Australia defeated Pakistan by 360 runs. Josh Hazlewood collected the final wicket of Khurram Shahzad’s innings during the 31st over, ending their hopes.
Shan Masood, Pakistan’s captain, recognizes that competing in Australia can be challenging. While admitting their batsmen could have scored faster, discipline was key in winning this matchup.
Overview Australian Men’s Cricket Team Vs Pakistan National Cricket Team Match Scorecard
Pakistan fell under pressure from Australia despite a promising start from Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, with Mitchell Starc and Adam Zampa producing superb performances to secure an enormous win for Australia.
Josh Hazlewood gets back of length and around middle. Khurram Shahzad attempts to play away from his body but ends up hitting an edge towards first slip – David Warner secures it safely for 1-29.
Historical Context
Pakistan had some hope in Aamer Jamal’s six-wicket haul on debut, giving them some hope in their chase, but Australia quickly took control after Lunch after taking seven wickets off Aamer Jamal in quick succession.
Pakistan openers Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq held firm against Australia for much of the first session, showing impressive batting skills throughout. Imam fell to Zampa in 12 overs but received a lifeline when Sean Abbott dropped a catch at deep square leg off Maxwell that allowed him to reach 48 unbeaten.
Mohammad Zeeshan bowled the final over, leaving Pakistan needing three runs to win. Rafael Macmillan attempted a heroic comeback but only managed an inside edge that went for four runs – Australia will face India in Sunday’s final, thanks to David Warner’s brilliant century which set off their innings.
Team Composition
David Warner’s magnificent century has provided Australia with the foundation to win this West Test series. They looked invincible early and managed to put an end to any chances Pakistan might have had of making a comeback.
At the end of it all, it was an easy victory for Australia as they completed the game within three days. Their first session saw Usman Khawaja and Mitchell Marsh successfully navigate the Pakistani pacers well to lead them by over 400 runs at one stage.
Australia proved far too aggressive in the second session to allow Pakistan any chance of mounting a comeback, as Babar nicked one from Marsh before Imam was stumped off a quick delivery from Starc by Lyon for Lyon to take two quick wickets which sent Pakistan reeling backwards.
Match Preview
After making a steady start in their innings, Pakistan batsmen began losing wickets regularly as Australia’s bowlers struck hard. Marsh and Starc were making critical breakthroughs for Australia which kept Pakistan at bay.
But the Men in Green showed great heart, pulling themselves out of trouble through some impressive hitting from Khawaja and Smith. It was an exhilarating affair which Australia eventually won by one wicket – providing them with a perfect start to their season and setting themselves up well against Pakistan going forward.
Key Moments
Australian cricket team started slowly but gradually picked up speed during the Powerplay session before Marsh and Khawaja reached half-centuries before closing session one.
Both batters continued to take advantage of the short boundaries and fast outfield, consistently hitting boundary ropes; but Jamal upped his scoring rate with two fours and a six hit by Rasheed.
Naveed delivers another tight over, giving away only two runs from it – pushing into the final over of his team’s first innings.
Expert Opinions
The match was an extraordinary exhibition of skills and emotion, showcasing both the finest qualities of cricket as well as its universal energy which unites so many societies and fans.
Nathan Lyon struck gold from his opening over, compelling Abdullah Shafique to drive at one and forcible an edge that Usman Khawaja took expertly above his head to send Pakistan crashing to 289-5 in their second innings.
Babar remains in excellent form with 35 runs from 23 balls at an average of 48, appearing to tuck one behind square and edge another low to short leg for a couple of boundaries. His Official Gazetted Hydration Interval ended just before this innings started.
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