Match preview: Unpredictable Pakistan take on dented Aussies tomorrow

Pakistan would take on the five-time reigning and defending World Cup champions Australia in a much awaited ICC World Cup 2019 encounter at Taunton on Wednesday.

The Men in Green, who have been rising high on confidence after their unexpected win against hosts and World Cup favourites in their last match of the tournament, would be eyeing to repeat the same against the dented Aussies, after the side lost to India by 36 runs owing to lacklustre bowling display.

“We will go with the aggressive approach we showed against England,” said Sarfaraz. Pakistan would need to bat with the same aggressive approach and would need to put a massive score on board if got to bat first.

For Pakistan, Babar Azam would be the key as the top order batsman has been among the consistent run getters for his side and would need to hold the Pakistan innings together against the quality of Australia's pace attack featuring the likes of Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc.

Coming to Pakistan’s bowling line Amir and Wahab should be wary of Steve Smith and David Warner, who have returned to form just at the right time and not allow Australians to setup partnerships at any stage of the game.

“We know Australia will try to come back and with [Steve] Smith and [David] Warner back they are at their best again,” said Sarfaraz. “We respect all our opponents and are ready for them.”

Squads

Australia: Aaron Finch (c), David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Shaun Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Kane Richardson, Pat Cummins, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Adam Zampa, Nathan Lyon

Pakistan: Sarfaraz Ahmed (c, wk), Asif Ali, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Imam-ul-Haq, Shadab Khan, Shoaib Malik, Wahab Riaz, Haris Sohail, Imad Wasim, Fakhar Zaman