Rizwan To Make Two Changes For Must-Win Clash? Pakistan's Probable XI For 2nd ODI Vs Australia

Rizwan to make two changes for 2nd ODI [Source: @_jerseynumber56/X.Com]

Pakistan lost a nail-biting first ODI match Vs Australia at the MCG, and now find themselves in a situation where they have to win the second game to avoid a dead rubber in the third ODI. It won't be an understatement to say that Pakistan bowlers gave it their all, but the batters ruined their chances.

Batting first, Pakistan batters had a horrendous showing as they lost wickets at regular intervals. Mitchell Starc ran riot with the ball as the opposition batters couldn't handle his sheer pace and crumbled under pressure.

Barring Babar Azam and a bit of Mohammad Rizwan, the others failed to deliver as Pakistan could only post 203. The target looked easy from onset, but the Pakistan bowlers made a match out of it. At one stage, Australia were cruising towards victory, but Haris Rauf's 3-fer changed the course of the match.

However, skipper Pat Cummins kept his cool and remained unbeaten at 32 to steer his side home by 2 wickets.

Pakistan's likely changes for 2nd ODI

With a must-win encounter, Pakistan captain, Mohammad Rizwan is likely to make two changes in the side. The second ODI will be played at Adelaide, which is generally on the slower side. 

As a result, there is no need to go in with 4 pacers. Hence, Rizwan should look to drop Irfan Khan Niazi, and in his place they should bring in Faisal Akram. The left-arm chinaman bowler can spring a surprise and could turn out to be the X-factor for the visiting side.

Second, Pakistan should replace Mohammad Hasnain with Aamir Jamal. The last time Pakistan toured Australia in 2023. Jamal was the star player for Pakistan as he consistently delivered with both bat and ball. He can be a useful batting option as well, and hence Jamal should be brought in.

Pakistan's probable XI for 2nd ODI

Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Kamran Ghulam, Agha Salman, Faisal Akram, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Aamir Jamal

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