Australian soil has mostly been the place of nightmares for Pakistan for decades. But boosted by the fiery bowling of fast Haris Rauf, Pakistan are on the brink of a rare series victory in Australia and go into Sunday’s decider at Optus Stadium with plenty of confidence after a nine-wicket thrashing of the world champions in Adelaide.
Of course, it can be dangerous to feel any kind of certainty about such a volatile team, but Pakistan deserve to enter the third and final ODI in Perth as favourites. They probably should have finished the series by now if it wasn’t for Pat Cummins’ latest heroics with the bat at the MCG.
Pakistan bounced back magnificently with a masterclass in the second ODI, beating Australia’s batsmen with deft pace bowling before impressive young opener Saim Ayub treated Australia’s frontline attack with disdain.
It’s hard to remember a more clinical performance from a visiting team in Australia. Pakistan, whose white-ball coach Gary Kirsten resigned amid turmoil just a week before the tour, can almost sniff an unlikely series victory and will face a weakened Australia.
Cummins, Steven Smith, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Marnus Labuschagne will not play as they begin to prepare for the first Test against India.
While the series is seen as an entry into the successful summer of Tests, as underlined by the modest crowds in Melbourne and Adelaide, there is additional significance for both teams ahead of the next Champions Trophy in Pakistan.
forms guide
Australia LWWLL (last five ODIs, most recent first)
Pakistan WLLWW
In the spotlight: Josh Inglis and Haris Rauf
Team news: massive changes for Australia
Fast Sean Abbott, who played in the series opener, is likely to return to Australia along with experienced all-rounder and Perth local Marcus Stoinis. Local heroes Lance Morris and Cooper Connolly will be under consideration, while quicks Spencer Johnson and Xavier Bartlett are also in the squad.
Australia (probable): 1 Matt Short, 2 Jake Fraser-McGurk, 3 Josh Inglis (captain, week), 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Aaron Hardie, 7 Cooper Connolly, 8 Sean Abbott, 9 Spencer Johnson/Xavier Bartlett, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Lance Morris
After such a comprehensive victory in Adelaide, Pakistan will remain unchanged.
Pakistan (probable): 1 Saim Ayub, 2 Abdullah Shafique, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Mohammad Rizwan (captain, week), 5 Kamran Ghulam, 6 Salman Agha, 7 Irfan Khan, 8 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 9 Naseem Shah, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Mohamed Hasnain
Field and conditions
A fast, bouncy surface is expected on terrain intended to mimic the famous conditions of nearby WACA. But runs generally flow into the ground in white-ball cricket, as batsmen aim for relatively short straight boundaries.
“Same three principles… pace, run and bounce, but more like a batsman’s wicket. Lots of runs,” WA cricket chief curator Isaac McDonald told ESPNcricinfo.
It has been a relatively mild spring in Perth and comfortable temperatures of around 20 degrees are expected throughout the day.
Statistics and curiosities
- Salman Agha has the fifth-highest strike rate (94.86) in Pakistan’s history of batsmen who have faced at least 500 deliveries.
- Glenn Maxwell needs 50 runs to reach 4000 in ODIs.
- The teams have never played an ODI at the Optus Stadium. Pakistan took a 4-3 lead in the WACA.
- Only two ODIs have been played at the Optus Stadium. In front of more than 53,000 fans, England’s 12-run victory over Australia in January 2018 was the first official sporting event at the Burswood ground, while South Africa beat Australia by six wickets later that year.
Quotes
“We go to Perth with a clear plan, a clear method. We are committed to the style we want to play.”
australian head coach andres mcdonald
“The most important thing was that the team won. In this performance we planned to be positive and not think about the result.”
Saim Ayub on Pakistan’s victory in the second game
