Cricket World Cup: Australia captain Pat Cummins aims for high-scoring thriller against Pakistan

Australia captain Pat Cummins is aiming for a high-scoring thriller and hopes his side will continue their winning performance against Pakistan on Friday.

After a shocking start to their World Cup campaign, having lost to hosts India and South Africa and failing to score more than 200 runs in both games, Australia finally picked up their first victory on Monday, beating Sri Lanka by five wickets.

Pakistan come into this fixture on the back of a defeat after arch-rivals India inflicted their first loss of the tournament when beating them by seven wickets on Saturday.

• Ben Stokes ready to face South Africa after fearing World Cup was over
• Chris Woakes: The Wizard who's lost control of his spells
• Afghanistan's 'greatest day' leaves England in dark place
• Stream the Cricket World Cup and more top sport with NOW

“Pakistan are a side that always seems to be right up there,” said skipper Cummins.

“They’re pretty well structured and have some really good quick bowlers who can do some damage.

“Mohammad Rizwan is the leading run-scorer and Babar Azam is always good. They’re a really strong side pretty much in all facets.”

Marnus Labuschagne is Australia’s only batter who has scored more than 100 runs in the tournament so far, while Pakistan’s Abdullah Shafique and Muhammad Rizwan have been in good form, particularly when they beat Sri Lanka in a World Cup record chase.

Skipper Cummins hopes the batting-friendly wicket in Bengaluru will allow Australia to put a good total on the board where the side batting first has averaged 335 in the last three ODIs.

“Especially at a venue like Bangalore, I dare say it’s going to be high-scoring, smaller field,” Cummins said.

“The pitch is always good here so batting is super important. The way the guys started in the last game really set the tone.

“We have Mitchell Marsh and David Warner up front from the first over really taking the game on, that’s what we want from our players.

“They’re working really hard and doing all the right things. I’m sure plenty of runs are around the corner.

“The interesting thing when you look at the statistics around the tosses, just about every venue is 50-50. So, in the first two games, we were totally outplayed. Whether we batted or bowled first, I don't think it would have mattered too much.”

Australia’s Adam Zampa had been struggling to make a breakthrough in this tournament and his form was brought into question, but the spinner claimed a four-wicket haul against Sri Lanka, and was named player of the match.

Despite Pakistan's heavy defeat to India where they collapsed from 155-2 to 191 all out, fast bowler Hasan Ali remains positive they can recover.

"We agree that we didn't play to our calibre. We have made mistakes but it's not the end of the world," Hasan said.

"I will say this and you might have heard this word many times - nothing has changed. We lost and we were in pain. We were a better team and we shouldn't perform like that. We sat together with the team and had a healthy discussion.

"We have a match against a big team [Australia] but we are also a big team. We have come to win the World Cup and are trying to play good cricket."

Pakistan's bowlers have struggled to be imposing, taking only three wickets in their fixture against the hosts who sailed to a comfortable victory.

Hasan was a late addition to Pakistan's World Cup squad after fast bowler Naseem Shah suffered a shoulder injury and has performed well, taking a four-for against Sri Lanka and seven in the tournament so far, despite not having played ODI cricket since June 2022.

"We all know that it's a high-scoring ground. That's no excuse. As a player, you have to find a way to perform. The most simple way to stop runs is to take wickets.

"Australia's batting line up is very strong but we also have experience. Our bowlers are also good. We're looking forward and we're confident," Hasan said.

"I wasn't in the team for a year but I haven't changed anything about my style. I've just worked on my basics, focused on performing whenever I played and grabbing any opportunity I could.

"Now I have the opportunity to play at the World Cup and show my experience at this tournament."

Pakistan currently sit fourth on the table with Australia seventh. The top four teams will qualify for the semi-finals.

Live ICC Cricket World Cup

What's next?

Watch Australia vs Pakistan live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event from 9am on Saturday (first ball at 9.30am). You can also stream the game with NOW.

England take on South Africa on Saturday with live coverage at 9am ahead of first ball at 9.30am.

Follow the match across skysports.com and the Sky Sports App with a live over-by-over text blog and in-game video clips.