LAHORE: After 24 years, Pakistan and Australia are set to resume Test battle in the first Test of the three-match ‘Benaud-Qadir ICC World Test Championship’ series match at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium (RCS) from Friday (today).
Both sides have spent the last two days preparing for the Test at the venue in three-hour long, training, fielding and nets session of great intensity and quality. Both sides are full of world-class players and proven Test performers that have made their names across formats around the world. For Pakistan Babar Azam, Azhar Ali, Fawad Alam and Mohammad Rizwan are going to shoulder batting responsibilities while Australia possesses batters like Steve Smith, David Warner, Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne.
The two sides have kept a close eye on the Rawalpindi pitch which has a tradition of being a sporting one, the last Test played at the venue was Pakistan’s 95-run triumph against South Africa almost a year ago. Since the return of Test cricket in Pakistan in December 2019, this will be the fourth Test at the venue. The 2020 Pakistan-Sri Lanka match ended in a draw.
Both the skippers Babar Azam and Pat Cummins are eagerly looking forward to the historic series as they feel the two sides are set to produce quality cricket that will provide rich entertainment to Test cricket fans around the world especially the home crowd that has been starved of quality Test cricket for a long time.
Babar Azam said, “It is a huge honour to play this series since the trophy has been named after legends of the game Richie Benaud and Abdul Qadir. As a team we are very excited that Australia is touring after 24 years, we want to make this a memorable series and the entire squad remains focused and determined to deliver the goods.”
Pat Cummins said, “This is a very special occasion as we have a long history of playing against Pakistan back home and never over here, a whole generation of Australian cricketers haven’t had the chance of being over here and play so as a group we feel very privileged and lucky to be here, we have been incredibly looked after and it is beautiful here, we can’t wait for the series to start.”
Moreover, Babar Azam said that Australia touring Pakistan after 24 years is a moment for Pakistan team and the contest promises ultimate quality and toughness. Babar said that Pakistan team will take benefit of the home conditions while vying for the best result in the series. “We will make the final decision about the team after reaching the field,” he added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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