The Pakistanis, who were the last team to beat the Aussies in a World Cup match – in a group game in 1999 at Headingley – refused to divulge their strategy for today’s game but their skipper Shahid Afridi declared that his team will go all out to floor the defending champions.

“Australia are really tough both mentally and physically which is why they’ve been winning so consistently,” said Afridi. “But we’re confident of our chances (of beating them) and will come out with something new tomorrow to achieve that target,” added the flamboyant all-rounder.

Pakistan are expected to make just one change to the line-up that helped them beat Zimbabwe by seven wickets at Pallekele on Monday. Young batter Umar Akmal, who sat out in the game against Zimbabwe due to a finger injury, is set to replace misfiring opener Ahmed Shehzad. “Umar is fully fit and will be back in the team,” said Afridi.

The Greenshirts are unlikely to include retiring paceman Shoaib Akhtar in the playing eleven though Afridi didn’t rule it out either. "We have a settled combination but if the need be we can play him (Akhtar) in the remaining matches."

Asad Shafiq, who hit an unbeaten 78 on his World Cup debut against Zimbabwe, will bat again at the number three spot with Kamran Akmal and Mohammad Hafeez opening the batting.

Their brittle batting is a cause for concern as only Misbah-ul-Haq (192), Umar Akmal (167) and Younis Khan (141) have been able to score substantially in the last five matches.

Pakistan have the option of playing an extra spinner – Saeed Ajmal – on what seems like a paradise for slow bowlers but Afridi said that such a move could weaken his batting line which is already under pressure because of poor outings against two earlier World Cup games against Canada and New Zealand.

“You can’t take any such chances because that is going to thin our batting,” said the flamboyant all-rounder.

In bowling, Pakistan have fared much better thanks to the exploits of Afridi (16 wickets) and Umar Gul (10 wickets).

Ricky Ponting, the Australia captain, admitted that his team is wary of the Afridi-Gul combination.

“Pakistan are a dangerous side. They’ve beaten Sri Lanka here. They have a number of match-winners. Afridi and Gul are their standout players,” Ponting told reporters in his pre-match press conference here.

The Aussies may be the only team still unbeaten in this tournament but they have been far from convincing. Their bowlers have struggled a bit, allowing minnows Kenya to rack up 264-6 and then faced problems in overcoming an inexperienced Canada.

But Australia’s batting has been pretty consistent with Shane Watson (256), Brad Haddin (237) and Michael Clarke (191) in prolific form. Ponting’s personal form is a bit of a worry for the Aussies but the master blaster could change all that at Premadasa Saturday.

Unlike the other leading teams, Australia have mostly been relying on their pace trio of Shaun Tait (10), Mitchell Johnson (9) and Brett Lee (8) for wickets in this tournament. Of the 38 wickets Australia have taken in their five matches, only six have been picked up by spinners but Ponting is expecting his spinners – Jason Krejza and Steven Smith – will come good against Pakistan.

“We have good balance with three fast bowlers along with Krejza and Smith as the spinners,” he said. “Jason is getting better. He is understanding the conditions better which is a positive sign for us.”

Pakistan must be happy that they will be playing on the same wicket where they beat Sri Lanka by 11 runs here on February 26. The pitch is expected to offer plenty of turn. The last match of World Cup 2011 played here – between Australia and Sri Lanka – was abandoned due to heavy rains.

Australia have a 4-3 World Cup head-to-head advantage against Pakistan. They beat Pakistan by 82 runs in their previous World Cup clash in 2003.

(likely):

: Shahid Afridi (captain), Mohammed Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Kamran Akmal, Younis Khan, Umar Akmal, Misbah -ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq, Abdur Rehman, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz.

:  Ricky Ponting (captain), Shane Watson, Brad Haddin, Michael Clarke, Mike Hussey, Cameron White, Steve Smith, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Jason Krejza, Shaun Tait.