Australia will play Pakistan at home for the second Test of the series in Melbourne, starting December 26 – here is the AUS vs PAK 2nd Test (Boxing Day Test) match live score, updates, toss news, playing XIs, and more.
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Pakistan tour of Australia, AUS vs PAK – Test 2
December 26-December 30, 2023
10:30 am local time
Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
Pakistan tour of Australia 2023/24, AUS vs PAK 2nd Test: Live score
Click here to check live score from the 2nd Australia vs Pakistan Test match in Melbourne.
Australia vs Pakistan, World Test Championship 2023/25: Toss and live updates
Pakistan won the toss and chose to field.
Pakistan tour of Australia 2023/24, AUS vs PAK 2nd Test: Team news
Australia have named an unchanged playing XI for the Boxing Day Test, persisting with the pace-trio of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc. The announcement means Scott Boland will miss out on his home turf after famously recording 6-7 on debut in the 2021-22 Ashes in Melbourne.
With Nathan Lyon chipping in with the fast-bowling cartel to scalp his 500th Test victim, their bowling attack looked unstoppable during the 360-run win in the series opener.
Meanwhile, Pakistan already came to Australia with an inexperienced bowling attack without the services of Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf. To make matters worse, several injury blows have hit them ahead of the second red-ball fixture of their tour. Khurram Shahzad, the debutant who picked five wickets in Perth, has been sidelined from the series due to a rib fracture and an abdominal muscle tear.
Left-arm twirler Noman Ali, who sustained a finger injury earlier, had undergone surgery for appendicitis and is unavailable for the remaining tour, while Abrar Ahmed, recovering from a knee injury, will miss his second consecutive Test. Pakistan had earlier named off-spinner Sajid Khan as Abrar’s cover, while in their latest announcement, Mohammad Nawaz has replaced Noman.
The visitors have revealed a 12-member squad for the match, with Mohammad Rizwan replacing Sarfaraz Ahmed as the designated keeper and have included Mir Hamza and Sajid, of which one will play. Faheem Ashraf has also been dropped for his poor outing in the first game.
Current WTC standings
Australia– 5th, 6 matches, 3 wins, 2 losses, 1 draw, 41.67 PCT
Pakistan– 2nd, 3 matches, 2 wins, 1 loss, 0 draw, 61.11 PCT
Australia vs Pakistan 2nd Test: Playing XIs
Australia: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.
Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (c), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali, Mir Hamza, Aamir Jamal.
Match prediction: Who will win the 2nd Australia vs Pakistan Test?
Pakistan relived the horrors of their 2019 tour with David Warner toying with their rookie pace attack yet again in Perth en route to his 164. Shaheen Afridi’s lacklustre outing hasn’t helped their cause either. Pakistan are going through a regime change, with newly appointed Test skipper Shan Masood still finding his feat at the helm. Unless there is an individual brilliance, a turnaround seems bleak, meaning Australia are clear favourites to extend their lead to 2-0 to seal the series.
