Australia vs. Pakistan: Date, Live Stream, TV Info and Cricket World Cup Preview
Australia will be hoping to continue their dream of lifting the World Cup on home soil when they face Pakistan in what’s shaping up to be an intriguing quarter-final at the Adelaide Oval.
Aside from their narrow loss to New Zealand, the Baggy Greens were exceptional in their group-stage encounters. All facets of this team are in magnificent working order at the moment, and they seem to be in position with a great chance of adding to their four previous wins in this tournament.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Pakistan will be awkward opposition for the Aussies, though. After a disastrous start to their campaign, they’ve won their last four matches in succession and, following a pool-stage victory over South Africa, have showcased the requisite mental strength needed to beat the most illustrious sides in the world.
Here’s a detailed look at both sides ahead of this contest and all the information needed on where to catch this quarter-final encounter.
Date: Friday, March 20
Time: 3:30 a.m. (GMT), 11:30 p.m. (ET, March 19), 2 p.m. (Local)
Live Stream: Sky Go (UK), ESPN Cricket 2015 (US)
TV Info: Sky Sports 2 (UK)
Pakistan Looking to Spring a Shock Against Australia
After losing their opening two games of this competition, Pakistan looked like a team set for an embarrassing early exit. There was no ingenuity, intensity or purpose in any dimension of their game, and a potential spot in the quarter-finals looked a long way off.
But Misbah-ul-Haq and his team deserve immense credit for the manner in which they’ve turned things round to win four successive matches. The bowlers in particular have led by example, and as noted by cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle, they have an array of quality in that area:
Their batting is looking in a lot better order in their previous must-win encounter too. Ahmed Shehzad and Sarfraz Ahmed led from the front superbly against Ireland, ensuring that victory was never in doubt against the Associate nation.
Sadly, they don’t have the best record when it comes to matches against their upcoming quarter-final opponents, per Pakistan cricket writer Osman Samiuddin:
With that record considered and what should be sizeable home crowd backing the co-hosts, it’s easy to see why the Baggy Greens are the big favourites for this tie. But it’s this time of the competition when the pressure starts to bite, and they can’t afford to be complacent against a Pakistan team that will play with freedom and without pressure.
Australia are pretty ominous opposition, though. All of their top-order batsmen have scored a decent number of runs in the group stages of the competition so far, and they boast a host of adaptable players capable of coming in and doing a variety of different jobs depending on what the situation dictates.
As noted by the official World Cup Twitter account, Australia are also in possession of the most prolific bowler in the competition:
Pakistan definitely have the bowling talent to match the Baggy Greens, and they’ll be confident of restricting this Australia team to a modest score given their propensity for bowling with aggression with the new ball and a refined acumen at the end of the innings.
As noted by former India cricketer Aakash Chopra, it’s an area in which this Pakistan team typically excel:
But their batting just doesn’t quite have the quality to match up to Australia. The Baggy Greens line-up is bristling with immense talent, and it’d be a massive surprise if one of David Warner, Michael Clarke, Steve Smith or Glenn Maxwell didn’t go on to make a sizeable score.
Don’t expect an emphatic win. This is a game that could be tight and may well be nerve-wracking for the Aussie fans set to pack out this picturesque venue. But the edge they boast in their batting ranks will see them over the line here and into the semi-finals of this wonderful competition.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
