Australia win toss, bat in day-night Test against Pakistan
Australia win toss, bat in day-night Test against Pakistan.
ADELAIDE (AFP) – Australia captain Tim Paine won the toss and chose to bat in the day-night second and final Test against Pakistan at Adelaide Oval on Friday.
After thrashing the visitors by an innings and five runs in Brisbane, the home side named an unchanged team as they look to inflict a 14th consecutive defeat on Pakistan in Australia.
"The wicket looks really good. There might be a bit of rain around and it will be interesting to see how the pink ball handles it with the wet outfield," said Paine, under overcast skies.
The visitors recalled paceman Mohammad Abbas, who was surprisingly omitted in Brisbane, with Imran Khan dropped.
Impressive 19-year-old quick Muhammad Musa was also picked to make his debut, replacing 16-year-old pace sensation Naseem Shah with Pakistan selectors conscious they need to manage his workload.
Out-of-form number three Haris Sohail was axed and Imam-ul-Haq brought in to open the innings alongside Shan Masood, meaning captain Azhar Ali will come in at first drop.
"I would have bowled first considering the conditions," said Azhar. "The wicket looks good but with the rain around we thought we should bowl first."
Australia have won all five of the pink-ball matches they have played, with three of those victories in Adelaide where the day-night Test concept had its first outing four years ago.
Australia - Joe Burns, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Matthew Wade, Tim Paine (capt), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
Pakistan - Shan Masood, Imam-ul-Haq, Azhar Ali (capt), Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, Yasir Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Muhammad Musa, Mohammad Abbas
Umpires - Richard Illingworth (ENG), Michael Gough (ENG)
TV Umpire - Richard Kettleborough (ENG)
Match Referee - Jeff Crowe (NZL)
