Australia vs Pakistan, ICC World Cup 2023: Fantasy XI, Prediction, Top Captain, Vice-captain Choice

Australia are face Pakistan in match No. 18 of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 on Friday, October 20. While the two teams take each other on the playing field, the fantasy cricket managers have a chance to pick their favourite players and form their teams. The performance of the players on the field will translate to points for each fantasy team picked, and the manager with the team with the most points stands a chance to win attractive prizes.

After a forgettable start to the tournament, Australia picked up a much-needed win in their last match against Sri Lanka. The bowlers, who initially were off to a poor start in this match, managed to restrict the Lankan batters to only 209 runs in the first innings. Adam Zampa (4/47) did the damage with the ball, while Mitchell Marsh (52 off 51 balls) and Josh Inglis (58 off 59 balls) completed the run chase.

Pakistan, on the other hand, are coming on the back of a thumping defeat against India. After defeating Netherlands and Sri Lanka in Hyderabad, the Men in Green were outplayed in Ahmedabad in the highly-anticipated clash. Babar Azam (50 off 58 balls) and Mohammad Rizwan's (49 off 69 balls) partnership in the first innings was the only positive in the seven-wicket defeat.

This is a crucial contest for both teams as a defeat could result in them playing catch-up a bit too early.

Probable playing XIs

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

Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Imam ul Haq, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Nawaz

Weather conditions and