Now, all eyes are on Pakistan seamers, who need to not only contain the Australian batsmen, but also take wickets to defeat the home team in the quarterfinals tomorrow at the Adelaide Oval.
Former Pakistan great Wasim Akram believes that Pakistan have to be disciplined and bowl in the right areas. There has not been a better exponent than Wasim Akram, who considers the current crop of bowlers in the World Cup to be 'very talented'.
"Pakistan have some very talented bowlers, who importantly have sheer pace," Akram said. "They have a good mix of left and right armers, who have been in good form recently."
No doubt, they have a potent bowling attack as was witnessed against South Africa in the tournament, when the Proteas strong batting line up could not even chase down Pakistan's score of 200 odd runs. The Pakistani bowlers bundled out the South African side for 202 runs.
The hero of the day and the tournament so far for Pakistan has been Mohammad Irfan, but the lanky left arm pacer is going to be missed by Pakistan in the quarters as he has already been ruled out of the tournament.
Hence, bowlers such as Sohail Khan and Wahab Riaz need to shoulder the responsibility against the strong-looking Australian batting order.
Akram understands that Irfan is going to be missed badly, as there is no direct replacement for the bowler, who produced such bounce due to his height.
"He (Irfan) is a massive blow because he is seven foot one and can generate tremendous bounce from his great height."
"He is someone that can't be replaced because there isn't anyone close to his height and who can produce that kind of bounce."
So, a lot depends on how the Pakistani captain, Misbah-ul-Haq uses the bowlers available to him. He cannot afford to use pace only, but also include some variety using spin as well.
Akram wants Misbah to be bold. "Misbah needs to be bold but also calculated. He needs to think outside the box. I think he should mix things up and use left and right-handed bowling combinations."
But, one has to remember that the game is not only about Pakistan, as the Australians will come hard against the Pakistani bowlers. With batsman such as Glenn Maxwell, David Warner, Aaron Finch and Steve Smith in the mix, the men in green needs to be on top form.
