After the completion of the T20I series, Australia and Pakistan will face each other in a two-match Test series. The first match will be played at the Gabba in Brisbane on November 21, 2019. Aussies dominated Pakistan in the Twenty20 matches and won the series 2-0. Tim Paine will be leading the Australian side in the longest format of the game while Pakistan will be under the leadership of Azhar Ali. Historically, Australia have the upper hand in this tie as they have won 31 of the 65 matches played so far. Pakistan have recorded wins in 15 matches while eighteen matches have ended in a draw. In head-to-head record between the teams in the last five test matches, Australia have won three while Pakistan have a solitary win and the other match ended in a draw. AUS vs PAK 1st Test 2019: Tim Paine Says Australia Have Done Homework on Young Pakistan.
Pakistan will start their ICC World Test Championship 2019-21 campaign with this match While, Australia is in the fourth position with 56 points as they played Ashes 2019, where they managed 2-2 series draw against England. In the recent match against Australia A, Babaz Azam and Asad Shafiq scored centuries while pacer Imran khan bagged five wickets. This should give the away side some confidence while coming into this match. Before the match, we take a look at the results of the last five encounters between the sides. Australia vs Pakistan Test Series 2019: David Warner Will Bounce Back After Ashes Horror, Feels Nathan Lyon.
Pakistan vs Australia – October 16-19, 2018 – Pakistan Won by 373 Runs
This match put Pakistani Pacer Mohammad Abbas on the global map. The bowler took a ten-fer as Pakistan sealed the series 1-0 after beating Australia by 373 runs in the second match of the tour. This was Australia’s fourth-worst defeat in their History. Abbas took five wickets in both innings as the pacer ran through the Aussie batting line-up. Because of this performance, he was awarded as the Man of the Match.
Pakistan vs Australia – October 7-11, 2018 – Match Drawn
Pakistan had an easy task in front of them as they had 140 overs to bowl-out Australia but a superhuman effort by Usman Khawaja, who batted 302 balls and Tim Paine at the end, ensured a draw that simply wasn’t an option for this match. Australia scored 362 runs in the second innings and it was the second-highest fourth-innings score by a visiting side in Asia. Aussies played one ball short of 140 overs, longer than they have ever batted in the fourth innings of the test.
Australia vs Pakistan – January 3-7, 2017 – Australia Won by 220 Runs
Steve Smith’s men resoundingly defeated Pakistan by 220 runs on the final day at SCG. This win meant this was the fourth clean sweep in a row for the Australians in home Tests against Pakistani touring teams, dating back to 1999. Josh Hazlewood spearheaded the Australian bowling attack as the pacer finished the match with seven wickets. Younis Khan’s knock of 175 not out in the first innings went in vain as Australia proved to be too good for the Asian side.
Australia vs Pakistan – December 26-30, 2016 – Australia Won by an Innings and 18 Runs.
Azar Ali’s double century put Pakistan in a solid position in the first innings as they declared for a score of 443/9 but brilliant innings from David Warner (144), Usman Khawaja (97) and Steve Smith (165*) put Australia in driver’s seat as they declared their innings for 624/8. Pakistan batting line-up crumbled in front of Mitchell Starc’s bowling prowess with no batsmen reaching the 50-run mark in their second innings.
Australia vs Pakistan – December 15-19, 2016 – Australia Won by 39 Runs
Pakistan’s bid for a world record chase fell 40-run short, allowing Australia to take a sigh of relief after coming close to choking in a match they had clearly dominated. After being all out for 142 in the first innings Pakistan came out with determination in their second innings to chase down a total of 490 runs set by the Australians. Asad Shafiq scored 137 runs in the fourth innings but it was not enough as Pakistan lost the match by 39 runs.
Pakistan will look to put the disappointment of the T20I series behind them and start the Test series on a positive note. Meanwhile, Australia will take confidence from their performance against England in Ashes 2019 and will look for a win in the opening match.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 20, 2019 04:13 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).