Published: Jan 25, 2017, 08:54 PM (IST)
Edited: Jan 25, 2017, 08:54 PM (IST)
The fifth and final ODI of Pakistan’s tour of Australia will be played at Adelaide Oval. Like Test, the final ODI is also a dead rubber as the series result has been decided and it will be surely a low-pressure game for Steven Smith and his men on Australia Day. On the other hand, the fifth ODI will be last chance for Pakistan to play for pride. Their only win in the tour came in the second ODI, where they beat Australia by 6 wickets. Pakistan’s fielding has been under par this series and has perhaps been one of the reasons for their poor show in this series.
Having already won the series, Australia will now look to end the series with yet another win ahead of their Chappell-Hadlee Trophy in New Zealand, set to get underway from January 30. Australia have definitely been the better team in the series. They have dominated Pakistan in most of the matches and have always found someone to rescue them when in trouble.
The likes of David Warner, Smith, Travis Head and Glenn Maxwell have been in top form. Also, Matthew Wade struck an excellent unbeaten ton in the first match, which shows Australia’s depth. With the series already in the bag, Australia would like to test their bench strength.
Then again, one could argue that it would be unwise to change a winning combination. Let us have a look at the combination both teams are likely to play in the fifth ODI.
Top-order: Opener Sharjeel Khan has been on rise in the series as his scores read: 18, 29, 50, 74. If he scores in the same pattern, a big knock is surely on the cards. Back from injury from the previous game, Azhar Ali will be looking to get among the runs. Babar Azam is Pakistan’s leading run-getter in this series with 182 runs at 45.5. He will occupy the No. 3 spot.
The Australian top-order however looks to be much stronger. Fresh from another Allan Border Medal in his kitty, Warner will look to continue his explosive form in this match. Barring his 130 in the previous match, his other three innings has yielded just 56 more runs. His opening partner Usman Khawaja will not feature in the upcoming series against New Zealand. Therefore this will be his last chance to get a big score and remind the selectors that they have made a mistake by not picking him. Khawaja has had a poor series by his standards.
He has scored just 58 runs from three innings at 18.66. Skipper Steven Smith would love to score another big score to round off the series. With 217 runs from four innings, Smith is the leading run-scorer of the tournament, ahead of Warner.
Middle-order: Mohammad Hafeez will come in at No. 4. He hit his only impactful knock in the second ODI, where he was leading the side in Azhar’s absence. His 72-run knock laid foundation for chase in that match but Hafeez played as opener in that game. And he is expected to deliver similar performance in the final clash but in middle-order.
After Hafeez, the experienced batsman Shoaib Malik is expected to follow. He is yet to register fifty in the series. Umar Akmal follows next. He will hope to have some sort of impact. Mohammad Rizwan will continue as Pakistan wicketkeeper after Sarfraz Ahmed flew back to home. They also have two all-rounders — Imad Wasim and Mohammad Nawaz. The latter is likely to play in 5th match.
Australia on the other hand have Peter Handscomb, Maxwell and Head. They have played their parts when required. They not only score runs, but do it at a brisk rate, which boosts the Australian total. Not to forget, there is also Wade, who comes in at No. 7. Handscomb has been brilliant for Australia in Tests and now has done well in his only ODI innings so far. Maxwell looks to be an improved player in the series, since his return and along with Head, he can be extremely dangerous in the final 10 overs.
Bowlers: Mohammad Aamer and Hasan Ali are obvious bowlers for Pakistan as they have done well. Hasan has 10 wickets — the most in this series, while Aamer picked 7 from four games. Imad will be their main spinner. Pakistan will find it a bit tricky to pick their No. 11. Pakistan have to choose one from Junaid Khan, Wahab Riaz and Rahat Ali. At the same venue, we witnessed a feisty spell from Wahab in the 2015 World Cup against Shane Watson. Since then, this is the first ODI at the Adelaide Oval. On the other hand, Junaid has played three matches in the series but was expensive. Rahat is yet to play a match in this series and it will be better to give him a chance to perform.
It will be Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood leading the attack for Australia. Hazlewood and Starc have 11 wickets between them in the series and have a good economy rate as well. One must not forget the contribution of Pat Cummins, who has picked up 5 wickets in four matches at an economy rate of 4.58. It will be a toss up between him and James Faulkner in the side. If Australia feel the need to have a bit more depth in their batting, they will include Faulkner in Cummins’ place.
Adam Zampa was a touch expensive in the only game he played – at Sydney – but he also picked up 3 crucial wickets. Australia already have Maxwell and Head, who can bowl a bit of off-spin, but Zampa is their only specialist spinner in the squad. Australia will want to give him a game, to give him a bit of confidence ahead of the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy.
Likely XIs for 5th ODI:
Pakistan: Azhar Ali (c), Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Imad Wasim, Mohammad Aamer, Hasan Ali, Rahat Ali.
Australia: Steven Smith (c), David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb, Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Wade (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins/James Faulkner, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood.
