The extraordinary might of the Australian team was crushed at the Adelaide Oval as Pakistani speedster Haris Rauf ran through the batting lineup like a hot knife through the butter. On a steamy pace-friendly wicket, Rauf extracted prodigious bounce and seam movement to trouble the Aussie batters early on. He received ample support from his pace counterpart Shaheen, who accounted for three dismissals while Naseem and Hasnain finished with one wicket apiece.

Four out of five of his dismissals featured soft dismissals that came in the form of caught behind whereas one solitary dismissal came in the form of bold dismissal. Inglis, Labuschagne, Hardie, Maxwell, and Cummins succumbed to his hostile pace bowling. His figures of 5-29 are his best-recorded ODI figures on Australian soil and on the back of such a ground-breaking performance, the Men in Green can now dream of a potential victory in this series. 

A look into Haris Rauf's obliterating bowling spell   

Out-class Spell by Haris Rauf Today #PAKvsAUS pic.twitter.com/9zKl7mAYAb

— Ahsan Shah 💙 (@parh_ly_ahsan) November 8, 2024

Inglis was the first victim to fall to Rauf's hostile bowling. He was dismissed during the 14th over when he attempted to pull a shortish delivery angling down the leg side. Haris was rewarded for this ordinary delivery as Inglis only managed to get some glove on the way making it all too easy for Rizwan to complete a simple catch behind the stumps. 

Labuschagne was the next batter to depart and he was dismissed at a very crucial time when Australia needed a partnership to stay afloat. Rauf bowled an absolute peach in the form of a seam-up delivery and Labuschagne poked at it tentatively to find the outside edge through to Rizwan behind the stumps. 

Hardie was the next victim to fall and he too succumbed in a very similar fashion as his predecessor Labuschagne during the 26th over of the match. A regulation seam-up delivery on a length deviated very late to take the outside edge of Hardie's bat which ultimately resulted in his demise on 14.

Then a big wicket of Maxwell which completely derailed Australia during the 28th over. Maxwell made a very poor choice to counter-attack Rauf for which he paid a hefty price.  Maxwell's eyes lit up after seeing a short and wide delivery outside off. He tried to take a swipe at it only to drag the ball back onto his stumps.

And then finally, Rauf delivered a final nail in the coffin by removing the skipper Cummins who could have threatened Pakistan in the dying phase of the innings. His dismissal broke the back of the Australian innings as the home side failed to put up a big score on the board.

Where does the match currently stand? 

Shaheen Afridi picked up the final wicket of the innings to clean up Australia for 163. Haris's inspirational bowling spell has given the visitors a fighting chance of getting back into the series. The Men in Green narrowly missed out in the first ODI at Melbourne but with such a relatively small target to chase, Pakistan find themselves on the cusp of a maiden ODI victory in Australia since 2017. 

See also: Low scoring Oman vs UAE ODI enters the record books

SCO vs STR Match Preview

On Saturday evening, the Perth Scorchers will face the Adelaide Strikers in the knockout round of the 2023/24 Big Bash League play-offs. The Scorchers finished the group stage in third place with 13 points, two points ahead of the Strikers, who finished fourth in the final play-off. Perth Scorchers were defeated by the Sydney Sixers in their most recent game, but it was a close game with defeat coming on the final ball of the match. As the reigning champions for the past two seasons. Over the last four games, the Adelaide Strikers have defeated the Scorchers, the Hurricanes (twice), and the Sydney Thunder, winning all of them with plenty of balls. However, they are up against a formidable opponent.

SCO vs STR Match Details

Perth Scorchers vs Adelaide Strikers – Knockout Match

Venue: Perth Stadium – Perth

Date & Time: 20th January 2024 at 02:10 PM IST 

Live Streaming: Disney+ Hotstar

SCO vs STR Venue Stats

SCO vs STR Pitch Report

In 2023, the average score was only 147 in T20 games. There will be some turn for the spin bowlers and some pace in the wicket for the quicks to exploit.

SCO vs STR Weather Report

We can expect plenty of cloud cover and high humidity throughout this game on the evening.

SCO vs STR Last Five Matches

SCO vs STR Head-to-Head Stats

Injury News

No Injury. Will be added when there is an update.

Also Read: “Rohit Sharma yet again proved why he is the boss” – Ravichandran Ashwin

SCO vs STR Probable Playing XIs:

Perth Scorchers Probable Playing XIs

Stephen Eskinazi, Marcus Harris, Sam Whiteman, Aaron Hardie (c), Josh Inglis (wk), Cooper Connolly, Nick Hobson, Ashton Agar, Andrew Tye, Jason Behrendorff, Lance Morris

Adelaide Strikers Probable Playing XIs

Matthew Short (c), D’Arcy Short, Jake Weatherald, Adam Hose, Thomas Kelly, Jamie Overton, Harry Nielsen (wk), Henry Thornton, David Payne, Cameron Boyce, Lloyd Pope

Topmost Picks for SCO vs STR Dream11 Prediction:

Top Picks – Perth Scorchers

• Aaron Hardie- the 24 year old batting all-rounder has already hit over 200 runs in this campaign and contributed another 34 runs in the last game.
• Jason Behrendorff- the left-arm quick bowler dismissed the dangerous D’Arcy Short in the head to head with the Strikers on Wednesday and he will be a threat again at the Adelaide Oval.

Top Picks – Adelaide Strikers

• Matthew Short- the skipper continued his extremely strong individual form with another seven fours and two sixes at the Perth Stadium on Wednesday.
• Henry Thornton- the pace bowler made his first appearance of the season on Wednesday and made an immediate impact by dismissing both openers, Zak Crawley and Sam Whiteman.

Suggested Playing XI N0.1 for SCO vs STR Dream11 Team:

Josh Inglis, Lan Evans, Cooper Connolly, Jake Weatherald, Matthew Short(C), Jamie Overton, Aaron Hardie(VC), Andrew Tye, Jason Behrendorff, D’Arcy Short, Cameron Boyce

Suggested Playing XI N0.2 for SCO vs STR Dream11 Team:

Josh Inglis, Lan Evans(VC), Harry Nielsen, Jake Weatherald, Matthew Short, Jamie Overton(C), Aaron Hardie, Andrew Tye, Jason Behrendorff, David Payne, Cameron Boyce

Captain and Vice-Captain Options:

Captain – Jamie Overton, Matthew Short

Vice-captain – Aaron Hardie, Lan Evans

Wicketkeeper – Josh Inglis

SCO vs STR Probable Winners:

This is set to be a classic knockout game on Saturday at Perth Stadium, with the current back-to-back champions facing a team looking for their fifth win in a row. We expect a close match, but on a strong batting pitch, it could come down to who has the best pace bowling lineup. We believe that is the Perth Scorchers, and we are backing them to win this game. Considering the team combination, Perth Scorchers is expected to win this match.

Australia are hosting their first T20 World Cup. They have a wonderful set of grounds, and some of them are among the most aesthetically pleasing in the World. With big boundaries, and interesting characteristics, each ground has its own variety to offer.

Melbourne Cricket Ground

The MCG has seven matches in the main draw of the T20 World Cup. It is also hosting the Finals, and is known for its huge boundaries and the ability to hold a crowd of over a 100000 people. While the boundaries are among the biggest in Australia, Melbourne is also seen as one of the best batting tracks in the country. It has a very fast outfield, and a flat pitch. With an average run-rate of 8.30, Melbourne is easily the best for batting.

The straight boundaries are a touch shorter, and running between the wickets plays a big role with big gaps on offer at the boundaries. For spinners, the boundary size is encouraging as it allows them to flight the ball more, helping them extract spin better. With a few days to go, Melbourne will be in full tilt on the 23rd as it hosts marquee event with India taking on Pakistan.

Sydney Cricket Ground

The Sydney Cricket Ground is another one with really big boundaries. Batting here is pretty good as well, but the pitch is a bit drier than what may be found in Melbourne. Historically, Sydney is known to help spinners a little more while. Fast bowlers too get some help with the new-ball, indicating that Sydney is a good ground for bowlers, and should give an even contest between bat and ball.

Adelaide Oval

Adelaide’s straight boundary is probably the biggest in Australia. The numbers for spinners are not so great but are also not too bad. Ideally, it is a good ground for batters, and with short square boundaries, spinners are often forced to bowl fuller and do not get to be as flexible, unless they are really brave. Games in Adelaide are generally high-scoring, despite overall numbers not suggesting so.

Perth Stadium

The new stadium at Perth has not hosted much international cricket with Covid restricting border movement. Overall, six T20Is have taken place int he stadium. While the boundaries are pretty big, the nature of the pitch remains a question. Over time, there has been bounce, pace and turn seen on the track. The square boundaries are big, helping bowlers bowl short, and again letting spinners experiment a little more. Pace on the track does help the batters too. While the pitch is not as fast as the old WACA track, there is still quite a bit of life in the track. With a fast outfield as well, there is a lot of value for shots played.

The Gabba, Brisbane Cricket Ground

The Gabba is one of Australia’s most famous grounds traditionally and is known for having one of the fastest pitches in the World. Scoring at the Gabba in T20 Cricket is a little tougher when compared to other Australian grounds. There boundary percentage is quite low with long square boundaries. Running between the wickets though is pretty important, and that is a reason why the overall run-rate is pretty good at the Gabba. While the Gabba is one of the fastest tracks, pace in T20 Cricket is easier to play than spin while playing there. Batting overall is easy, but running between the wickets is an important factor.

Bellerive Oval, Hobart

Hobart has nine games in the T20 World Cup. It is a minefield for wrist-spinners, who absolutely struggle there. The boundaries are very small, and with a breeze constantly flowing through the ground, run scoring is very easy, when compared to other Australian grounds.

Simonds Stadium, Geelong

Geelong has not hosted much international cricket in recent years. It is the main ground though for the upcoming T20 World Cup’s first round. Like Hobart, the boundaries are small and there are some strange dimensions throughout the ground.