Australia will conclude their tour of the sub-continent in the wee hours of Wednesday morning (Tuesday night) with a one-off T20 international against Pakistan. It’s been a successful, but at the same time, difficult tour of Pakistan for the Aussies. Can the reigning T20 World Champions bounce back from the ODI series and finish their tour on a high? Check out our preview and cricket betting tips for the T20 International below.
Pakistan vs Australia T20 Preview & Betting Tips
Lahore, 1:30am Wednesday April 6th AEST
Pakistan ODI and T20 squad: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Abdullah Shafique*, Asif Afridi, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imam-ul-Haq*, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Zahid Mahmood, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Saud Shakeel*, Shaheen Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir (*ODIs only)
Australia ODI and T20 squad: Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Ben McDermott, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Adam Zampa
A tough Test series saw Australia grind out a satisfying 1-0 victory, and then after winning the first ODI, the Aussies looked set to win the ODI series as well when they posted a monstrous total in the 2nd ODI. However the will of the Pakistani batsmen has been a theme all tour as they captured a magnificent victory, and followed that up with a demolition job in the decider. Perhaps the Aussies were still rocked from the previous run chase, but they will need to shake off that lethargy if they are to finish the tour on a high in the once-off T20.
Historically, Pakistan have a 13-10 winning record against Australia in the game’s shortest format, however their most recent clash in November was an important one, as Australia came out on top in a thrilling semi-final on their amazing run to the ICC T20 World Cup.
However this is a different Australian line up. There's no Matthew Wade heroics coming in this one. In fact, there's only three members of that T20 World Cup winning side here. Their squad has been majorly tested this tour by unavailability, Covid protcols and the competing IPL which is running concurrently with this match. It’s likely the Australians will once again take an undermanned team into battle which will make things very tough.
Skipper Aaron Finch is in abysmal form and will be very lucky to get the chance to defend the T20 World Cup crown, while both batting and bowling depth has been severely tested. The form of Travis Head and Ben McDermott at the top of the order has been a highlight, while it’s nice to see the all-round talents of Sean Abbott on display at international level. The Aussies will be looking to Josh Inglis and Ashton Agar to hopefully rejoin the team after Covid isolation, while Mitch Marsh is likely to still remain on the sidelines through injury.
Meanwhile Babar Azam has led his Pakistan team superbly all series and with scores of 57, 114 and 105*, he once again looms as the danger man for the Aussies. However the Pakistanis have fire power all down the order, and a bowling combination that is equally effective with the new ball that swings or the old ball that turns. The raw pace of Shaheen Afridi and Harris Rauf has been exciting to watch, while the spin-bowling experience of Shadab Khan may be included in this match.
Match Prediction
To win this match, the Australians need to fire with both bat and ball. They have the weapons with the bat, but it's hard to see how they can control the Pakistani batsmen. The Australian attack relies so heavily on Adam Zampa that there's too many holes to plug elsewhere, and that's where the Pakistanis should thrive. Expect Babar Azam and his men to send the Australians packing with an L.
