Australia and Pakistan’s rivalry has produced some of the sport’s most memorable moments across all forms of cricket. Here are a few highlights from their exhilarating encounter at M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Nathan Lyon made an immediate impactful mark with his first over in the Australian men’s cricket team vs Pakistan national cricket team match scorecard, forcing Shafique’s edge to Usman Khawaja at second slip for an easy catch. From there on out, Pakistan’s batting collapsed like dominoes, with Adam Zampa and Josh Hazlewood delivering superb performances.
Australia: David Warner (c), Marnus Labuschagne (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis
David Warner was in sensational form during this series, scoring his maiden fifty off just 43 balls and then sharing an outstanding 134-run partnership with Mitchell Marsh. They took full advantage of short boundaries and fast outfield to keep Pakistani bowlers at bay and regularly crossed boundary ropes to keep Pakistan’s bowlers at bay.
Australian batsmen came back strongly in the second Powerplay after an initially slow start, with Marsh and Warner reaching their half-centuries. Meanwhile, visitors’ batting flaws continued to manifest against Australia’s aggressive attack.
Adam Zampa of Melbourne Stars made use of an excellent pitch by forcing Pakistan’s openers into their natural game; forcing Shafique into an edge before trapping Iftikhar and Mohammad Rizwan LBW consecutively to put Pakistani on verge of defeat.
Warner, 37 years old and sporting the Baggy Green cap for one final time before jogging out into the middle with his family in tow, showed class as he batted out his innings – giving a thumbs-up sign and giving an embrace to both daughters before smashing an over-long-on six from Shakeel to complete his fifty in just 45 balls!
Australia’s bowling unit had other plans. Their unforgiving pace wreaked havoc against Pakistani top order, taking out Glenn Maxwell caught at deep fine leg off Afridi for just a golden duck and Azam soon after by hitting straight to Adam Zampa at midwicket for his own golden duck in one-day internationals (ODIs).
Australia’s bowlers dominated the fourth session, with Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood each taking two wickets, aided by leg-spinner Zampa’s outstanding spell in which he did not give away much and took Babar Azam’s key wicket within his second over.
Rizwan Azam fell quickly in a similar manner, misjudging a short ball and mistimed an attempt at sweeping it over the stumps, only to be caught out by Marcus Stoinis at deep third man for just 14 runs in that over. With Haris Rauf and Hasan Ali being Pakistan’s last pair in bat, Pakistan are facing an impossible challenge of scoring at an unachievable run-a-ball rate to have any hope of an unlikely win at home – without which their batsmen need support now more than ever before.
Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq (c), Shaheen Afridi (wk), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Nawaz (wk), Haris Rauf
Australia and Pakistan’s first Test match of this series was an exhilarating spectacle to watch. Both sides gave it everything they had with bat and ball, but in the end Australia triumphed thanks to some magnificent innings from David Warner and Mitchell Marsh, whose unbroken stand of 259 runs gave their side an early advantage, both reaching half-centuries during session one.
In the second session, both sides struggled to score runs, with Australia eventually finding some momentum thanks to Marsh and Khawaja reaching their half-centuries and Adam Zampa’s excellent bowling spell allowing only two runs in his final over.
Aamir Jamal and Khurram Shahzad both made their debut for Pakistan during this match and both bowlers performed admirably; unfortunately they could not prevent visitors from losing wickets regularly.
Aryan Dutt began the third session with a tight over, keeping run-rates down with his precise delivery. But Fakhar Zaman struck back immediately in the next over and hit him for four, with another poor delivery from this same bowler giving way for another boundary hit off of it – this time edged to fine leg for four.
Pakistan struggled to adapt to Australia’s extra pace, but found comfort with Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan who added 67 runs for the third wicket before Rizwan was dismissed by Nathan Lyon at short leg with a stunning catch from short leg fielder Nathan Whitehead – taking away Pakistan’s grip on the game.
Jamal took advantage of his opportunity, smashing several sixes over Brewongle Stand and initiating an aggressive counter-attack with Hamza. Unfortunately, as clouds descended upon a soft pitch and Australia’s discipline deteriorated with Hazlewood dropping an important return catch and Head missing a one-handed chance at short leg.
With three overs remaining, it appeared the match would go down to the wire, but Cummins’ outstanding bowling put an end to any chance of a Pakistan comeback. He caught Iftikhar and Rizwan LBW consecutively before trapping Shahzad lbw in the final over. Australia took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series after this win; their second Test starts in Sydney this Friday with victory providing an invaluable confidence-booster ahead of their World Cup campaign; they currently hold 4th in ICC rankings.
Final score
After suffering an unexpected defeat against Pakistan in their first match of two, Australia rebounded with an emphatic win at Chinnaswamy Stadium. Adam Zampa’s brilliant bowling spell saw Pakistan all out for 337 in just 47.4 overs – propelling Australia up the table into fourth position; having now won both opening two contests.
The visitors struggled early in their innings, losing both openers Shaheen Afridi and Imam-ul-Haq cheaply before recovering with an excellent 134-run partnership between Shafique and Imam to post an acceptable total.
Australia quickly assumed control of their chase, with wicketkeeper-batsman Glenn Maxwell leading them with an unbeaten 102 off 88 balls – supported by captain David Warner who reached 50 off just 57 balls with six boundaries and four sixes en route.
But the visitors’ batting frailties were exposed in the final stages of their innings. Babar Azam was trapped LBW by Adam Zampa off the first ball of the final over, with Marnus Labuschagne quickly taking his catch at deep mid-wicket to end any hopes for comeback from Babar Azam. Afridi missed an important regulation chance off Sean Abbott at deep square leg shortly thereafter and eventually dismissed for 75.
Adam Zampa’s incredible final spell sent shockwaves through Pakistan’s middle order to swing the game decisively in Australia’s favor. Bowling fast and accurate deliveries, Zampa left little room for batsmen to operate; trapping Iftikhar and Rizwan LBW within successive overs before concluding proceedings by having Mohammad Nawaz stumped.
Australia’s fast bowlers also played their part, with Pat Cummins taking three wickets – including Nawaz in just his second over with a short delivery that the batsman flicked through to Alex Carey for an easy catch. He then dismissed Rizwan and Iftikhar with deliveries that were short and pitched around off-stump area. Finally, in the final over he delivered another short one which Khurram Shahzad edged towards right-handed Warner at first slip.
Australian captain Steven Smith took swift action when the runaway runner at third slip was caught out with his very next delivery, helping Australia secure a 14-run win to tie the series 2-2 heading into Tuesday’s decisive match in Sydney – which will surely prove pivotal for both sides involved. Pakistan will look to avoid defeat and take back top spot in the series, while Australia are hoping to strengthen their standing within the top four points table. Australia’s win puts them in an advantageous position heading into their remaining opening fixtures; now sitting fourth in ICC ODI Team Rankings just 14 points shy of England!
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