Pakistan bowl; Australia bring in Zampa for Stanlake

The hosts, who are leading 1-0, will be looking to seal the series in Lahore

Ahsan Iftikhar Nagi

Published: Jun 2, 2026, 11:25 AM (3 hrs ago)

Pakistan won the toss and decided to bowl first against Australia in the second ODI at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. This was the second time in this series that Pakistan were chasing and their decision was influenced by yet another spin-friendly pitch, which captain Shaheen Shah Afridi said had been especially curated so the hosts could dominate Australia.

There was no change in Pakistan's XI, which meant that they were fielding four spinners and only two fast bowlers. Australia reinforced their spin bowling stocks by replacing Billy Stanlake with Adam Zampa, who was forced to pull out of the first ODI in Rawalpindi because of neck spasm.

"It's [spinning pitches] not hogging our minds," Australia captain Josh Inglis said at the toss. His team was bowled out for 200 in 44.1 overs on Saturday. "We have got to learn on the go and adapt quickly according to these conditions."

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Hesson debunks pitches 'myth', says there will be 'variety' at ODI World Cup

Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson, on Monday, defended Pakistan's decision of rolling out turning pitches, arguing spin will have a role to play in the 2027 World Cup, which will be spread across South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.

Trailing 0-1 in the three-match rubber, Australia are staring at their third consecutive ODI series defeat to Pakistan.

Pakistan: 1 Sahibzada Farhan, 2 Maaz Sadaqat, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Ghazi Ghori (wk), 5 Salman Ali Agha, 6 Abdul Samad, 7 Shadab Khan, 8 Arafat Minhas, 9 Shaheen Shah Afridi (capt), 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Abrar Ahmed

Australia: 1 Matt Short, 2 Alex Carey, 3 Josh Inglis, 4 Matt Renshaw, 5 Cameron Green, 6 Marnus Labuschagne, 7 Oliver Peake, 8 Nathan Ellis, 9 Matt Kuhnemann, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Tanveer Sangha

Ahsan Iftikhar Nagi is a cricket journalist based in Lahore

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