Pakistan look to conquer Australia on turning NSK track

KARACHI: It’s a bone-dry track at the National Stadium where Pakistan and Australia will both go all out to draw first blood in the second Test after enduring a boring draw on a docile Pindi wicket last week.

The brownish wicket here is expected to be low and slow, not much different from the surface that was prepared for the drawn Test back in 1998, the last time Pakistan and Australia played a Test in Karachi.

Then, both sides fielded three spinners apiece but still failed to get a result out of the high-scoring match.

Both teams, especially Pakistan who are hosting Australia for the first time in 24 years, will be hoping that the wicket that has been prepared for the second match of the three-Test series, starting from Saturday (today), is good enough to produce a result. Both teams will be leaning on their spinners to lead the way.

Both sides are in a better shape than they were in Pindi. The weather played spoilsport in Pindi but clear skies are expected on all five days of the Karachi Test.

This means that a repeat of the Pindi horror show, where just 14 wickets fell over five days, is unlikely at the National Stadium.

Pakistan are expected to make two changes to their playing eleven following the return of pacers Hasan Ali and Faheem Ashraf. Both Hasan, who was nursing an abductor strain and Faheem, who tested positive for Covid, were unavailable for the opening Test. The duo is expected to replace young pacer Naseem Shah and Iftikhar Ahmed, both of whom failed to make their presence felt in Pindi.

While Pakistan are likely to inject more pace to their bowling attack, the Aussies have opted to add more spin.

Leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson will finally get a much-awaited Test debut as he will be replacing seamer Josh Hazlewood in the playing line-up.

“I think it’s quite special that someone like Mitchell Swepson is going to debut tomorrow as a legspinner who grew up trying to replicate Warnie,” Australia captain Pat Cummins said referring to legendary Australia spinner Shane Warne who passed away recently.

Swepson will be the first leggie to debut for Australia since 2009 when Bryce McGain played his first Test.

On a track that is likely to crumble a bit during the last couple of days, Australia will be hoping that their spin duo of Swepson and Nathan Lyon will pose a threat to the Pakistani batting line-up.

Lyon has been Australia’s premier Test spinner for quite some time but has quite a below-par track record against Pakistan overseas. He averages 65.18 against Pakistan away from home (four games in UAE, one in Pakistan). His next highest overseas average is 39.75 in South Africa.

However, the Australians will be hoping that Lyon will produce some magic on a friendlier wicket here. Lyon and his team-mates who played the Pindi Test without any worthwhile warm-up, exuded confidence during training sessions here and are expected to go all out for a win in the Test.

Pakistan, meanwhile, will hope that spinner Nauman Ali, who managed to take six wickets on the dead Pindi track, will continue to be their trump card in Karachi where the wicket is expected to offer plenty of turn. Sajid Khan might have had a lean outing in Pindi, but, he too will fancy his chances here.

Pakistan’s ace pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi will be happy to have his new-ball partner Hasan Ali back in the line-up. Together, they bagged 88 Test wickets during 2021. Hasan took 41 wickets at 16.07 in just eight matches.

Pakistan might have come under criticism for the benign Pindi wicket, but they did come out as a better side than the Aussies in the first Test. Their top order batsmen Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique and Azhar Ali scored heavily. Nauman took wickets while Shaheen looked threatening. With Hasan’s return, they would fancy their chances of taking a 1-0 lead ahead of the final Test in Lahore.

History, too, is on Pakistan’s side. The hosts have won 23 and lost just two of the 43 Tests they have played at the National Stadium. The Aussies have lost five of their eight Tests in Karachi and are still looking for their maiden win at the iconic venue.

The series is part of the ICC World Test Championship. Currently, both Australia and Pakistan sit at the top of the event’s points table. Australia is placed at the top with a 77.77 win percentage followed by Pakistan with a 66.66 win percentage.

Pakistan (likely): Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam (captain), Fawad Alam, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Australia: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (captain), Mitchell Swepson, Nathan Lyon.