Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed said the wicket looks helpful for the bowlers and that’s why they have opted to bowl first.
“There's a bit of grass and moisture on the pitch, so we need to take advantage of that. Unfortunately, we couldn't play the last game, but we practised hard in the last few days so the momentum is very high for us. Shadab Khan will sit out today and Shaheen Afridi comes back for us,” Sarfraz told the broadcaster while performing the toss.
Pakistan will wear a black band in this match in honour of Riazuddin, a Pakistani Test umpire, who recently passed away.
Aaron Finch, the Australian captain, also said had he won the toss, he would have decided to bowl first as well.
“We would have bowled first too. A hint of green and some moisture in the wicket. We have to wait and see what the wicket plays like. I expect some swing and seam movement. Marcus Stoinis is out with a side-strain, Shaun Marsh comes in for him, and Kane Richardson comes in for Adam Zampa,” Finch told the broadcaster.
Before coming to this match, Pakistan’s last match against Sri Lanka was washed away due to persistent rain. Australia, on the other hand, lost their last match against India.
Pakistan (Playing XI): Imam-ul-Haq, FakharZaman, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Sarfaraz Ahmed(w/c), Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, WahabRiaz, Hasan Ali, ShaheenAfridi, Mohammad Amir
Australia (Playing XI): David Warner, Aaron Finch(c), Shaun Marsh, Steven Smith, UsmanKhawaja, Glenn Maxwell, Alex Carey(w), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Kane Richardson.