Pakistan vs. Australia, Only T20: Date, Live Stream, TV Info and Preview

Pakistan and Australia meet in the first match of their tour of the UAE on Sunday, with the Twenty20 encounter kick-starting a campaign that includes three one-day internationals and two Tests. 

Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium

Commences: Sunday, Oct. 5

Start time: 5 p.m. BST (8 p.m. local)

Live on: Zee Cinema (UK), Fox Sports (Australia)

Weather: The Weather Channel is forecasting a fine and extremely hot day that is expected to reach 37 degrees in the afternoon, with the heat unlikely to subside in the evening. 

Overview

This Sunday's sole Twenty20 clash between Pakistan and Australia kick-starts a hugely unpredictable campaign, with both teams destabilised by injuries, suspensions and selection reshuffles.

The hosts will be without both Mohammad Hafeez, who injured the webbing between his thumb and index finger of his left hand, per ESPN Cricinfo, and Saeed Ajmal (suspended for an illegal bowling action), in addition to the absences of Junaid Khan, Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Malik and Umar Gul, leaving Shahid Afridi ready to lead a rather new-look lineup. 

Australia, meanwhile, face their own problems, with promising all-rounder Mitchell Marsh sidelined with a hamstring injury, Shane Watson still at home with a calf complaint and George Bailey needing to be replaced after stepping down from the Twenty20 captaincy. 

Scott Barbour/Getty Images

Such vast changes make the respective form lines a little less relevant, yet it's still hard to ignore Australia's discomfort with Twenty20 cricket in the sort of subcontinental conditions expected in Dubai on Sunday. 

Last time these sides met was in the ICC World Twenty20 in March, where the Australians' ill-suited approach was exposed by Hafeez's team. Batting first, Pakistan made light work of Bailey's seam-heavy attack, crunching 191 before utilising their spinning stocks to bring Australia to a grinding halt in the second innings after Glenn Maxwell had launched an early assault. 

While Australia still possess the more powerful batting unit, the presence of Cameron Boyce as the team's only front-line spinner for Sunday's Twenty20 encounter means a similar storyline could unfold. 

Squads

Pakistan

Shahid Afridi (c), Ahmed Shehzad, Anwar Ali, Awais Zia, Bilawal Bhatti, Mohammad Irfan, Raza Hasan, Saad Nasim, Sohaib Maqsood, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Akmal (wk), Umar Amin, Wahab Riaz

Australia

Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Cameron Boyce, Pat Cummins, James Faulkner, Brad Haddin (wk), Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner

Key Players

Pakistan

Francois Nel/Getty Images

Although he's now at the back end of his career, Shahid Afridi remains the key figure in Pakistan's Twenty20 side, given how quickly he can change a match with both bat and ball. 

Against Australia last time out, the leg-spinner was key to Pakistan's suffocation of their opponents, stifling the innings with Ajmal after Maxwell had been dismissed. Often one to come around the wicket, Afridi's ability to hurry Australia's batsmen and cramp them for room can quell the dynamic stroke play that exists within the visitors. 

And with the bat, a late Afridi onslaught in the dying overs could rip the game away from the tourists in minutes. 

Australia

Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

While Australia's batting lineup is stocked with powerful strikers in Aaron Finch, David Warner and Maxwell, the presence of Steve Smith in the middle order proves the team has learned something from what happened in the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh.

Indeed, what the talented right-hander provides is a cool head capable of steering an innings, complementing the powerful strikers with a clever rotation of the strike and is someone to keep the scoreboard ticking against the Pakistani spinners. 

With Smith in the lineup, Australia's team has more balance and diversity, removing the all-or-nothing feel that the side had when Finch, Warner and Maxwell were also joined by Watson and Bailey. 

Prediction

Making a prediction here is like trying to back a winner in a maiden race, with both teams largely revamped and carrying little form to speak of. 

But even in the absence of Ajmal, Pakistan still look better suited to this format in these conditions, particularly given the seam-heavy nature of Australia's attack once more. 

Provided Afridi and Raza Hasan can exert some control in the middle overs with their spin, Pakistan should enjoy the pace on the ball from Australia and claim a tight contest.