Pakistan, Australia look to erase glitches in 'dress rehearsal' contest

One team had a stroll, while the other hit a bump before gaining stability to recover and reach the final. Both Australia and Pakistan, however, know the finish line isn't far away and the penultimate group game on Thursday(July 4) should all but serve as a perfect audition for what's to come on Sunday.

It's been a straightforward task for Australia so far. They won both their games without breaking a sweat and are riding high on confidence following a stellar show with the bat from their skipper Aaron Finch. The fact that Finch faced sixty percent of Australia's deliveries highlights his impact on the series so far. The bowling, too, has been nothing short of magnificent. In their previous encounter against Pakistan, Billy Stanlake hustled and bustled to slump the Asian nation to their biggest loss (in terms of runs) in the format and recorded his best-ever figures in cricket while at it.

The script hasn't quite been the same for Pakistan though. After brushing off Zimbabwe in the series opener, they stumbled horrifically against the pace of Stanlake before rediscovering character against the home side on Wednesday (July 3). Their recent victory also meant exit doors for Zimbabwe, but the focus, for now, will be on putting up an improved show and helping their number-one ranking stay intact. A loss tomorrow will enable a great opportunity for Australia to seal the number one spot provided they win their final group game against Zimbabwe on Friday(06 July). So, it's all heating up for an exciting contest.

Team news

Highly unlikely that Australia will make any changes to their playing XI. Unless a last-minute injury scare, they should stick with the winning combination.

Australia playing XI (probable):Aaron Finch(c), D Arcy Short, Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, Nic Maddinson, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey(w), Ashton Agar, Andrew Tye, Jhye Richardson, Billy Stanlake

The inclusion of Mohammad Amir hasn't created the kind of impact Pakistan anticipated, but Australia aren't quite the opposition to try and test the bench strength, meaning they could field the same eleven that played against Zimbabwe on Wednesday.

Pakistan playing XI (probable):Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Hussain Talat, Sarfraz Ahmed(w/c), Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir

When:5 July 2018, Thursday, 10:00 AMlocal time

Where:The Harare Sports Club, Harare

What to expect:Clear for cricket. Should be bright and sunny with no chances of rain.

What they said:

"Test cricket will take care of itself if I keep scoring runs I do feel over the last few years I've adapted my game and I'm in a much better position," Aaron Finch, Australia captain.

"We need to finish games as well but that did not happen despite two batsmen getting into the 40s. Big game tomorrow as we would try to take the winning momentum into the finals," Sarfraz Ahmed, Pakistan captain.