After Australia won the T20 in Dubai this past weekend, Pakistan will look to bounce back as the teams will play the first ODI of a three-match series on Tuesday at Sharjah Cricket Stadium at 6:00 a.m. ET. Live stream the matchup by clicking this link.
Glenn Maxwell played very well in Australia's only T20 win on Sunday, earning three wickets with his spinning technique and helping hold Pakistan to 96-for-9. David Warner made some big contributions at the top of the order, scoring 53 off 39. Following the loss, Pakistan coach Waqar Younis expressed concern over his team's batting struggles.
"Losing early wickets, it was not easy after that," he told ESPNCricinfo. "And full credit to the Australians, they bowled well, they bowled to the plan and they came out good. I think there was nothing wrong with the pitch, it just spun a little more than usual. The major focus for us is how are we going to deal with 50 overs? We have to make sure that we bat 50 overs. It was disappointing what happened today."
Pakistan also has to deal with the loss of Saeed Ajmal, who has been banned from bowling after a questionable action. Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq told Cricbuzz.com, "It's really difficult to fill Ajmal's gap because he has been the number one or two bowler in the one-day rankings, but if Ajmal is not there we must try to fill his gap and move forward." Experienced player Mohammad Hafeez is also out with a hand injury.
Starting Squads:
Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Ahmed Shahzad, Sami Aslam, Umar Akmal, Fawad Alam, Umar Amin, Asad Shafiq, Sohaib Maqsood, Sarfraz Ahmed, Shahid Afridi, Raza Hasan, Mohammad Irfan, Anwar Ali, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Zulfiqar Babar.
Australia: George Bailey (capt), David Warner, Aaron Finch, Steven Smith, Phil Hughes, Glenn Maxwell, Brad Haddin, James Faulkner, Sean Abbott, Kane Richardson, Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon.
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