The 18th match of the 2023 Cricket World Cup will see the five-time champions Australia take on Pakistan at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Friday morning.
Australia cannot afford any more dropped points in the competition as they come into this match in seventh place, while Pakistan are in the fourth and final qualification spot after their first three matches.
Match preview
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The Baggy Greens made the worst possible start to their 2023 CWC campaign, suffering big losses in their first two matches against India and South Africa respectively.
Against the tournament hosts, Australia were beaten by six wickets after scoring just 199 runs, while the Proteas clinched a 134-run victory in the second match with a dominant bowling performance.
Pat Cummins's side were able to breathe a sigh of relief in their last match as they kept their final four hopes alive by beating Sri Lanka by five wickets and with almost 15 overs to spare.
The major concern for The Aussies so far has been their batting performances, with the likes of David Warner, Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne all failing to register a big haul yet, while only two players have got past the half-century mark in their three matches.
However, the one major positive Cummins and co will take from the last match, in particular, will be the performance of Adam Zampa, who took 4/47 in his eight overs and will need to keep up his good form as the main spin option in the Aussie bowling attack.
Australia can never be counted out at the World Cup, and another strong performance here could give them the lift they need to go on to pressure and possibly displace one of the top four sides as we approach the midway point in the competition.
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While Australia will go into this match as the favourites, Pakistan are by no means out of this one, having shown they are well capable of trading blows with the Aussies when they won the last two matches between these sides last year.
In contrast to their opponents, the Men in Green made the perfect start to their World Cup campaign, securing wins in their first two matches of the competition, which saw them move to second place before their last match.
However, Pakistan were no match for their arch-rivals India in that encounter as the hosts romped to a seven-wicket victory, which knocked the Pakistanis down to fourth place with a net run rate of -0.137.
Mohammad Rizwan has been the standout batsman for his side, currently on 248 runs after three matches and in second place in the leading run-scorer standings, while Hasan Ali is joint-fourth in the leading wicket-taker race with seven to his name.
With third-placed South Africa only scheduled to play their fourth match on Saturday, Pakistan have a chance to move into the top three with a win here, while a loss could see them overtaken by this opponent in the standings.
Team News
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Josh Inglis justified his selection in the last match by top-scoring with 58 runs in just 59 balls and should keep his place in the middle order with Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis.
After picking up three wickets in his first match against India, Josh Hazlewood has failed to impress in the last two games, which could have opened the door for Cameron Green to return to the starting 11 after sitting out the last two.
Babar Azam finally showed his class in the last match, recording his first half-century of the tournament and should continue in the upper middle order with Rizwan.
After an incredible 113 in his World Cup debut against Sri Lanka, Abdullah Shafique only managed 20 from 24 in the last match, though he will likely be given another chance here with opening partner Imam-ul-Haq.
Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc
Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim
Series so far
Australia
Match One: Australia lost by 6 wickets
Australia - 199 (49.3)
India - 201/4 (41.2)
Match Two: Australia lost by 134 runs
South Africa - 311/7 (50)
Australia - 177 (40.5)
Match Three: Australia won by 5 wickets
Sri Lanka - 209 (43.3)
Australia - 215/5 (35.2)
Pakistan
Match One: Pakistan won by 81 runs
Pakistan - 286 (49)
Netherlands - 205 (41)
Match Two: Pakistan won by 6 wickets
Sri Lanka - 344/9 (50)
Pakistan - 345/4 (48.2)
Match Three: Pakistan lost by 7 wickets
Pakistan - 191 (42.5)
India - 192/3 (30.3)
We say: Australia to win
While the Australians have been nowhere near their best in this competition, that win in their last match would have given them a much-needed boost of confidence. The Baggy Greens have a very good record against the Men in Green in ODIs, and we are leaning toward the five-time champions claiming the points in this one.
Devesh Jaganath
