11th Match, Group A: Australia v Pakistan at Centurion
Sep 30 (09:30 local, 07:30 GMT)
This is going to be another important clash. If Australia beat Pakistan, they will make it to the semis as being the leaders in the group, while Pakistan will take the second spot. Things will complicate if Pakistan beat Australia and India down West Indies. Then, the margins of the wins will decide which team joins Pakistan in the last four. The greenshirts are assured of a place in the semis but shouldn't be taking the game lightly as winning against Australia will give them a big boost. Pakistan needs to better their bowling effort. Umar Gul was disappointing in the last game and he has much more talent than what he is currently displaying. Pakistan might be tempted at resting him for this game and bringing in Mohammad Asif which will give a new dimension to the bowling. Resting Mohammad Aamer and bringing in Rao Iftikhar also won't be a bad idea. The batting needs to keep up the good work with the openers showing some more maturity in their shot selection. The other thing that Younis Khan and his men would like to change is their recent record against Australia which has been pretty poor.
Australia just need one point from this game to move ahead but they will be going for an all out win and won't be leaving anything to chance. In batting Australia needs some improvement at the top with Shane Watson being out for two consecutive ducks. Ricky Ponting's form looks ominous and he will definitely try and attack the Pakistani bowlers and this is where the spinners will come into play.
Australia also lack in the back up bowlers - an area which Pakistan batsmen can exploit. However Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson are in good rhythm and will be the ones to look out for. If Pakistan plan well and apply well there is no reason why they can't beat Australia. In this case it's more of a mental barrier which they need to overcome. Australians will be fighting it hard so fans can expect an exciting contest today.
Australia just need one point from this game to move ahead but they will be going for an all out win and won't be leaving anything to chance. In batting Australia needs some improvement at the top with Shane Watson being out for two consecutive ducks. Ricky Ponting's form looks ominous and he will definitely try and attack the Pakistani bowlers and this is where the spinners will come into play.
Australia also lack in the back up bowlers - an area which Pakistan batsmen can exploit. However Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson are in good rhythm and will be the ones to look out for. If Pakistan plan well and apply well there is no reason why they can't beat Australia. In this case it's more of a mental barrier which they need to overcome. Australians will be fighting it hard so fans can expect an exciting contest today.
Pakistan: (probable): 1 Shoaib Malik, 2 Kamran Akmal, 3 Younis Khan (capt), 4 Mohammad Yousuf, 5 Fawad Alam, 6 Shahid Afridi, 7 Umar Akmal, 8 Umar Gul, 9 Mohammad Aamer, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Mohammad Asif.
Australia: (probable): 1 Shane Watson, 2 Tim Paine (wk), 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Hussey, 5 Callum Ferguson, 6 Cameron White, 7 James Hopes, 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Nathan Hauritz, 11 Peter Siddle.
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