Watch Australia Vs. Pakistan Cricket Live Stream: 1st ODI — Start Time, Preview, And Team News For Series Opener
After suffering a three-match Test whitewash, the Pakistan cricket team will aim for redemption against host Australia on Friday in the opener of a five-match, one-day international series — a 50-overs contest that will live stream from The Gabba in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. But the world’s top-ranked ODI side and reigning Cricket World Cup champions will grant 50-overs debuts to two players, perhaps giving the visitors an opening as Pakistan plays their first ODI match since October 5, 2016.
The last time the two nations met in a one day international came in a memorable quarterfinal at the 2015 Cricket World Cup, a match that ended in a six-wicket victory for Australia who went on to win the tournament.
Pakistan will need to get reacquainted with the ODI format after playing eight Test matches consecutively over the past three months — including the three-match whitewash that led off their tour of Australia. In fact, Pakistan won only two of those eight Tests, beating West Indies twice in the UAE in October.
Pakistan also blanked the Windies in a three-match ODI series last year.
But facing Australia in Australia will present a whole new level of difficulty for Captain Azhar Ali and his Men in Green — who must win the series to hold their eighth spot in the ICC rankings and avoid facing a qualifying round to enter the 2019 World Cup.
The first ODI pitting Australia against Pakistan since that 2015 World Cup showdown is scheduled to get underway at 1:20 p.m. Australia Eastern Standard Time on Friday, January 13, at Brisbane Cricket Ground — better known as The Gabba. Fans in Pakistan can catch the live stream starting at 8:20 a.m., with the game starting at 8:50 a.m. in India.
Viewers in the United States will see the match on Thursday, January 12, starting at 10:20 p.m. Eastern Time, 7:20 p.m. Pacific.
How to Watch a Live Stream in Pakistan
The government-run Pakistan Television Corporation will air the first Australia vs. Pakistan ODI 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 Sport’s YouTube live stream will not be viewable to users accessing the internet outside of Pakistan.
Watch a Live Stream of the First ODI in Australia
Channel Nine in Australia carries the Australia vs. Pakistan ODI 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 ODI Series in the United States
To view the Australia vs. Pakistan ODI cricket series 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 first Australia vs. Pakistan ODI 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 ODI 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 ODI
HotStar Sports will stream the ODI 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 ODI.” 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 ODI Match
Preview the first ODI match of 2017 between Pakistan and Australia in the following video special.
Team News For the ODI Series Opener
Here are the expected teams to open the five match ODI cricket series. Australia have rested Usman Khawaja and leg-spinner Adam Zampa for the series, calling up Chris Lynn and Billy Stanlake for their one-day debuts.
Australia: David Warner, Travis Head, Steve Smith (captain), Chris Lynn, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Wade (wicketkeeper), James Faulkner, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Billy Stanlake.
Pakistan: Azhar Ali (captain), Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir/Junaid Khan, Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali.
[Featured Image By Ryan Pierse/Getty Images]
