Australia is flying high at the moment and their 2-0 win in the AUS vs PAK test series 2019 justify the same. Confidence can take you places and the Aussies are currently thriving. It was all 120 points collected from the AUS vs PAK test series 2019 in the ongoing ICC World Test Championship. Next up for the Aussies are New Zealand at home in a three-match affair, starting December 12.
The Kiwis beat England 1-0 recently and will come to Australia with much-needed belief and character. Australia was terrific in the two-match Tests against the Asian side. In both matches, that included a Day-Night Test at the Adelaide Oval, Australia overcame their opponents by an innings victory.
The route of victories was almost identical. They batted like champions to put up mega scores and got Pakistan dwindling across both the innings to show their dominance It has been a perfect time for the Aussies, who won back-to-back T20I series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan in November.
The recent show against Pakistan helped Cricket Australia to name a 13-man squad that featured against the former for the upcoming series against the Kiwis. There were plenty of positives for the Aussies, who showed how balanced the side is and there is a lot to offer.
Key Highlights from AUS vs PAK test series 2019
Meanwhile, Pakistan has serious work to do and are a side that is in transition. The inexperience is telling and they have an important series ahead against Sri Lanka, starting December 11 at home. Here are the key highlights from AUS vs PAK test series 2019.
A long road awaits Pakistan in Test cricket
For Pakistan, things look like distant at the moment. There is no sync and many players need to understand what Test cricket is all about. Looking at the manner in which some of their batsmen got out, it is a sorry state of affairs. For the team, nobody went on to get the big scores against Australia.
There were not many significant partnerships. Wickets often tumbled and you got the feeling of surrender without much fight. The batting didn’t offer much substance. One witnessed many rash shots in both Tests and that gave the hosts much impetus to attack.
The only major highlight was that of Babar Azam (104 and 97), who showed some character. However, he needs to get the big scores and things look promising as of now.
Bowling wise, Pakistan was way too inexperienced for their liking. Yes, it is a side that counted on a bunch of youngsters that included 16-year-old Naseem Shah. The future looks bright, but the present is what matters given the Test Championship on offer.
Bowlers deliver as a unit for Australia
To be honest, Australia is top-notch when it comes to bowling and only India can brag about a unit that is good as them. The likes of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood continued to dominate and show their mettle as a unit on home soil.
And then you have an experienced spinner like Nathan Lyon, who is just majestic in the game. The senior off-spinner claimed a fifer in the Day-Night Test as well. Together, the bowlers hurt Pakistan and claimed wickets in a heap across both the matches.
It was Australia’s pace-bowling unit made the difference once again. They accounted for 32 wickets in the Test series and bossed the show. Stars, in particular, topped the billing with a 14-wicket haul.
Bowlers win you games, and the Aussies have this base covered.
How good is Marnus Labuschagne for Australia?
Marnus Labuschagne came into the Australian side as a concussion replacement for Steve Smith in the second Ashes 2019 Test against England earlier this year. From there on, the journey has been a successful one for the talented top-order batsman.
After piling up the runs in Ashes, the cricketer hit two majestic tons against Pakistan. They were his first and second in Test cricket. The stylish stroke-player has already amassed the most runs in the format this year. Having said that, he also gained a whopping 102 places in the ICC Test Rankings for Batsmen.
He is now ranked eighth in the world after being 110th at the start of this year. He is a real force in Test cricket and solves issues for the side being dependent on Steve Smith and David Warner.
David Warner: The tone-setter at AUS vs PAK series
Many wrote David Warner off after a horrible Ashes 2019 campaign where he scored just 95 runs across 10 innings against England. When things looked out of sync, the southpaw went back to the drawing board and worked hard to resurrect his otherwise glorious Test career.
The confidence gained in November from the T20Is helped him and the runs followed. It wasn’t the usual aggressive cricket he was associated with. But this time it was more refined. He consumed time and focused on durability. The series belonged to the opener.
He amassed scores of 154 and 335* to enjoy a record-breaking run at AUS vs PAK test series 2019. David Warner slammed two match-winning partnerships across the two Tests. That, in particular, highlighted his strengths as a Test cricketer. He was the tone-setter in the AUS vs PAK series for Australia.
And finally, Steve Smith is human after all
Steve Smith had a rare failure in Tests after scoring 4 and 36. It was disbelief for many fans as he is often the one that sets the trend of scoring runs at will and leaving others behind. For a change, we saw Warner and Labuschagne dominate in both Tests.
Smith fell to second in the ICC Test Rankings and was overtaken by Indian captain Virat Kohli. However, he can reclaim the position when the Aussies face New Zealand next. Smith had earlier scored 774 runs in Ashes 2019. he even missed a Test.
Notably, he is the only batsman that has an average of over 60-plus in Tests in modern-day cricket. The bright spark for Smith was that he surpassed the 7,000-run mark in Tests.
Frequently asked Questions
[sc_fs_multi_faq headline-0=”h2″ question-0=”How many test Pakistan have lost by an innings away from home?” answer-0=”Pakistan has lost all its last 5 tests by an innings away from home.” image-0=”” headline-1=”h2″ question-1=”Who is the leading wicket taker in Australia vs Pakistan series 2019?” answer-1=”Mitchell Starc is the leading wicket-taker in the recently concluded test series in 2019.” image-1=”” headline-2=”h2″ question-2=”Who is the leading run scorer in AUS vs PAK test 2019?” answer-2=”David Warner leads the chart by 489 runs and remained unbeaten throughout the series.” image-2=”” headline-3=”h2″ question-3=”Who registered the best bowling figures in the test series?” answer-3=”Mitchell stars registered the best bowling figures in test series 2019 against Pakistan that reads 6/66.” image-3=”” headline-4=”h2″ question-4=”Who registered the best performance with the bat for pakistan?” answer-4=”Babar Azam top performed with the bat for Pakistan with overall scores of 210 from 2 matches.” image-4=”” count=”5″ html=”true” css_class=””]