Australia comprehensively beat Pakistan by nine wickets to end their nine match win less streak. Billy Stanlake, Andrew Tye and skipper Aaron Finch starred in their first win of the Tri series in Zimbabwe. Billy Stanlake got rid of the top order taking four crucial wickets resulting in Pakistan’s collapse to a mere 116 runs which was chased down in just 10.5 overs by the Aussies.
Pakistan started in bizarre fashion losing three important wickets in the powerplay and scoring just 23 runs in the six overs. Stanlake bowled with precision and accuracy to scrap the top order without giving away easy runs. The batsman looked puzzled and kept on edging it to the slip cordon. Three of the four catches of Stanlake’s bowling was clinched by the Aussie skipper Aaron Finch at the first slip.
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Pakistan looked to rebuilt as Asif Ali, Shadab Khan and Faheem Ashraf showed some fight towards the end but the versatile medium pacer Andrew Tye got the better of the batting order. He gave away 38 runs in 3.5 overs but picked up three wickets to restrict Sarfraz’s side under the 120 run mark.
Aaron Finch looked aggressive from the word go. He was desperate for a win and he got exactly what he aspired for. Scoring an unbeaten 68 runs of just 33 balls got Australia to a much needed victory after a long long time. This will do a world of good to the Australian team as they had a very difficult time in the recently concluded England series where they were totally outplayed in all departments.
D’Arcy Short’s form still looks to be an area of concern but Aaron Finch has showed a lot of faith in the youngster as he will also add great value with the ball in hand if and when needed.
Brief scores: Pakistan 116/10 (Shadab Khan 29, Billy Stanlake 4-0-8-4) in 19.5 overs lost to Australia 117/1 in 10.5 overs (Aaron Finch 68*, Hasan Ali 2-0-18-1) by 9 wickets.