Pakistan has dominated in T20s in the past few months, and the last encounter with Australia ended on a happy note for them in the tri-series they played. Pakistan did manage to win the series after losing the first match. This was a great confidence booster for the team, and they would want to repeat the same here in Abu Dhabi as well. On the other hand, Australia has suffered a lot in the past year or so. They did show some potential in T20s under the leadership of Finch but were not up to the mark every time. The next T20 world cup will be played in Australia in 2020. They would want to buckle up and start preparing the core to build the team around if they want any chance to win that cup. Let us take a look at the probable playing 11 for this game.
Head-to-Head:
Overall Matches – 17
Pakistan- 9
Australia- 7
Tied: 1
Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
This ground has favored the team batting second in the night chase. The ground is good for batting so one can expect a high scoring match again. This could be a tough tussle between the two teams.
| Total matches | 29 |
| Matches won batting first | 11 |
| Matches won bowling first | 18 |
| Average 1st Inns scores | 137 |
| Average 2nd Inns scores | 131 |
| Highest total recorded | 225/7 (20 Ov) by IRE vs AFG |
| Lowest total recorded | 87/10 (18.3 Ov) by HK vs OMAN |
| Highest score chased | 166/6 (19.4 Ov) by HK vs AFG |
| Lowest score defended | 129/6 (20 Ov) by Eng vs PAK |
Pakistan vs Australia 1st T20 Ballebaazi Fantasy Cricket Preview
Pakistan
Pakistan has been reaching new glory under the leadership of Sarfaraz. They have been doing great in all formats. Apart from a few setbacks once in a while, they have been on the top of their game. Shoaib Malik would not be playing this game which means Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan and Faheem Ashraf; all will get the opportunity in this game. Amir has been left out of the T20 series due to his form which will give other bowlers like Hasan Ali to prove themselves in this series. Like other teams, Pakistan has also started to look for the best combination for the world cup which could be a reason for the return of Imad Wasim.
Australia
They needed a morale boost after the debacle in the test which they had in the match against UAE. They have the firepower of Aaron Finch, DÁrcy Short, Maxwell and Lynn so once they get going it will be hard to stop them. They have an excellent bowling line-up as well with Starc, Tye, Stanlake and Coulter-Nile leading from the front. They did lose the last series they played against and Pakistan, but this will be a good time for them to make a comeback. They will want to bring in whatever they have for the first game as this is going to be crucial in this three-match series.
| Pakistan | Australia |
| Fakhar Zaman | Aaron Finch (c) |
| Mohammad Hafeez | Glenn Maxwell |
| Babar Azam | Chris Lynn |
| Sarfraz Ahmed (c) | Nathan Coulter-Nile |
| Hussain Talat | Ashton Agar |
| Shadab Khan | Adam Zampa |
| Shaheen Afridi | Alex Carey (wk) |
| Hasan Ali | Ben McDermott/ Mitchell Starc |
| Imad Wasim | Billy Stanlake |
| Faheem Ashraf | Andrew Tye |
| Asif Ali | D’ Arcy Short |
Pakistan vs Australia 1st T20 Ballebaazi Fantasy Cricket Preview
