Pakistan vs Australia - Men in Green to start off as ‘Bedouins’ in the Arabian desert - Part 2 - Opinion
Continued from Part 1...
After scoring 272 for 8 in Sharjah, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Afghanistan-c745 actually had a chance at chasing down the the Australian total, but fell just 66 runs short of creating history. That performance hinted at complacency from a team which had been world champions, and highlighted
numerous follies committed on the field, which were shocking to say the least.
Pakistan on the other hand, have outperformed when it was required, and their sensational run of form since the 2011 Cricket World Cup has continued with little fuss. Despite occasional collapses in all three departments of the game, Pakistan has played
some impressive cricket in the Emirates, where they managed to completely destroy their opposition. A prime example, of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Abdul-Razzaq-c41623 launched a ruthless assault onto the South Africans in the 2010
series played in the UAE. This was against a team which was miles ahead in terms of conventional strength. Razzaq’s 109 off just 72 deliveries was the best innings played in the Emirates and set the stage for something truly special. Despite Pakistan eventually
faltering in that series, the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Neil-Killeen-c79132 instinct was present and was ignited when it was most needed.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MEK-Hussey-c1942 to perform on their day, for them to outplay the opposition. Hussey, who combines chutzpah with flare, had been sorely missed in the bilateral encounter with
the Poms in the UK, and this overreliance on a match winner has been detrimental for Australia in the past. There were times in 2005 and 2006, where Australia could not win a game without the prowess of all rounder http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Andrew-Symonds-c44611, despite having a wealth of
experienced players in their lineup. Sadly, that trend has not faded, despite whispers of the Australians being world champions in the true essence.
However, it would be blasphemous to consider Australia to be one dimensional in their cricket. The team has had the tweak of destroying some of the finest oppositions in the world with comprehension. The problem for Australia today is that playing a side
such as Pakistan in the UAE, would be more of a challenge rather than a chore. The spin attack of their opponents consists of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mohammad-Hafeez-c76898, which could prove to be too hot to handle. For Australia, this combination seems damning,
as they were outplayed by a potent English seam attack in the UK. It is thus plausible to assume that the slow and low pitches of the Emirates, with the flamboyance of Pakistan, would prove to be taxing in the Arabian heat.
Pakistani batsmen also tend to outperform in conditions which are less conducive to quality pace bowling, which would make the Australian bowling attack look mediocre to say the least. The team also boasts a stronger bowling attack, where their pacers could
easily rattle Australia’s fallible middle order to the very core. Reverse swing and prodigious turn from players such as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Umar-Gul-c94604 and Saeed Ajmal are bound to cause a wealth of problems for the Australians, of whom many have not faced a resurgent outfit in
sweltering conditions.
However, the intense heat in the UAE desert has prompted the games to be played well past the afternoon hours for this bilateral clash. That is probably the only real advantage that Australia has, along with its reputation of being former world champions.
Yet with the Afghanistan performance sending down alarm bells of complacency, it wouldn’t be surprising if a team such as Pakistan would beat Australia comprehensively this time around. For the Bedouins of Arabia, the Kangaroos could well and truly be ‘curried’
this time around.
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