AUS vs PAK 2nd Match Prediction

AUS vs PAK Team Previews

Australia

Australia has announced its squad for the second Test and there are absolutely no surprises. In fact, the fact that Lance Morris has been allowed to return to the BBL suggests there is very little chance of any change in the playing eleven. 

Scott Boland is the only one who will come into the conversation and could maybe replace Mitchell Starc if there is a slight injury scare but we don't think that is the case. 

Australia's bowling is very strong and is in fact, one of the best bowling quartets in Test history. Hazelwood, Starc, Cummins, and Lyon will come hard at the Pakistani batters every time they bowl. That is just an absolute given. Melbourne's surface has been a bit livelier in the last few seasons and so hopefully they will have something to work with once more. 

Lyon will be a big factor in the second inning and could be a decent pick to pick the most wickets in the match. The only risk here is the Pakistani batting folding against the Australian fast bowlers without putting up a fight!

The Aussie batters will be lining up to bat in this match. David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Usman Khawaja, Travis Head, and Mitchell Marsh. This is a top-6 that will be hard to dislodge. Who do you pick to score the most runs? That can be a lottery and so the smarter move is to back all of them to score Over their Over/Under lines. 

You have a good chance of four out of six paying out. 

There is no indication that Australia's dominance over Pakistan is suddenly going to end in this match. 

Pakistan

Pakistan's bowling attack was poor in the first match even after taking a couple of impressive spells from Aamer Jamal and Kurram Shahzad into consideration. You need sustained pressure to be able to pick wickets in Australia consistently but that just did not happen.

The only hope for Pakistan is that Abrar Ahmed is available for selection and that Shaheen Afridi finds form quickly. Of course, with Khurram Shahzad ruled out for this second match Hasan Ali might come into the lineup and that is another problem to address!

It has become a cliche to say that this is Pakistan's weakest-ever bowling attack to tour Australia but that seems to be a fact. The MCG wicket can be a bit flat at times and if that is the case, Pakistan's bowling will struggle even more than what we saw in Perth. 

On paper, Pakistan has the batting lineup to at least put up a fight against Australia. Shaan Masood scored runs in the warmup, Abdullah Shafique looks absolutely brilliant while at the crease, and we all know what Babar Azam is capable of. 

However, there are question marks about their temperament in big matches and while playing Australia. The fact that Mohammad Rizwan continues to miss out also seems a bit strange when Sarfaraz Ahmed is probably at his best in the subcontinent. 

Pakistan is also playing with bits and pieces players like Faheem Ashraf and Agha Salman. That is likely to cover for their lack of options but also because they are insecure about their batting and bowling. They need to take bold choices and play with aggression. 

They may still lose but after 15 consecutive losses, at least they will give cricket fans something to cheer about.