Last Updated on 6 years by Charbel Coorey
Finalists confirmed. Main thing to look forward to in the next couple of days before the final is whether or not I will look like a genius. Other than that, not much, as we will have some context-less T20Is.
We finally saw a somewhat competitive game between Zimbabwe and Pakistan yesterday, but Australia will certainly be keen for another thrashing. Aaron Finch is hitting sixes for fun, and Australia’s bowlers have restricted their opponents to very low scores. However, ahead of the final, it could be worth giving other batsmen a run as they have lost only three wickets in two games so far.
Pakistan weren’t all that convincing against Zimbabwe yesterday, but have the chance to improve their performance against Australia before Sunday’s final. With the Harare pitch showing signs of slowing down, expect Pakistan to be more competitive today than they were on Monday when they were rolled for 116.
Key to an Australia win
Aaron Finch, who broke his own record for highest T20I score, has been central to Australia’s success so far in this series. But he can’t be expected to go big every time. If he doesn’t fire today, can the others step up? Of course, if he continues to fire, it will only mean good news for Australia, as he can take the game away from Pakistan.
Also, Australia’s bowlers have been in good touch, and will back themselves against a Pakistan batting line up that has been far from perfect in this series so far. Can Billy Stanlake dominate once again?
Key to a Pakistan win
Pakistan need to see the back of Aaron Finch as soon as possible. Batsmen other than the Aussie opener (Finch and Short) have faced just 20 balls throughout the series, so this is a great potential opportunity for Pakistan.
In addition, the form of Sarfraz Ahmed yesterday was encouraging, guiding Pakistan home in a potentially tricky run chase. If he and the likes of Fakhar Zaman and Shoaib Malik can get on top of the Aussie bowlers, it could set the match up nicely for Pakistan.
Possible teams
Australia’s only way of experimenting is probably changing the batting order around so others get a chance to spend time at the crease. Also a chance for legspinner Mitchell Swepson to get a run, with passage to the final secured.
Australia possible XI: 1. Aaron Finch (c), 2. D’Arcy Short, 3. Travis Head, 4. Glenn Maxwell, 5. Marcus Stoinis, 6. Nic Maddinson, 7. Alex Carey (wk), 8. Ashton Agar/Mitchell Swepson, 9. Jhye Richardson, 10. Andrew Tye, 11. Billy Stanlake
Pakistan also have the chance to experiment. They left a little to be desired with the ball yesterday, but would have been happy with restricting Zimbabwe to just 40 odd runs in the last five overs.
Pakistan possible XI: 1. Fakhar Zaman, 2. Haris Sohail, 3. Hussain Talat, 4. Sarfraz Ahmed (c & wk), 5. Shoaib Malik, 6. Asif Ali, 7. Shadab Khan, 8. Faheem Ashraf, 9. Mohammad Nawaz, 10. Mohammad Amir, 11. Hasan Ali
Stats and Facts
- Australia and Pakistan will also meet in the final on Sunday.
- Aaron Finch has hit 240 runs in this series. Next best is Solomon Mire with 149.
- Apart from D’Arcy Short and Aaron Finch, the rest of Australia’s batting has faced a combined 20 balls in two matches.
Prediction
Not much at stake for either teams, and for Pakistan, it will be interesting to see what comes of this game if they get Finch early. I don’t think it will be as one sided as the previous contest between the two sides, as conditions are slowing up a little.
But, Australia are playing the better cricket right now, so I will predict an Australia win.
