Can Pakistan Compensate the Loss of Tests with an ODI Series Win?
Pakistan Cricket Team lost the Test Series against Australia by 1-0 margin after losing the final Test. However now that the test matches are gone, Pakistan’s entire focus should be on ODI Series. The ODI Series begins from 29th March 2022 at Gaddafi Stadium Lahore. Both teams are quite strong in white ball cricket and both have good chances to dominate this series.
Pakistan and Australia have met 104 times in ODI Cricket, with Australia winning 68 and Pakistan winning 32. 1 game finished as a tie while 3 games have ended as no result. Pakistan’s win percentage against Australia is just 32. So history suggests that Australia will begin as favorites. Moreover, Pakistan last defeated Australia in an ODI game way back in 2017. Its been more than 5 years now that Pakistan have not won an ODI match against the Mighty Aussies.
The Test Series defeat, and the poor track record of Pakistan against Australia in ODIs will surely be in their mind ahead of the start of this series. If we consider the table of ODI Super League for World Cup 2023, Australia are ranked 7th in the table as they have played 9 matches of the ODI Super League and have won 6 while they have lost 3. Pakistan are placed at 10th spot with 4 wins in their 9 games. So in order to have a good position on the points table of the ODI Super League for World Cup 2023, this series is extremely crucial.
The last time Australia played an ODI game in Pakistan was way back in 1998. They ended up winning that game in Peshawar by 5 wickets. Interestingly, if we talk about Pakistan vs Australia ODI matches at Lahore, Australia have had a better win ratio in that too. Both teams have met 5 times in ODIs at Gaddafi Stadium Lahore, and Australia have come out victorious on 3 occasions.
So the past record, the current performance and confidence and the current standings on the World Cup 2023 Super League Points Table, everything is in Australia’s favor ahead of the start of the series. But Pakistan do have, what it takes to defeat a tough side like Australia. All the 3 matches of the ODI series will be played at Gaddafi Stadium Lahore beginning from 29th March 2022.
