ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan captain Babar Azam gained the toss and elected to bat in the opening take a look at against Australia in Rawalpindi on Friday.
“The pitch seems to be good so we’ll attempt to put runs on the board,” Babar mentioned, predicting spinners would play a key function in the primary match of the three-test sequence.
Having misplaced quick bowler Hasan Ali and seam-bowling all-rounder Faheem Ashraf to accidents, Pakistan added Naseem Shah to their tempo assault spearheaded by Shaheen Afridi.
Australia’s first tour of Pakistan in 24 years contains assessments in Karachi and Lahore adopted by 4 limited-overs matches in Rawalpindi.
Nathan Lyon was the lone specialist spinner complementing Australia’s three-pronged tempo assault led by skipper Pat Cummins.
The vacationers additionally retained all-rounder Cameron Green, who was not even born when Australia final toured Pakistan in 1998.
Australia gamers will put on black armbands in reminiscence of former wicketkeeper Rod Marsh who died aged 74 on Friday.
Teams:
Australia: Usman Khawaja, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wicketkeeper), Pat Cummins (captain), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam (captain), Fawad Alam, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Iftikhar Ahmed, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah
(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; Editing by Robert Birsel)
