Tim Paine: Australia’s challenge would be to get Babar and Rizwan out

Former Australia Test captain Tim Paine highlights the challenge of dismissing Pakistan’s batting duo, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, quickly to expose their middle-order weaknesses ahead of the upcoming clash.

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Former Australia Test captain Tim Paine believes that Australia’s primary challenge in the upcoming match will be to swiftly dismiss Pakistan’s batting duo of captain Babar Azam and wicket-keeper Mohammad Rizwan. This strategy aims to exploit the inconsistent middle-order lineup of Pakistan in the match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Australia enters the game after securing their first victory of the tournament against Sri Lanka. Prior to this win, they suffered defeats to India and South Africa. On the other hand, Pakistan arrives at the game with wins against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka but encountered a loss to India in Ahmedabad.

Paine acknowledges the complexity of reading the Pakistani team, describing them as highly talented and unpredictable. He singles out the importance of Australia’s ability to control the world’s number one ranked ODI batsman, Babar Azam, and Mohammad Rizwan. Paine suggests that if they can dismiss these key batters early, Pakistan’s middle-order vulnerabilities may be exposed, similar to how India succeeded against them.

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Paine shares his strategic perspective, stating, “That’ll be the challenge. How do we control Babar and Rizwan? Can we get into their middle order early enough? I think the way Zampa, Pat Cummins, and the crew are starting to bowl, I think we can make some early inroads. If we do that, we should be able to take care of business pretty comfortably.”

Paine also highlights the performance of leg-spinner Adam Zampa, who took four wickets for 47 runs in Australia’s win over Sri Lanka. He attributes the team’s improvement to not just Zampa’s skills but also his energy and enthusiasm on the field.

“I think off the back of the Sri Lanka win, the pleasing thing I saw out of that was the Adam Zampa performance with four wickets. But again, it wasn’t just that; we’ve spoken a lot about the body language of the team. ‘Zamps,’ when I play against him, he’s always at you, and not just with his skill and his leg spin, but he’s in the contest, and his energy is always at you in front of you.”

Paine considers the upcoming clash with Pakistan to be of significant importance for Australia. A victory in this match could elevate Australia to the third position on the points table. He explains, “This game is huge because of India beating Pakistan and Afghanistan beating England; all of a sudden that table is open.”

However, he also emphasizes the consequences of a loss, stating, “But if we lose tonight, it’s a two-game swing because Pakistan are 2-1. We can draw level with them on four points. Or if they go to six points, and we stay at two, you’re looking like you cannot make the semis, unfortunately. It is a huge game.”

-IANS