‘Merry Christmas’: Ahead Of AUS Vs PAK 2nd Test, Pakistan Players Present X-Mas Gifts To Australian Cricketers And Their Families, Video Wins Internet; Watch
After being outdone in all departmenets in the first Test played at Perth, not so long back, Pakistan are under pressure to bring the good results in the 2nd Test vs Australia which starts on December 26, also known as the Boxing Day Test. Before the Test starts and things get heated up, a warm gesture was made by Pakistan team in Melbourne.
A video is going viral on the internet in which the captain of the Pakistan’s Test team Shan Masood can be seen presenting gifts to the families of the Australian cricketers along with the support staff. The video has won the hearts of many fans all over the world as it shows how gracious Pakistan are as a cricket team. The video features Australian captain Pat Cummins too and families of some Aussie cricketers.
Pakistan players and staff have come with Christmas gifts for Aussies and their families in the MCG nets. — Daniel Cherny (@DanielCherny)
As soon as the Christmas festivities end, Pakistan have a herculean task of overcoming the Australian challenge in 2nd Test. They were quite ordinary in the first Test and the MCG Test is not going to get any easy. Masood will have to lead from the front and get runs runs under the belt.
All eyes will be on Babar Azam. The star Pakistani batter has not had a good run in last couple of matches across formats. He struggled in India during the Cricket World Cup 2023 and in two innings at Perth, Babar did not show signs of a player in form. Pakistan are hugely dependent on him and need a big show in MCG to get them running in the series.
Reports suggest that Masood and coach Mohammad Hafeez may change the playing 11. The one tactic change could be Mohammad Rizwan replacing Sarfaraz Ahmed as the wicketkeeper and batter. Rizwan has a better record batting in Australia as he handles the short ball well too. The Men in Green are also a bowler short suddenly as Noman Ali, their spinner, is ruled out due to an injury. Earlier, Abrar Ahmed, their frontline spinner, was also ruled out.
With players falling prey to injuries, Pakistan will have to play out of their skin to challenge this strong Australian outfit, who once again start as favourites in the 2nd Test at MCG.