Buoyant Australia to face an unpredictable Pakistan
The ODI World Champions, Australia had an awful tour of South Africa in the September-October, 2016. They were whitewashed brutally from the Proteas.
In the first match, South Africa invited the Aussies to bat first. With George Bailey’s contribution of 74, the Kangaroos amassed a total of 294. The South African opener Quinton de Kock scored 178 and took the game away from Australians.
In the 2nd ODI, South Africa batted first and posted a total over 360 with an outstanding innings of 111 by their skipper Faf Du Plessis. But Australia disappointed their supporters when they did not even score 250 in return.
The Kangaroos managed to score a total of 371, in the third match, owing to the classical knocks of David Warner and Captain Smith. Yet, they failed to defend it.
The next two ODIs also added to this row of defeats for Aussies. The failures did not reach to a halt and Australia lost the following test series to South Africa by 1-2.
David Warner, who scored 386 runs, was the leading player from the Australian test squad.
However, Australian ODI team was in great form prior to this series. They won 3-2 from England in England in 2015, won 4-1 from India in Australia, than they won the triangular series from West Indies and South Africa, outclassed Sri Lankans at their backyard and then won an ODI from Ireland just before the ODI series against South Africa.
Later, Australia hosted the Kiwis for a series of three ODIs. The kangaroo captain, who couldn’t perform well against SA, started the series with a hundred and took his team to victory. This victory continued for the next two matches and Australia white washed their neighbor.
The performances of a couple of players, including the captain Steven Smith, contributed to the series against Kiwis. Australia was also missing their experienced pace attack Starc, Hazlewood and Cummings who played a major role in the victory against the Kiwis. Inclusion of the quality all-rounder James Faulkner also contributed to the win.
Good teams have the capability to bounce back and Australians proved that they are the World Champions by coming back hard on their neighbors. Australia’s next challenge is the series with Pakistan which is well known for its unpredictability.
Edited by Menahil Tahir.
