Australia bat first in second Pakistan Test

Karachi: Australian captain Pat Cummins won the toss and decided to bat against Pakistan in the second Test in Karachi on Saturday.

The visitors dropped fast bowler Josh Hazlewood from the first Test line-up and handed a debut to leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson to bolster their spin attack.

Pakistan brought back frontline paceman Hasan Ali and allrounder Faheem Ashraf -- who both missed the first Test due to injuries -- replacing Iftikhar Ahmed and Naseem Shah.

The first Test ended in a tame draw in Rawalpindi on Tuesday.

Australia are on their first tour of Pakistan since 1998, having previously refused to visit over security fears.

The third and final Test is in Lahore from March 21-25.

Teams:

Pakistan:

Babar Azam (captain), Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Fawad Alam, Mohammad Rizwan, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Nauman Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sajid Khan

Australia:

Pat Cummins (captain), David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Nathan Lyon