Watch Australia Vs. Pakistan Cricket Live Stream: 1st Test, Start Time, Preview, How To Watch Online
Australia, the third-ranked Test cricket side in the world, hosts fourth-ranked Pakistan in a historic day-night, pink ball Test match, and fans looking to watch a live stream online can find streaming information below on this page. The two countries have not faced each other in a Test since 2014, and they have not squared off for a Test series Down Under since December of 2009.
Pakistan has faced a struggle with every Test in Australia, losing nine in a row and suffering whitewashes in three-match sets in 1999, 2004, and 2009. The first Test, opening Friday, will also be the start of a three-match series.
But the match takes place at Brisbane Cricket Ground, better known as The Gabba, where Australia have gone 27 Test matches without a defeat; winning 20 of those Tests. The Aussies last took a loss at The Gabba in 1988 when the then-dominant West Indies Test side handed them a nine-wicket drubbing.
The first Test, however, will be the first-ever day-night Test played in Brisbane, so the action of the pink ball under the lights could prove a wild card in the game.
First ball is scheduled for 1 p.m. Australian Eastern Standard Time at The Gabba in Brisbane, Australia, on Thursday, December 15. In Pakistan, that start time will be 8 a.m., while viewers in India can catch the live stream starting at 8:30 a.m. In the United States, the match begins the previous day on Wednesday, December 14, at 7 p.m.
How to Watch a Live Stream in Pakistan
The government-run Pakistan Television Corporation will air the first Australia Vs. Pakistan Test cricket match of the three-match series live on PTV Sports. The PTV Sports Live online service will make a free live stream of the Test match available as well, but only for viewers inside of Pakistan. The PTV stream can be accessed by fans with internet IP addresses in that country with no login information required, by clicking on this link — or this link via YouTube. Note once again that the PTV Sports YouTube live stream will not be viewable to users accessing the internet outside of Pakistan.
Watch a Live Stream of the Match in Australia
Channel Nine in Australia carries the Australia Vs. Pakistan test series. The live stream will not be available to fans outside of Australia, but within the country, the match may be viewed online at the Nine Now site at this link.
Live Stream the Day-Night Test Match in the United States
To view the first Australia vs. Pakistan Test match live online, fans in the U.S. will need to sign up for a week-long free trial subscription to the Sling TV international sports package, which may be accessed at this link. Credit card info will be required, and the subscription price for the package is $10 per month but canceling before the end of the initial weeklong trial puts a halt to any charges, allowing fans to watch the second New Zealand vs. Pakistan Test for free, legally.
The Sling TV lineup of several international sports channels includes Willow TV, a network which specializes in cricket broadcasts. Willow will carry the entire Australia vs. Pakistan First Test from Brisbane.
Once fans have signed up for the Sling TV package free trial, the next step is to download the Sling software (instructions on the Sling TV site at the link above) for desktop computers, as well as for a variety of mobile devices.
Sling TV is available for the Apple iOS, the Android OS, and Amazon Fire OS. The online TV service also offers a channel on several set-top boxes, including Roku, 4th Generation Apple TV, Google Chromecast, and others. For a complete list of Sling-compatible devices and operating systems, click this link.
Fans in India: Here’s How To Watch a Live Stream of the First Australia vs. Pakistan Test
HotStar Sports will stream the day-night Test match for viewers inside of India only. The stream can be found at this link. Click on the word “live” to the left of the line, “AUS VS PAK, 1ST TEST.” HotStar’s live stream will be accessible only to viewers with an internet IP address inside of India.
HotStar offers cricket fans a pair of ways to watch the live stream: a paid premium membership, which comes with a free trial, but will require registration. And then, there’s a free option which allows anyone in India to stream the match on a five-minute delay, but can be accessed immediately by clicking on the “Watch For Free” box which will appear after clicking “live” as described above.
Preview the First Test Match
Both Pakistan and Australia enter the first Test facing controversies. On the Australian side, team selectors have hinted that they may field an XI with four quicks, dropping veteran offspinner Nathan Lyon, even though Lyon would be playing his sixth Test at The Gabba and has taken 24 wickets over the previous five.
Australia is waiting until the last possible moment to announce its team for the day-night Test.
Pakistan, however, has needed to deal with a possible conflict between two star players, fast bowler Wahab Riaz and leg break spinner Yasir Shah. The teammates were photographed on Wednesday in an apparent physical altercation during a training session. But the pair claims to have quickly patched up any differences.
“Yasir and I are great friends. Nothing of the sort happened. We are not against each other, there is no disunity between us,” Wahab told PTV Sports. “We will play together tomorrow, and you have to pray for us.”
Watch a preview of the first Test match, complete with betting tips, from Australia Gambling in the video below.
Team News For The First Australia Vs. Pakistan Test
Though Australia has held off on naming its team for Thursday’s match, here are the following most likely lineups for the historic day-night Gabba test match.
Australia: 1 Matt Renshaw, 2 David Warner, 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 Steven Smith (captain), 5 Peter Handscomb, 6 Nic Maddinson, 7 Matthew Wade (wicketkeeper), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Josh Hazlewood, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Jackson Bird.
Pakistan: 1 Sami Aslam, 2 Azhar Ali, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), 6 Asad Shafiq, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper), 8 Wahab Riaz, 9 Yasir Shah, 10 Mohammad Amir, 11 Rahat Ali.
[Featured Image By Chris Hyde / Getty Images]
