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Cricket News: 4 key battles to watch out for in the PAK vs AUS Test series | Key player battles that could decide the PAK vs AUS Test series
As a result of some historic developments, the Australian cricket team will finally tour Pakistan after a huge interval of 24 years. The cricket fans of both the countries are excited for this series due to multiple reasons. The Pakistani fans are overwhelmed because the touring of a side like Australia is expected to bring international cricket back into Pakistan in the truest sense. On the other hand, this series is important for the Aussies with regards to the World Test Championship 2021-23, but it’s going to be a challenging assignment as they are finally touring for a Test series after a period of almost three years.
Overall, it’s speculated to be a cracking contest between two potentially great sides and we are supposed to witness some mouth-watering on-field battles. In this article, I am going to mention four such player battles. Here we go.
1. Babar Azam vs Josh Hazlewood
Both these world-class players have had a face-off on multiple occasions in which Hazlewood has emerged victorious on most occasions. His astute accuracy and ability to move the ball around from right lengths has troubled the Pakistani captain time and again.
Statistically, Hazlewood has dismissed Babar six times in Tests, with the latter averaging just 11.5 against the ace Aussie seamer. This clearly shows that facing Hazlewood hasn’t been a great experience for Babar in his Test career so far.
However, there could be very little assistance off the deck for Hazlewood in Pakistan. So, Babar will get a definite chance to improve his numbers against the Aussie pacer. But if Hazlewood controls the reverse swing well, he might get better of the star Pakistani batter yet again.
2. Marnus Labuschagne vs Shaheen Shah Afridi
This series is going to test the calibre of Marnus Labuschagne as it’s his first away series in three years. Both Marnus and Shaheen are in the peak of their prowess and if we consider stats, Shaheen has dismissed the star Aussie batter twice in Test cricket. His ability to move the ball both in the air and off the deck makes him a tricky customer for any batter.
Shaheen has been phenomenal in Tests for quite a while now and facing him with both the new as well as the old ball is going to be a daunting task for Labuschagne.
3. Mohammad Rizwan vs Pat Cummins
The rise of Mohammed Rizwan has contributed a lot to the renaissance of Pakistan cricket across formats. He has been one of the mainstays for the men in green, but the Pakistani wicket keeper hasn’t enjoyed facing Pat Cummins in his career so far.
The Aussie skipper has dismissed Rizwan four times in international cricket, while Rizwan averages just over 20 against him. Being relentless is the biggest asset of Cummins and Rizwan is also well known for his never-say-die attitude. Therefore, this battle is definitely going to be a very interesting one.
4. Steve Smith vs Hasan Ali
Although Smith hasn’t faced Hasan Ali in Tests, there are certain attributes of Hasan that might prove to be lethal for the legendary Australian batter. Hasan is known for his great control on the reversing old ball. He tends to pitch the ball up and attack the stumps more with the old ball at home. Smith tends to shuffle and play this kind of deliveries through the onside. But, on the relatively lower decks of Pakistan, it won’t be an easy task for Smith.
Given Hasan bowls at an excess of 140kph consistently, some deliveries might just skid on after pitching. He can also surprise smith with his bouncers. Therefore, I expect this face-off to be an exciting one should he recover from injury from the second Test onwards.
These are the four player battles I am looking forward to in this Test series. Do any others come to mind? Have your say!
Written by Debashish Sarangi. Follow Debashish on Twitter today
