ABU DHABI: Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed is confident his team can defend their top world ranking despite a stern challenge from Australia in the three-match Twenty20 International series thats begins in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

Sarfraz led Pakistan to a tri-series triumph in Zimbabwe last July by beating Australia in the final at Harare and need to win at least one match to retain their Number 1 spot.

Pakistan will be without their most experienced batsman Shoaib Malik who was with his tennis star wife Sania Mirza in India for the birth of their first child.

“Malik will join the team on Wednesday but will not be part of the eleven, so we are ready for Australia who are a very strong Twenty20 side,” Sarfraz told a media conference at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium on Tuesday.

Australia, who beat Pakistan in a group match of the tri-series, need to win 3-0 if they want to jump from their current third position to the top.

Since Sarfraz took over captaincy, Pakistan have won 23 of the 27 matches they have played — a momentum the skipper wants to maintain.

“We know that Australia have good bowlers like Mitchell Starc, Billy Stanlake and power hitters in Chris Lynn and D’Arcy Short so we have to be at our best to beat them,” said Sarfraz.

Stanlake took 4-8 in a lively spell in Australia’s victory in the tri-series group game.

Australia will also have some fresh players after losing the two-match test series 1-0 last week, also played in United Arab Emirates.

Their Twenty20 skipper Aaron Finch said his team was motivated enough to win the series.

“Pakistan played very well against us in July,” said Finch. “We got the better off them in the first game but they battled back in the last two. They are world No 1 at the moment and they are world No 1 for a reason. They played some great cricket in the last two years in this format so I think it will be a great contest.”

Finch played down the bounty of getting to the top of the rankings in case they win all the matches.

“I think any time you play anyone in a different country it’s massively important and everyone wants to win,” said Finch, who has won eight of the 16 matches, losing the other eight since in charge for four years.

“If No 1 rankings are on the line or anyone down the list, each game is important. Everyone wants to win. I don’t think they need any motivation than that and we don’t need it.”

Pakistan will bank on their usual suspects once again — the likes of Fakhar Zaman and Shadab Khan — to continue their good run against the visitors but will also keep a keen eye on prospects for the 2019 World Cup.

They will be sans Mohammad Amir, who has been dropped for poor form, but will hope Hasan Ali is able to walk out of his barren run as well while promising players like Shaheen Shah Afridi and newcomer Waqas Maqsood give them more options to look at.

Sahibzada Farhan, who made his debut against Australia in Harare earlier this year, registered a duck and has a good opportunity to turn things around after a disappointing start to his career.

On the other hand Lynn, who has set his red-ball ambitions aside to manage workload and prolong his career, will be a vital cog for Australia and this series comes as a good opportunity for him to press a claim for a decent run with the limited-overs side.

It won’t be surprising if Australia take a punt on fielding Nathan Lyon ahead of Ashton Agar to partner Adam Zampa. The off-spinner has played just one T20I so far, in 2016 against India, and there have been plenty of hints from Justin Langer that they are looking at Lyon as an all-format player.

Australia have got enough firepower in the pace bowling department with Nathan Coulter-Nile, Stanlake and Andrew Tye all in line to be in the playing XI.

The visitors are unlikely to field Mitchell Starc who is struggling with tightness in his hamstring. Peter Siddle has stayed back in the UAE but with Coulter-Nile, Tye and Stanlake in the side, the veteran paceman will have to wait for his T20I return, having last played in 2010.

Teams:

PAKISTAN (likely): Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Asif Ali, Hussain Talat, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hasan Ali, Faheem Ashraf.

AUSTRALIA (from): Aaron Finch (captain), Mitchell Marsh (vice-capt), Alex Carey, Ashton Agar, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Lynn, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa.

Umpires Ahsan Raza (Pakistan) and Shozab Raza (Pakistan).

TV umpire: Asif Yaqoob (Pakistan).

Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka).

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2018

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