Abu Dhabi, UAE, October 15th: The Pakistani and Australian teams will descend on Zayed Cricket Stadium on Tuesday 16th as these cricketing giants clash to decide the champions of the 2018 Jubilee Insurance Brighto Cup Test Series.
With the first Test ending in a draw, both teams are now vying for victory over the coming five days: Tuesday 16th to Saturday 20th October.
Both captains are buoyant about their chances in the upcoming match. Pakistan, the leading T20i team in the world, will be keen for a win at their ‘home away from home’ here in the UAE. However, they will be forced to make a change to their top order batting line up with their regular opener, Imam-Ul-Haq, fracturing a finger and therefore counted out for this Test.
Sarfraz Ahmed, Pakistan’s captain, spoke today at the pre-match press conference at Zayed Cricket Stadium, saying: “As a team and as a captain we are really confident for this test match, and I’m really proud of my team, the way the team responded in the first Test match.
“It’s going to be a great match , and the whole team is looking forward to seeing our Abu Dhabi fans.”
That said, Australia will be hungry for a win in Abu Dhabi, given that the Australian side has not clinched Test Series win in Asia since 2011. Additionally, the ‘Baggy Greens’ still face the challenges of playing against a team used to UAE conditions, where heat and humidity are instrumental in the movement of the ball and the conditions of the playing surface
Tim Paine, captain of the Australian Test Team, said: “We’re reasonably confident about this Test match. We know clearly after the past few days we’ve got a bit of relief and a bit of momentum so if we play our best cricket, we’ve got every chance to win the test. We want to win every series that we’re involved in,” added Paine. “We’re going to focus on what we do, and if we do that well for five days, then we have every chance of winning it. We’re happy with the fight we showed in the last test and we’re going to take it to another level in this test.
“We’ve got a good group of players and are able to rotate.” Added Paine. “This tour we have spoken a lot about patience, partnerships and pressure, and our players know exactly what we expect of them especially after the first Test.”
Courtesy: ABU DHABI Cricket
Add Comment