Watch cricket video highlights of Pakistan tour of Australia 2024. Third Twenty/20 between Australia and Pakistan. Venue of the match will be Hobart.
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Australia concluded their Twenty20 International series against Pakistan with a resounding seven-wicket victory, completing the series 3-0. Pakistan lost their final nine wickets for 56 runs after limping to 117 before being bowled out in 18.1 overs. Following the Powerplay, Adam Zampa dominated them, and his 2-11 in four overs served as the impetus for their downfall. In the first six overs, Pakistan was in a strong position because to Babar Azam, who top-scored with 41 off 28. By that point, the visitors were sitting very comfortably at 58 for 1.
When Marcus Stoinis hit Haris Rauf for 22 in an over during the chase, he eliminated any chance of the match. After Pakistan made a solid start in their attempt to defend a below-par mark, his 27-ball 61 meant Australia reached the goal with about nine overs remaining. While Jahandad Khan’s variations made things difficult for Australia on the powerplay, Jake Fraser-McGurk and Matthew Short fell early. However, the visitors were only postponing the inevitable, as Stoinis subsequently assured.
After displaying very little of it during their attempt to hunt Australia down in the last game, Pakistan came out with a clear purpose. Sahibzada Farhan went down early, but it was clear what Pakistan was attempting to do: exploit the Powerplay. Even Babar, who often starts slowly, found the boundary from the opening ball and continued to do so. Though that was also a result of flashing hard, Haseebullah Khan was riding his luck a little, his edges reaching the boundary. Pakistan quickly reached 58, their best powerplay total in an innings against Australia, as a result.
Zampa is a bit of a magician in this format because of his flawless control and talent. He was also Pakistan’s torturer today, playing with batters at will and constantly making them question their strategy by changing pace, line, and variations. The flare outside off stump found short third, and it took him only five balls to ensure Haseebullah’s luck ran out. He ended Babar’s exciting knock in his third over by clearing up his stumps and changing the flight of his ball when he noticed the batsman going down the wicket.
He was applying pressure at the other end even when he wasn’t taking wickets. Salman Ali Agha, Pakistan’s acting captain, faced him for five dot balls before Aaron Hardie ended his life in the next over. His 4-0-11-2 score didn’t do him any justice. When you don’t have enough hitters, it’s hard to expect them to play high-risk cricket. Pakistan had made it apparent to the team that they anticipated aggression right away, especially from players for whom it is not a natural trait. Even though the shot was never on, Usman Khan came out of ball one ready to slog.
Normally, he needs a few balls before he can fire. As shown by the fact that he holed out off his fourth delivery, which led to a collapse of Pakistan, it never appeared sustainable. The visitors’ tail was so long that it made every wicket fall all the more worrisome; after the fifth wicket fell, they were practically out of batters, with Abbas Afridi going out at No. 7. They had trouble with it in the second game as well, and they still need to figure out how to fix it.
Haris Rauf coming out and destroying any Australian batter he finds at the other end is a recurring element in this series. This has particularly been the case with Glenn Maxwell, but according to Stoinis, he informed Haris after the game that this was the one occasion “one of us” had Haris’ number. And Stoinis did it in a captivating way. Australia was 57 for 2 at the conclusion of the eighth over, but Pakistan thought they still had time to add jeopardy to the match.
He hammered Haris for two fours and two sixes off the first four balls in the ninth over, though, and the last six flew out of the Bellerive Oval completely. Stoinis pounded 45 off his next 12 deliveries, including a 25-run over from Shaheen Afridi, as the play progressed. Abbas had Stoinis caught at deep square leg in the next over, but Stoinis had overstepped. To end the game and the series, 61 runs were scored off the last 21 balls.
