Pak vs Aus: 5 talking points ahead of must-win 2nd ODI

After starting their tour of Australia with a narrow defeat in the first ODI earlier this week, Pakistan are now set to face their hosts in the second match of the series in Adelaide on Friday.

Here are our five talking points ahead of the match:

Death, taxes and Pakistani batters failing in Australia

After the loss in series opener, Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan attributed the result to sheer luck, saying that was the reason why the hosts won and his side lost — a statement that discounted empirical evidence and shifted the blame to intangibles.

And evidence was there for all to see. The bowlers did their job but the batters hadn’t quite. A mere 203 runs without even managing to play your full quota of 300 legal balls means that the reason for the defeat was quite clear even if Rizwan can’t see it.

It wasn’t luck, it was the batters — as it has almost always been in Australia.

Of course, you don’t have to take the stick out just yet, especially when the batting order featured so many who were playing in Australia for the first time. However, there is no harm in knowing and acknowledging the areas of weakness.

Batting has, after all, been the team’s Achilles’ heel on their trips Down Under. And on a strip such as MCG’s, a batting failure pretty much comes with the manual.

Is Babar back?

Over the years, Babar Azam has spoiled us so much that with his batting exploits that most of us think that he is out of form.

But what if you’re told that his past six ODI hauls are 74, 50, 9, 66 not out, 38 and 37? That does not seem like the production of a struggling batter, although that statline does go back to Oct 2023 so think what you may of it.

Even if you think that the King is out of form, his 37 showed multiple signs that a change in fortunes is just around the corner. A quartet of boundaries, almost all cracking and in control, bodes well for Babar and Pakistan’s fans.

That said, it was irksome to see him fall to spin on a fast and bouncy track. With Adelaide historically offering far more comfort to the batters, there is a good chance that MCG’s 37 was just the beginning for Babar on this tour Down Under.

The good and bad of Naseem Shah

Time and again, Naseem Shah has shown in limited overs that neither Babar Azam nor Shaheen Afridi are as big men of crisis as him.

When the chips are down, be it with the bat or ball, Naseem, who is somehow still only just 21, becomes the team’s savior. His valuable 40 off just 39 balls laced with four sixes were pivotal in Pakistan making a match of the 1st ODI. With the ball, too, he was looking menacing when his fitness gave up.

With the positives, he has also shown that the jury is still out on his fitness and the ability to last the rigours of nonstop cricket. Fortunately, word out there is that he has regained full fitness and should feature in the second ODI, but this is an area that this man of immense talent must work more on.

Bowling strategy

The bowlers, all seamers, left very little room for criticism — such was their showing in the opening ODI. They kept short and vicious, and that nearly won them the game.

But that was the MCG where the wicket is quick and the ground is big. You rush the batter on the backfoot and it’s likely to pay dividends. The second ODI will be played at Adelaide Oval where the wicket is known to do quite the opposite. The ball comes on the bat nicely and the boundaries are comparatively shorter, making things easy for batsmen — a point already made by the hosts’ opener Matt Short.

Here is hoping that Team Pakistan’s think tank is aware of that fact and does not insist on sticking to a strategy that worked on one surface but won’t on another.

Which route awaits?

Pakistan follow two patterns in cricket. They either start slow before suddenly coming alive — especially in major, multi-team tournaments. The other pattern sees them start with a slim defeat full of positives and hopes of better days ahead, but what ensues is a full-on catapulting that sees them knock themselves out in the strangest of manners.

Which one of the two routes awaits us here? The first one is already invalid so the second one, then? Or is there a brand new, never-before-seen third avenue in the waiting that would see them build on the positives of the first ODI defeat, eliminate the mistakes and emerge as a better cricketing unit over the course of this tour?

Yeah, that’s probably wishful thinking.

The writer is a cricket aficionado based in Karachi. He sells cars by day and writes sports by night.