got the wicket of both openers in the match against South Africa but the lack of support from the other end was the reason for Australia’s loss.
In the current Australian squad, Maxwell has scored the highest runs against Pakistan (735) in 18 matches with 7 half-centuries. These runs came at a Strike Rate of 125.42. He has had 9 wickets against them with an economy of less than 6. So all-rounder Glenn Maxwell will be the most important player for Australia in their match against Pakistan.
Mitchell Starc
23 wickets in just 10 matches with a bowling average of just 18.04 and an economy of 4.56. This is the record of Mitchell Starc against the men in green. Starc will open the bowling for Pakistan and taking wickets in the first 10 overs would be important to prevent Pakistani batsmen from taking advantage of the pitch at Bengaluru.
In this World Cup, Starc is the highest wicket-taker for Australia with 5 wickets. He is also a handy bat at number 8 and has scored 28 and 27 runs in the matches he got to bat. In the 2015 and 2019 World Cup games against Pakistan, Starc took 2 wickets in each match.
Mohammad Rizwan
Rizwan has scored one century and one 50+ score in two of the three matches. In the other game, he has scored 49 against India. He is the second-highest run-getter of the tournament and is just one run behind top scorer Devon Conway who has played 4 matches.
In the iconic chase against Sri Lanka, Rizwan was the hero for Pakistan. He scored 131 runs in 121 balls and stitched a 176-run partnership for the third wicket with Abdullah Shafique (113 of 103), which was the most important part of the match. Now, Rizwan along with Babar (who is also in form after a 50 against India) will look to perform so Pakistan can win their third match of the tournament.
Hasan Ali
Hasan Ali was not in the preliminary 15-member squad of Pakistan for World Cup 2023 but was selected after Naseem Shah was out with an injury. But Hasan Ali played from the first match and is the best bowler for Pakistan in the tournament. He has clinched 7 wickets with an average of 19.71 but has conceded runs at an economy of 6.00.
In the first match against the Netherlands, Hasan got the start Pakistan wanted by taking the wicket of opener Max ODowd and took a total of 2 wickets in the game. He gave 71 runs in his quota of 10 overs against Sri Lanka but sent 4 of their important batsmen back to the pavilion. Both century scorers got out on the bowling of Hasan Ali. Against India too, he got the wicket of dangerous Virat Kohli but it was of no help as India convincingly won the match.
AUS vs PAK Dream11 Team for Match 18 of 2023 WC
Note: This is not our final Dream11 Team as we are not aware of the Toss Result/Final Playing XI of both teams at this moment.
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