ICC World Cup QF 3 : Pak Win Toss Opt To Bat Against Australia

20 March, Adelaide

Pakistan won the toss and opted to bat first against Australia in the third quarterfinal of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. The match is being played at the Adelaide Oval.

Teams:
Australia (Playing XI): David Warner, Aaron Finch, Steven Smith, Michael Clarke(c), Shane Watson, Glenn Maxwell, Brad Haddin(w), James Faulkner, Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood

Pakistan (Playing XI): Ahmed Shehzad, Sarfraz Ahmed(w), Haris Sohail, Misbah-ul-Haq(c), Sohaib Maqsood, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Khan, Rahat Ali, Ehsan Adil

Today’s winner will take on defending champions India for a place in the final.

South Africa is the other team that has made it to the last-4 stage. In the semi-finals, they will play against the winners of the fourth and last quarterfinal between New Zealand and the West Indies which will be played tomorrow Saturday.

It will be a battle of class and conviction today when hosts and four-time champions Australia take on a stepped-up Pakistan for a semi-final berth. Both teams have met eight times in the World Cup, and each have won equal number of matches.

Going by the recent performances, the Aussies can be tagged as favourites to win this game. But, they sure will be wary of a rising Pakistan, the team which won four consecutive matches to book a place in the last-8. In the absence of paceman Mohammed Irfan, it will interesting to see how Misbah counters the depth of Australia’s batting.

While Sarfraz Ahmed looks in good touch, its the captain himself who has been the most consistent with the bat. But, the 1992 champions very well know that they’ll need much more to deflate the fiery Australian pace attack led by Mitchell Starc.

Pakistan has been a thorn in Australia’s flesh in big tournaments for many times. Will they succeed in setting up another India-Pakistan clash? Only time will tell!