To follow Australia v Pakistan live, click here

Shahid Afridi
Shahid Afridi is under a lot of pressure as captain of the Pakistan T20 side Getty

To follow Australia v Pakistan live, click here

Australia will take on Pakistan in a Group 2 fixture of the ICC T20 World Cup 2016 at Punjab Cricket Association's IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on 25 March, Friday.

Where to Watch Live

Match starts at 9:30am GMT/3pm IST. Live coverage is on Sky Sports 2 and Sky Sports 2 HD in the UK. Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 3 will telecast it in India. hClick here for for live streaming link.

Overview

Australia suffered a defeat in their first match of the T20 World Cup at the hands of arch-rivals, New Zealand. However, they bounced back to defeat Bangladesh in their second fixture.

Steve Smith's side were still lucky to escape defeat against the Tigers as the latter's poor fielding is what cost them the match. Australia chased the target of 157 runs comfortably in the end with nine balls to spare and won the match by three wickets.

Pakistan had a good start to the 2016 ICC T20 World Cup after defeating Bangladesh. Their chances of progressing to the next stage of the tournament suffered a blow when they lost to India and New Zealand in the next two matches.

Adam Zampa
Leg-spinner Adam Zampa was the star bowler for Australia against Bangladesh Getty

Against the Black Caps, Shahid Afridi's side were on course to a win after being set a target of 181 runs by New Zealand. Sharjeel Khan and Ahmed Shehzad gave the team a good start and made sure Pakistan were in a strong position to seal victory.

But the dismissals of Khan and Shehzad set them back, and Pakistan struggled to keep up the momentum. They could manage only 158 runs for the loss of five wickets, resulting in a defeat. Pakistan will need a victory over Australia, if they need to retain a hope of qualifying for the semi-final.

Pakistan will need a victory over Australia in order to stand a chance of qualifying for the semi-final. Even a victory will not assure them a place in the last four. Should they win against Australia, they need to bank on Smith's side beating India in their last Super 10 fixture. In that situation, India, Pakistan and Australia will end up with the same number of points, with the qualifying teams being decided on net run rate.

Prediction

Pakistan to win

Betting Odds (Betfair)

  • Australia to win: 1/2
  • Pakistan to win: 13/8

Teams

Australia

Possible XI: Shane Watson, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith (C), David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, James Faulkner, Peter Nevill (WK), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazelwood.

Pakistan

Possible XI: Sharjeel Khan, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi (c), Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Mohammad Sami, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Irfan.

Australia Pakistan ICC T20 World Cup 2016