ICC T20 World Cup 2016: Australia defeat Pakistan by 21 runs as Faulkner and Smith shines

The Group 2 encounter between Australia and Pakistan in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup was played at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali. Australia won the match by 21 runs hence making Sunday’s match with India a virtual quarter-final.

Australian captain Steven Smith won the toss and elected to bat first in a flat Mohali track, which perfectly suits stock players. Australia opened their innings with Usman Khawaja and the No.1 ranked player in T20s Aaron Finch, who also made a comeback in this match.

Smith led from the front as Australia posted a big target of 194

Khawaja gave Australia a flying start but couldn’t continue the good work for long as he was clean bowled by Wahab Riaz. Khawaja’s dismissal brought David Warner on the pitch. He also was a victim of a vicious delivery from Wahab.

Captain Steven Smith led from the front and played a gem of an innings of unbeaten 61 of 43 balls. Smith was very well supported by Shane Watson, whose explosive knock of 44* of just 21 balls helped Australia post a big score of 193/4 in their allotted quota of 20 overs.

For Pakistan was a tough day in the field as their dangerous bowling line-up found it hard against the Aussies. Among the pacers only Wahab Riaz looked threatening with his bowling, he picked up two important wickets.

But the pick of the bowlers was left-arm spinner Imad Wasim, who picked up 2 wickets and gave away only 31 runs. Mohammad Sami had a really bad day as he went for 53 runs in his 4 overs.

Faulkner produced the best bowling display by an Australian in this format

In reply, Pakistan didn’t have the start that they were looking for as they lost Ahmed Shehzad early. On the other hand, opener Sharjeel Khan played an aggressive innings of 30 of just 19 balls.

Umar Akmal played a fighting knock of 32 along with Khalid Latif, who scored 46. They were always behind the asking rate against a disciplined Australian bowling attack. In the end, Shoaib Malik tried to finish the match but ended 22 runs short of their target.

James Faulkner was brilliant with the ball in hand as he recorded the best bowling figure for an Australian in T20s. His 5/27 restricted Pakistan well behind what they needed to keep themselves alive in the tournament.

Adam Zampa again produced an impressive performance as he picked up two wickets. Josh Hazlewood also bowled really well and also chipped in with a wicket.

Brief Scores- Australia 193/4(Smith 61*, Watson 44*; Wasim 31/2, Wahab 39/2) defeated Pakistan by 21 runs Pakistan 172/8 (Latif 46, Malik 40*; Faulkner 5/28, Zampa 2/32)