Follow Us379 overs. 1187 runs. 14 wickets.
A 24-year-long wait ended in Rawalpindi last week as Australia finally set foot in Pakistan for the first time since 1998, but the benign nature of the wicket overshadowed the special occasion as a vast majority of the cricketing fraternity were left underwhelmed and disappointed by the flat nature of the Rawalpindi pitch.
A lot has been said, and plenty has happened, in the three days that have gone by since the conclusion of the first Test. While Australian skipper Pat Cummins claimed that the hosts opted to prepare a flat wicket in order to negate the threat of the Australian seam attack, both Babar Azam and Imam-ul-Haq defended the pitch, claiming that it is not realistic to expect Pakistan to dish out bouncy wickets like they do in Australia.
PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja hinted that a flat wicket was laid out in order to aid a Pakistan side that was plagued by injury, while the International Cricket Council (ICC) officially rated the Rawalpindi wicket a ‘below-average’ one.
Everything’s in the past now, though. It’s time for the actual cricket to take over and this time around, fans of the sport will be hoping for the curators to prepare a more sporting wicket that is capable of producing a result.
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Flat pitch or not, Pakistan ‘need’ a result to stay ahead in the WTC race
A lot has been spoken about Pakistan’s relatively ‘easy’ fixtures and why they are favorites to make the World Test Championship final. But as things stand, the fact of the matter is that, the Babar Azam-led side have already dropped key points in the form of the loss to West Indies in Jamaica, and a draw at home in Rawalpindi against Australia. Currently they have a healthy points percentage of 66.66%, but one more disappointing result, particularly at home, might make things tricky for the side from the sub-continent.
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Which is why Pakistan themselves would be hoping for a Karachi wicket that, regardless of whether it spins or seams, produces a result.
The good news for the hosts is that come the second Test, they will have a full-strength squad at their disposal. Faheem Ashraf had a covid scare, but he has rejoined the squad after returning negative results. His return is the biggest positive as he has the ability to balance the side. Naseem Shah disappointed in Rawalpindi, but the youngster is all set to be replaced by the returning Hasan Ali. It is worth remembering that Hasan Ali has been an absolute menace with the red-ball since his return to the side in 2021, picking 41 wickets in 8 games at a remarkable average of 16.07. Should there be any reverse on offer, he’ll make sure that he makes life hell for the Australian batters.
The team otherwise is well settled, and Babar would be hoping for the likes of Imam, Shafique and Azhar Ali to keep their form going. The Pakistan skipper would also be eager to put up a big score, having last scored a ton in Test cricket back in February 2020.
Can Mitch Swepson add potency to Australia’s attack?
As confirmed by skipper Pat Cummins, leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson will be making his Test debut on Saturday in Karachi. Australia would be hoping for the young leggie to prove to be an x-factor, because the bowling attack lacked potency in the first Test in Rawalpindi. Yes, bowling on a flat wicket is a nightmare, but Australia shockingly managed to pick just 4 wickets across 239 overs, one of which was a run out. A team failing to take a wicket on the final day in the sub-continent is almost unheard of.
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The visitors have opted to take the bold decision of leaving out Josh Hazlewood, who was extremely parsimonious in the first Test, maintaining an economy of 2.00. Hazlewood’s exclusion means two things: one, there will be added pressure on Mitchell Starc to deliver the goods, and two, Cameron Green will have a big role to play due to being the third seamer. Cummins will be hoping for Nathan Lyon to step-up, and certainly for Swepson to grab the opportunity.
On the batting front, the visitors would want at least one of their top-order batters to go and get a big score. In Rawalpindi all of Smith, Labuschagne, Warner and Khawaja managed to pass 65, but no player posted a ton. If the Kangaroos have ambitions of winning the series, then they will need their batters to not just score hundreds when they get in, but big, daddy hundreds.
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Granted the pitch is of acceptable quality, the second Test, starting on Saturday in Karachi, should be an absolute cracker.
Probable XIs
Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam (c), Fawad Alam, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi
Australia: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Swepson