Twitter Reactions: Graceful Steve Smith steamrolls Pakistan in Canberra

Babar Azam and Iftikhar Ahmed's fifties went in vain.

By Sabyasachi Chowdhury

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Steve Smith
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Steve Smith. (Photo by SAEED KHAN/AFP /AFP via Getty Images)

Pakistan put up a spirited show in the second T20I at the Manuka Oval in Canberra. But it couldn’t help them evade a defeat. Australia turned out to be a tough nut to crack and won by seven wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the series. Steve Smith showed his class and guided his team to the triumph with nine balls to spare. It was also his second unbeaten fifty in T20Is in the last three games.

Babar gets support from Iftikhar

At the Sydney Cricket Ground, it was all about Babar Azam, who scored a half-century with the rest of the Pakistan batting crumbling. However, in the second game, he got the apt support from Iftikhar Ahmed. After winning the toss and electing to bat, the visitors made a good start courtesy of Azam, who scored 50 off 38. A direct hit from David Warner accounted for his wicket in the 16th over.

Iftikhar took the onus in the death overs and smashed 62 off 34 with five fours and three sixes. He was severe on Kane Richardson, scoring 22 runs in the 19th over. The late blitz helped the Men in Green post a competitive score of 150 on the board. Fakhar Zaman’s horror run in T20Is continued and the likes of Haris Sohail and Mohammad Rizwan also couldn’t make much of an impact.

Smith smothers Pakistan

David Warner started Australia’s run-chase on a positive note. The southpaw smacked four boundaries and raced away to an 11-ball 20. Mohammad Amir cleaned him up to cut short his knock. The other day in Sydney, Aaron Finch demolished Mohammad Irfan. But it was now the turn of the left-arm pacer to make amends. Irfan induced a false shot from Finch, who managed 17 runs.

Then, Steve Smith and Ben McDermott put together a stand of 58 runs off 41 balls to put the Aussies in a commanding position. Imad Wasim trapped the latter on 21 to separate the duo. But Smith carried on and got to his fifty off 36 balls. Ashton Turner played some dot-balls, but Smith didn’t allow pressure to build. He stayed unbeaten on 80 with 11 fours and a six to take his side home.

Here is how Twitter reacted

 

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