Australia v Pakistan World T20 – 5 Talking Points

The big Group B clash between Australia and Pakistan went underway at Mohali. The match was important by all means for not just the two sides participating but also for India. The calculations were on much before the game. While Australia needed a win to make their game against India a knockout game, Pakistan needed a win to stay alive in the tournament.

Australia had a flying start with Khawaja going all guns blazing right from the start. But two quick wickets by Wahab Riaz, to dismiss Khawaja (21) and Warner (9), saw the Aussies in a spot of bother. Finch looked struggling at the crease and perished soon after. It was skipper Smith’s knock of 61 (43) that guided the Aussies to a slightly above par score of 193/4. Key contributions from Maxwell (30) and quickfire 44 off 21 balls by Watson supported the Aussie cause.

The Pakistan side got an early setback in their chase as Ahmed Shehzad was dismissed cheaply. Sharjeel Khan was joined by Khalid Latif and the duo put on a brief resistance to settle the chase. Sharjeel lost his wicket on 30 and was bowled by Faulkner. Umar Akmal looked threatening for his 32 as well and so did Afridi during his short stay at the crease. Latif was the only one to have settled at the crease, but his efforts went in

1. Wahab Riaz’s spell:

The Aussie bowlers were taken for aplenty as Aussies posted a huge 193 on the board. The wicket at Mohali was certainly not the best for the bowlers. However, it was Wahab Riaz, who looked highly impressive during his spell. Coming in to bowl in the powerplay, Riaz castled Khawaja in his very first over. He bowled an absolute peach to get through the defences of Warner and shatter his stumps. Wahab was the pick of the bowlers with spell of 2/35 in his 4 overs. It was his last over that went for runs. Barring that last over, when Watson hit a couple of good shots, Riaz was at his best again against his favourite opposition.

2. Steve Smith’s innovative stance:

The Aussie skipper played with absolute maturity and never let the batting fall during the Aussie innings. Smith started off cautiously. Although he did not hit the big lofty shots, he ensured that the scoreboard kept ticking. The key highlight of his knock was his innovative stance in the death overs, Smith stood wide outside the off stump and still managed to carve the bowlers over midwicket for boundaries. Smith remained unbeaten on 61 off 43 by the end of 20 overs as Australia posted a good score of 193 on the board. Smith’s knock was embedded with 4 boundaries.

How did he manage to hit that? – Watch: Steve Smith plays a ‘off-stump-slap-hoick’

3. Watson blitz:

A day after he announced his retirement plans after the ongoing World T20, Shane Watson thoroughly entertained the crowd during his cameo against Pakistan. Coming in at number 6 in the 14^th over, Watson started off with a strong pull shot. Watson looked absolutely comfortable at the crease and muscled the ball around for 4 boundaries and 3 sixes. Certainly his form is a good indication for Australian side, provided they move in the knockouts. Shane Watson finished off unbeaten at 44 off just 21 balls. He provided the right support to the skipper and never let the pressure peak up at just one player.

4. Zampa gets it right and Faulkner gets 5:

Adam Zampa was the talk of the around ever since the tournament kicked off. He was being tipped at the X-factor by the skipper Steve Smith. Zampa could not live up to the hype that surrounded him thus far but the game against Pakistan showed a glimpse of his good bowling. Zampa picked up 2 wickets for 32 runs during his spell of 4 overs. When Umar Akmal was going all guns blazing, it was Zampa who brought Australia back to the game with the wicket of Akmal. Afridi came in next and hit a couple of lusty blows into the stand. Yet again, it was Zampa who managed to fox him and dismiss him for 14. Faulkner was yet another bowler who got a wicket whenever he came in to bowl. He got rid of Sharjeel Khan at first and then got the key wicket of Khalid Latif, who looked set at the crease. He got wickets on consecutive deliveries in his 3^rd over and repeated the same in the last over of the innings. He finished off with figures of 5/28 in four overs.

5. Latif’s resistance:

Most of the Pakistan batsmen got good starts in the chase. Sharjeel got to a flying start for his 30, Akmal was good for his 32 as well, and so did Malik. But none of the batsmen could get going. The only batsmen who looked comfortable at the crease was Khalid Latif. Khalid Latif, though played a slow innings, tried to do what Steve Smith did for Australia. He made 46 off 41, hitting 4 boundaries and a six. He was unlucky to be dismissed at the fag end of the chase. It was James Faulkner, the go to man for Steve Smith, hit the woodwork of Latif to break his brief resistance.

How did Twitter react to the match? – Twitter Reactions: Australia tonk Pakistan to keep World T20 hopes alive