Teams:

Australia (Playing XI): David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis(w), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood

Pakistan (Playing XI): Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Rizwan(w), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf

Pat Cummins: We would have had a bowl as well. The energy was awesome. The intent from our guys was excellent. The way we played against Lanka, we should do the same. The same. Everyone good to go.

Babar Azam: We will bowl first. The pitch looks really good. We have had a couple of good sessions. We are hoping to do well. We need to do well in batting. We will try our best. Shadab is not playing.

Pakistan have won the toss and have opted to field

Teams:

Pitch Report | Ian Bishop and Shane Watson: Glorious sunshine. Dimensions - 76 m straight, square almost equidistant (63m and 64m). This looks like a really nice surface. There's a really nice grass cover. It's rock hard, really good base to this surface, so the ball is gonna zip through for the fast bowlers very nicely. There's not going to be much purchase for the spinners at all. Deception is going to be their friend tonight. The last two nights, there's been a lot of dew on the ground, that's definitely going to be a factor.

The toss isn't too far away. Expecting a few changes from Pakistan.

Discussions - There has been a lot of murmurs that have sneaked out from both quarters. Pakistan's has been louder and a little disconcerting for their fans. All might not be well. Cummins and his men seem cocooned from the outer world as should be the case in these big tournaments but one more loss will only give more decibels to the detractors.

Results - The distance between Pakistan and Australia geographically is more than 9000 kms. But on the points table it is about two points. Two points for Australia might help them displace Pakistan who are at number 4. Two points for Pakistan will help them topple SA at number 3. The points table was bound to switch batons for the top four slot despite this being early days. And a few shocking losses to a few favourites has only opened up the WC table further. Australia can't really afford another loss. Pakistan do not want to go down either as it will mean two on the bounce. It isn't do or die. But the consequences of today will push either teams towards that kind of a situation. Results will be known in a few hours from now.

Hypothesis - On current form, tough to say who will snatch a win today? Australia are little favourites. But Indian conditions might just allow the leverage to Pakistan to come back to form. Their openers might just get one more chance to be together. Shadab also might be running out of time. But Pakistan have done multiple PHDs in being mercurial.

Questions - How will Australia address the middle overs quandary? Zampa did pick up four wickets in the last game. But Maxwell has looked the better spinner. Will Starc and Hazlewood provide them a better start? Will Pakistan persist with Shafique and Imam? Will Shadab be dropped? Will Babar break his little bit of a dry run?

Observation - Australia have relied a little too much on their top-order which hasn't yet delivered. Their bowling attack also hasn't yet hit the full tilt. They are a team still looking for a complete game. Pakistan have problems at the top with the ball and the bat. Their openers look self consumed. Their new ball bowlers look highly underconfident. Even their spinners look a shadow of themselves.

Introduction - Australia are five time champions. Ruthless and seamless when it comes to big tournaments. They aren't off to a great start as they lost two to get started. Pakistan won in 1992. They are mercurial to say the least. Can punch above their weights. The loss to India might have instilled a few self doubts.

12:45 IST:Only two things are infinite. One is the universe and the other is science! Let's consider this game between Australia and Pakistan as a science experiment as the dynamics involved in this great game doesn't have finite proportions.

Preview by Bharat Sundaresan

Only five days ago, Pakistan were one of the in-form teams of the tournament, They'd started their campaign on a confident note against the Dutch. They'd then created a record with the highest run-chase ever in a World Cup against Sri Lanka.

Australia on the other hand looked completely out of shape. They'd been trounced by India convincingly before suffering their heaviest defeat in a World Cup game to South Africa. So much so that they even spent one night at the bottom of the table.

As the two teams prepare to face each other at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Friday (October 20) though, you'd say the tide has certainly shifted. Even if it hasn't technically. From their first three matches, Pakistan still have two wins and a loss while Australia still have two losses and a solitary win. But it's difficult to deny that Pat Cummins & Co just seem to have the edge on the eve of the crucial encounter between the two sides.

That's what a loss to India can do to the narrative around Pakistan in a World Cup. That's what any win for Australia does to the narrative around the five-time world champions in a World Cup.

And if Australia spent their time against Sri Lanka ticking some crucial boxes en route to opening their account in the World Cup, Pakistan were left rattled and seemingly made to lose all that momentum that they'd built up in their opening encounters. Not that Cummins is ready to bite into any chat around Australia potentially heading in a direction where they might "peak" at the right time.

"We've probably given up the right to peak at the right time by losing the first couple but you're always chasing that perfect game. For most of the last game we were really good. But there's always a couple of little areas, again, they had a big partnership upfront. Took us five wickets down to knock over the total so it was a really good game, but there's always little things you can look at," he'd said.

This is not to say that Pakistan have turned into a team in distress just on the basis of one defeat. But it's the nature of their collapse and the inability of their bowlers to impart any pressure on the Indians would be the biggest concern from their perspective. Either way, the match could well decide in which direction their respective journeys in this World Cup head from this point on. Pakistan at least would hope that the narratives around the two teams are just narratives and that they still haven't lost their way after the really promising start.

When: Australia v Pakistan, October 20, 14.00 hrs Local time, 19.30 hrs AEST

Where: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore

What to expect: Ok, Bangalore, you have fine weather. It's an admission you just have to make as an outsider the moment you arrive in this fine city. And conditions only get better once you get to the Chinnaswamy Stadium, especially if you are a batter who doesn't have to worry about bowling. Runs galore and sixes for fun has been the trend here for years. The last IPL game at this venue saw both Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli make centuries. And even though both teams have a mixed record in Bangalore-Australia are 4-5 and Pakistan 1-1-in ODIs, the toss could well have a massive bearing on what transpires in the first match of this World Cup in Bangalore.

Team Watch

Australia

Former captain turned commentator Aaron Finch was the cynosure of Australia's practice session the day before the match. He had long discussions with several of his former teammates and chief selector George Bailey. Cummins too was seen having a lengthy chat with Bailey as they walked off the ground. But you wonder what changes they could make at this stage, especially with Travis Head set to join the team later this week. Everyone has had a hit or a bowl in the last two days except Adam Zampa, though he's expected to play. The only possible change would happen if the leg-spinner does pull up stiff on the morning of the match, which would bring Sean Abbott into contention.

Tactics & Strategy:

As they left Lucknow, the Aussies had found runs in the middle order, courtesy Josh Inglis and Glenn Maxwell, and they'd also finally found a way to take big wickets in the middle overs, thanks to Cummins and Adam Zampa. Australia played a warm-up game against Pakistan two weeks ago where the openers went ultra-aggressive against the Pakistani fast bowlers. Expect the same here too. The Australian seamers have changed their tactics slightly in the last two games and started bowling a lot more cross-seamers and mixing them up with cutters once the balls begin to get scuffed up. And that's a ploy that could work against a Pakistani middle-order that hasn't fired consistently.

Probable XI: David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood

Pakistan

Fakhar Zaman still remains unavailable for another week while Agha Salman is recovering from an illness. The only likely change on the cards is Pakistan bringing in leg-spinner Usama Mir for Mohammad Nawaz. Mir was impressive against the Aussies in Hyderabad in the warm-up game.

Tactics & Strategy:

Pakistan's success against Australia will depend largely on their top-order getting big runs and taking the innings deep. That's where they failed against India despite getting an impressive start. What they'll also need is wickets from their spinners to complement the impact of the fast bowlers, who've also been rather inconsistent so far despite their high-billing.

Probable XI: Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Usama Mir/Mohammad Nawaz, Hassan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf

Squads:

Pakistan Squad: Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Rizwan(w), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Agha Salman, Fakhar Zaman, Usama Mir, Mohammad Wasim Jr

Australia Squad: Mitchell Marsh, David Warner, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis(w), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins(c), Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood, Sean Abbott, Travis Head, Alex Carey, Cameron Green