Australia vs Pakistan Tri-series final – Who Said What

In the big final of the T20I tri-series in Zimbabwe Aaron Finch won the toss and decided to bat first. They were certain of posting a massive total that would be beyond Pakistan’s reach. The Aussies posted a good looking 183 in their quota of 20 overs however, Fakhar Zaman’s brilliance helped Pakistan scale it down with 6 wickets in hand.

Australia were off to a flying start with D’Arcy Short and Finch adopting a cautious approach to start with and then going for the kill. The skipper was the first to explode and Short followed suit, all of the Pakistani bowlers were hit around the park. Sarfraz Ahmed was furious every time his bowlers missed the length and were carted away; he had plenty of such moments.

Finch was dismissed on 47 and though the middle order stuttered a bit Short stayed there and added 76 runs to the team’s total. The Men in Green in their response had the worst possible start losing two wickets in the first over from Glenn Maxwell. Fakhar Zaman was still there and he had Sarfraz for company. They rebuilt the innings and kept in touch with the asking rate.

Zaman then had Shoaib Malik as his partner and took the team to the verge of victory before the opener got out on 91. Malik along with Asif Ali took them over the line with 6 wickets and 4 balls to spare.

Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed said:

It was a great team effort. Credit to the bowlers, the way they finished. There was a couple of drop catches. If you talk about chasing 180+ in the final, it’s not easy. Fakhar Zaman has been playing well in the series. Credit to the boys and team management. We played really good cricket. Looking forward to those. Hopefully we do well.

Fakhar Zaman, who was the Man of the Match and Man of the Series said:

I like these pitches. I was in form from the first game. I tried my best and succeeded. Hardwork in nets, take your time early. I tried to play my natural game. Even Australia played very well.

Australian captain Aaron Finch said:

When you are losing wickets towards the end, you are 5-10 runs short. Pakistan played well. Zaman played a helluva knock. We love coming here. People who come out to support, can’t thank enough.

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