Aus v Pak World T20 Review: Pakistan crash out of the World T20 after another loss

Skipper Shahid Afridi’s dream of winning the World T20 for his team will remain a dream as Pakistan were beaten fair and square by a strong Australian side. Steve Smith won the toss and elected to bat first on a batting paradise in Mohali. The Aussies finally made some changes to the playing XI that helped them win the match. The men from Down under posted an intimidating 193/4 which was always going to be a bridge too far for the Pakistani batting lineup. The team tried its best but eventually fell short by 21 runs.

The soon-to-retire Shane Watson was dropped down the order to make room for the return of Aaron Finch at the expense of Mitchell Marsh. Watson made a vital contribution to his team’s eventual total. Josh Hazlewood was included ahead of John Hastings in the hope the Mohali pitch will have some additional bounce. Pakistan recalled the fit-again Wahab Riaz in place of Mohammad Irfan, who was described as resting by his captain Shahid Afridi.

Usman Khawaja (21 off 16) started brilliantly for the Aussies and his knock included 3 fours and one six before Wahab Riaz (2/35 off 4) knocked him over with a fine full-length delivery in the 4th over. The left-arm pacer then produced a cracking ball clocked at 148.1 kph to rattle David Warner’s (9) stumps. The left-hander had hammered two fours, however, had no answer for Wahab’s speed and accuracy.

An arm ball from Imad Wasim (2/31) cleaned up Finch (15) who went back to call he should have been forward to. At 57/3 in 7.2 overs, the Aussies were in need of a big partnership and Smith and Glenn Maxwell did exactly that. The Australian captain smashed 61 off 43 balls including 7 fours and remained unbeaten to take his team to a huge score. Maxwell’s 30 off 18 included 3 fours and 1 six but it was Watson’s belligerent knock that made a massive difference in the end. The burly right-hander spanked 4 fours and 3 sixes in his unbeaten knock of 44 off just 21 balls.

Ahmed Shehzad played a poor knock and wasted 6 balls to score 1 run before giving Nathan Coulter-Nile an easy catch off Josh Hazlewood (1/26). Sharjeel Khan continued his good form and hit 30 off 19 balls that included 6 fours. He was cleaned up by James Faulkner (5/27) in the 6th over with the score on 40. Umar Akmal made 32 off 20 including 3 fours and 1 six and his wicket proved a huge blow to his team’s chances. He was bowled by Adam Zampa (2/32) in the 11th over with the score on 85.

The leg-spinner outfoxed Afridi having him stumped for 14 off 7. The skipper had hit 2 maximums, however, failed to get bat to ball on this occasion. Shoaib Malik remained unbeaten on 40 off 20 balls including 2 fours and an equal number of sixes while Khalid Latif took 41 balls for his 46 including 5 fours and one six. Faulkner was on a hat-trick on two occasions, however, didn’t manage to get it. He and his skipper, though, will be mighty impressed with his five-for that helped to restrict Pakistan to 172/8.

Brief Scores:

Australia – 193/4 in 20 overs (S Smith 61*; I Wasim 2/31)

Pakistan – 172/8 in 20 overs (K Latif 46; J Faulkner 5/27)

Man of the Match: James Faulkner (Australia)

Steve Smith played another shot that has no name – Watch: Steve Smith plays a ‘off-stump-slap-hoick’