Australia vs Pakistan: Australia PM Anthony Albanese meets Pakistan team ahead of clash vs PM’s XI

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met Pakistan’s Test team ahead of their clash against the PM’s XI as they kick-started their month-long tour to Australia.

Pakistan’s tour of Australia: Full coverage

Albanese met with both the teams and got pictures clicked ahead of their match. Pakistan won to toss and opted to bat first in the four-day contest. The visitors posted 94 for 2 in 30 overs before Lunch on Day 1.

Opening batter Imam-ul-Haq failed to get going against the PM’s XI and was dismissed by Jordan Buckingham after scoring 9 runs off 24 deliveries. Abdullah Shafique got going but couldn’t convert his start into a big score. He became the next Pakistani batter to walk back to the pavilion after scoring 38 runs off 76 balls, hitting a solitary boundary.

Skipper Shan Masood and Babar Azam were in the middle when Lunch was called on Day 1, with Masood batting on 42 and Babar on 2.

Pakistan will be facing Australia in a three-match Test series. Australia will host Pakistan in the first Test from December 14 in Perth, which will be followed by the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne and the New Year’s Test in Sydney.

Pakistan have not won a Test match in Australia since 1995 but the Masood-led side have been putting in the hard yards in the lead-up to the series. Pakistan will be looking to break their record of never winning a Test series down under, having failed on 13 occasions in the past.

Pakistan squad for Australia Tests

Shan Masood (C), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (WK), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (WK), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi.