Pakistan vs Australia, PAK vs AUS, Today Match Prediction 31 March 2022

pak vs aus Match Prediction & Analysis

The 2nd match of the ODI series between Pakistan and Australia will be played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on 31st March 2022. Even though Australia were not having full squad strength due to covid concerns, Pakistan couldn’t able to take advantage of the golden opportunity and lost the first match by a huge margin.

Australian opener Travis Head and middle-order batsman; Ben McDermott have played brilliant knocks in the first match of the series and are looking in good touch ahead of the 2nd ODI. Australia are still suffering injury issues and they will try to maintain the same squad in the 2nd ODI as well.

Pakistan on the other side will try to improvise their plans well on the ground when they play against the mighty Aussies in the 2nd match. This match will be important for hosts if they want to save the ODI series after losing the Test series at home.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Pakistan Preview

Pakistan have lost the first match of the ODI series against Australia by a margin of 88 runs. Now hosts will play against Aussies in the next match which will be played on 31st March. Pakistan needs to win this match to continue its efforts of winning the series against Australia.

Pakistan's captain invited the Australian unit to bat first in the opener of the ODI series. Pakistan's bowling unit failed to deliver an early breakthrough in the innings and Aussie openers have set up a 110 runs stand for the 1st wicket. Bowlers couldn’t succeed to break partnerships throughout the inning.

Only Haris Rauf (2 wickets for 44 runs in 8 overs) and Zahid Mahmood (2 wickets for 59 runs in 10 overs), were on the mark and helped the team to restrict opponents to 313 runs. While chasing the target, Pakistan lost the first wicket of Fakhar Zaman early in the 5th over. Captain Babar Azam and Imam-ul-Haq, both stood for their side and had scored 96 runs for the 2nd wicket.

Imam-ul-Haq had delivered his knock of 103 runs from 90 balls whereas Babar Azam helped him with his 57 runs from 72 balls. Although they had set up the stage to bat on, other batters failed to stand on the crease and Pakistan lost the first game. Now they will try to work on such batting issues when they will face visitors in the 2nd match.

Key Players: Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Zahid Mahsood.

Pakistan Predicted Playing XI:

Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (c), Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Khushdil Shah, Iftikar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf, Zahid Mahsood.

Pakistan Actual Playing XI:

Iftikhar Ahmed, Zahid Mahmood, Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Khushdil Shah, Imam-ul-Haq, Shaheen Afridi, Saud Shakeel

Australia Preview

Australia have an advantage in the series after defeating Pakistan in the first ODI of the bilateral series. Now they are all set to win the 2nd ODI as well as will try to clinch the series when they face hosts at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on 31st March.

Australian openers have completely outplayed Pakistani bowlers to score 110 runs’ stand for the 1st wicket. Opener Travis Head scored a brilliant hundred to score 101 runs in 72 balls only. Ben MacDermott helped him in the middle order by scoring 55 runs in 70 balls before Cameron Green had finished an inning with his attacking 40 runs from 30 balls.

Even though Australia's pace attack unit of Starc-Cummins-Hazlewood is not available for this series, spinner Adam Zampa led the bowling attack and had dismantled Pakistan’s inning. He took 4 wickets for 38 runs only in his spell of 10 overs. Travis Head but this time in bowling along with Mitchell Swepson, and helped Zampa by taking 2 wickets each.

Australia’s spin department had helped them to restrict opponents from chasing the target. Now they will try to capitalize on this momentum in the 2nd game of the series.

Key Players: Travis Head, Ben McDermott, Adam Zampa, Nathon Ellis.

Australia Predicted Playing XI:

Aaron Finch (c), Travis Head, Ben McDermott, Marnus Labuschagne, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Adam Zampa, Sean Abbott, Nathon Ellis, Mitchell Swepson.

Australia Actual Playing XI:

Sean Abbott, Aaron Finch, Nathan Ellis, Mitchell Swepson, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Ben McDermott, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The weather will be sunny on a matchday with temperatures ranging between 36°C and 19°C. This pitch has always favored bowlers and the trend has continued in the 1st match as well.  It will be a tough wicket to bat on. 

Venue Details

The venue for this match will be Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The stadium has modern floodlights and can accommodate nearly 65,000 spectators.

Toss: To Bat

Toss will be a crucial factor in the match results. From the last 5 matches played on this ground the team who have opted to bat first, won 5 times. The team batting first at this venue will get the advantage of the pitch and can put the opponent team under pressure for the second innings.