3 player battles to watch out for in AUS vs PAK Test series ft. Babar Azam vs Josh Hazlewood

Pakistan are set to face a stern test against the mighty Aussies as the two teams will play the highly anticipated three-match Test series, starting from the first game in Perth on Thursday, December 14.

Pat Cummins and co. had begun the World Test Championship (WTC) cycle by retaining the Ashes in England and will want to start their home summer on a fantastic note. Fresh off a World Cup win, Australia's focus will now shift to defending their WTC crown.

Pakistan, on the other hand, have ushered in a new era after Babar Azam stepped down from captaincy. The new Test captain Shan Masood has a tough examination first-up and will need to lead from the front Down Under if the visitors are to take anything positive away from the series.

On that note, let's take a look at the three match-ups that could well decide which team will dominate the Test series:

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#3 Imam-ul-Haq vs Nathan Lyon

Back from a calf injury that saw him miss the majority of Ashes 2023, Nathan Lyon is closing in on a staggering 500 Test wickets. The veteran off-spinner has shown just how crucial he is to the hosts in their den due to the bounce on offer and will certainly play a crucial role in another Test series.

Like many off-spinners, Lyon loves bowling to left-handers and his numbers against Pakistan opener Imam-ul-Haq tell the story. Imam has scored 172 runs off 440 balls faced in Tests from Lyon. However, he has been dismissed four times, which could give the veteran spinner a psychological advantage when facing off.

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#2 Marnus Labuschagne vs Shaheen Afridi

With Naseem Shah injured and Haris Rauf having pulled out of the Test series, Pakistan will need to bank on Shaheen Afridi to have a stellar Test series. The tall left-arm pacer has been the talisman for Pakistan in white-ball cricket but is yet to make an impact away from the subcontinent in Tests.

Afridi will take a lot of confidence from his impressive display against star Australian batter Marnus Labuschagne in Tests. The right-hander has scored just 85 runs from 195 balls faced off Afridi and has been dismissed as many as five times. Labuschagne is crucial for the Aussies to post a big score and Pakistan will want Shaheen to make full use of his positive match-up.

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#1 Babar Azam vs Josh Hazlewood

The pressure of captaincy seemed to take its toll on Babar Azam the batter and so it would be interesting to see if he can express himself better now that he is back to playing as a pure batter. Pakistan might believe that Babar's form is almost directly proportional to their chances of competing in the series as they will need to post big scores.

However, Australia have an ace up their sleeve in Josh Hazlewood, who has relished bowling against the former Pakistan captain. Conceding 70 runs in 133 balls bowled to Babar in Tests, Hazelwood has dismissed the star batter a staggering six times. The Aussies will hope that their star pacer keeps Babar in check throughout the series.