World Cup 2015 QF 3 Australia vs Pakistan review: Australia win despite lionhearted effort from Wahab Riaz

World Cup 2015 QF 3 Australia vs Pakistan review: Australia win despite lionhearted effort from Wahab Riaz: Pakistan faced Australia in a high voltage clash at the Adelaide Oval. The winner of this match will go on to face India in the 2nd Semi Final of the World Cup 2015. It was a battle of 2 teams with top class bowling power. Read on to find which team came out on top.

Pakistan batted first after Misbah won the toss. The openers came out with confidence to face Australian pace attack, but soon Pakistan was 24/2 losing both Sarfraz and Shehzad to Starc and Hazlewood. Haris Sohail (41) and Misbah (34) tried to bring the innings back on track with a brilliant 73 run partnership. Australia kept picking on the wickets of Pakistan with regular wickets, with no partnerships being allowed to flourish under any circumstances. Misbah and Umar Akmal (20) were picked by Glen Maxwell sending Pakistan down to 124/5 and Hazlewood accounted for Sohaib Maqsood (29) and Shahid Afridi (23). The fast bowlers of Australia didn’t let any batsmen settle in the middle and bowled Pakistan out for 213. Pakistan had no answers to the speed of Australian pace bowlers with Johnson and Starc regularly touching 150 kmph and more.

Josh Hazlewood was the pick of the bowlers picking 4/35 and Mitchell Starc and Glen Maxwell both took 2 wickets each.

Australia came out to chase 213 runs against a pumped up Pakistani pace attack. Aaron Finch and David Warner opened the innings for Australia and they suffered a causality soon enough, with Aaron Finch going LBW to Sohail Khan, despite taking an unnecessary review. David Warner was joined by Steve Smith and they started making runs easily. But Warner fell to Wahab Riaz for 24. Wahab Riaz also accounted for Captain Michael Clarke, who was caught by Shoaib Maqsood for 8.  Riaz was bowling one of the best spells of the World Cup, started to breathe fire on new batsman Shane Watson.

Riaz peppered Watson with short bowling even hitting him on the head and hands quite a lot, even had a catch dropped by Rahat Ali, which demoralised the whole team as a wicket at that stage would have brought Pakistan back in the game. But Watson endured the Riaz storm and then pummeled the other bowlers. Maxwell came in at the fall of Smith’s wicket and started hitting his way to the victory. Meanwhile Watson also completed his fifty and finished the match hitting a six in the process.

Pakistan’s bowling tried their best, but there was no support for a splendid Wahab Riaz with Mohd. Irfan injured. Their batsmen didn’t help them either, making just 213 runs batting first. Australian batting withered the short bowling hail storm from Riaz who bowled his heart out and eventually finished the match easily.

Josh Hazlewood got the Man of the match for his brilliant spell of 4/35.

Australia will now face India in the semi-finals on 26th March in Sydney.

Brief Scores:

Pakistan 213 (H Sohail 41, M-ul-Haq 34; J Hazlewood 4/35) lost to Australia 216/4 (S Smith 65, S Watson 64*; W Riaz 2/54) by 6 wickets and 97 balls remaining.

Records and Trivia:

# 100 WC wickets by Pakistani left arm pace bowlers in World Cup history.

# Mitchell Starc 79 wickets in 39 ODIs – these are the most wicket by any bowler in ODI history in first 39 matches.

# Shahid Afridi 12* SIXES in WC matches, the most by a Pakistani player in World Cup history, beating Wasim Akram (11 sixes).

# Misbah-ul-Haq (3001*) has become the 2nd Pakistan captain after Imran Khan (3247) to reach 3000 ODI runs as captain.

# 7 sixes for Misbah-ul-Haq in this World Cup – the most by a Pakistan Captain in a single WC, beating Wasim Akram (6 in 1999).

# 7th time Australia are going to play WC semi-final, the Most often by any team in WCs, if NZ wins tomorrow that will be their 7th SF.

# For the 1st time Australia beat Pakistan in the month of March in ODIs – on previous two meetings in March Pak won both (1992, 2011).