After Pakistan amassed 219-for-4 on the opening day of the Test series, Australia will look to answer back on Day 2 on Thursday at 2:00 a.m. ET. Live stream the match by clicking this link.
The match will be played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Pakistan won the coin toss on Wednesday and opted to bat first. Younis Khan was very impressive, recording a century with 106 runs. Azhar Ali contributed a half-century with 53 and captain Misbah-ul-Haq added 34 while not recording an out. While run-scoring was tough thanks to a slow, low wicket for Pakistan, Australia will rely on the early wickets for its success on Thursday.
Australia dominated Pakistan in their one-day series earlier this month, but the Aussies took a 153-run loss to the Pakistan A team in their warmup match on Saturday.
Mitchell Johnson and Peter Siddle will be important for Australia thanks to their reverse-swing approach. Captain Michael Clarke will be back in the lineup after missing the ODI series with injury. Chris Rogers will need to improve his play at the top of the order. Alex Doolan recorded a century in the warmup match and will be important to Australia's success along with Phil Hughes and Mitchell Marsh.
Pakistan is a depleted team with Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman, Junaid Khan and Wahab Riaz all expected to miss the match. But optimism comes from Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Ahmed Shehzad and Rahat Ali, who were all impressive in their dominant warmup match performance. Left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar and rookie Yasir Shah might also see some action.
Starting Squads
Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (capt.), Ahmed Shehzad, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Ehsan Adil, Haris Sohail, Imran Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Talha, Rahat Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed (W/k), Shan Masood, Taufeeq Umar, Yasir Shah, Younis Khan, Zulfiqar Babar
Australia: Michael Clarke (capt.), George Bailey, Alex Doolan, James Faulkner, Brad Haddin, Ben Hilfenhaus, Phil Hughes, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve O'Keefe, Chris Rogers, Peter Siddle, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner.
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