Pakistan vs Australia: Australia beat Pakistan by 41 runs
Pakistan vs Australia Pak vs Aus: Disciplined show by the bowlers after David Warner’s sensational century guided Australia to a thrilling 41 run victory over Pakistan in the World Cup match at Taunton. Chasing 308, Pakistan were bowled out for 266 as Australia recorded their third victory of the tournament. For Australia, Pat Cummins finished with 3/33 while Mitchell Starc and Kane Richardson took two wickets each.
Earlier, Mohammad Amir’s career-best 5/30 helped Pakistan bowl out Australia for 307. Riding on a superb century by David Warner, Australia were at one point of time looking to cross the 350-run mark, but late strikes by Amir restricted the defending champions from going big. Warner scored 117 while Aaron Finch made 82.
Pakistan’s decision to field first didn’t go as planned initially as both Australian openers demolished the opponent’s pace attack and added 146 runs for the first wicket. Amir gave his side the first breakthrough dismissing the Australian captain. Finch, who scored 82 off 84 balls with the help of six boundaries and four sixes, tried smashing Amir but got caught by Mohammad Hafeez at covers in the 23rd over. Steve Smith (10) then fell cheaply. Glenn Maxwell impressed with a fiery cameo hitting 20 off 10 balls taking the score past 200 before being scalped by Shaheen Afridi. Warner who smashed a brilliant century was also removed by Afridi. Shaun Marsh and Alex Carey chipped with 23 and 20 respectively. But Amir ripped through the middle order and tailenders and restricted Australia from posting a huge total.
Pakistan got off to a dismal start as Cummins dealt Pakistan the first blow dismissing opener Fakhar Zaman for a duck in the third over. Babar Azam and Imam ul Haq then tried to lift the side but Nathan Coulter Nile ended Azam’s (30) challenge. Mohammad Hafeez along with Haq then took the score past 100-mark keeping Pakistan afloat. But Cummins struck again to get rid of Haq after his fighting knock of 53. Skipper Aaron Finch then joined the party and dealt fourth blow to Pakistan sending back Hafeez (46). Very soon, Cummins claimed his third victim in the form of Shoaib Malik who gave an easy catch behind the stumps without even opening his account. Asif Ali also could not rescue the side and got dismissed by Kane Richardson after scoring just 5. Athe score fo 200, Richardson struck again to get rid of Hasan Ali after scoring 32. Skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed and Wahab Riaz fought back for Pakistan, but Mitchell Starc struck at the right time to get rid of tee latter after 64-run stand.
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Australia
307 (49.0)Pakistan
266 (45.4)Australia beat Pakistan by 41 runs
ALL OVER! Australia beat Pakistan by 41 runs to bounce back in style! Maxwell finishes it off with a brilliant run out. PAK- 266 all out
BOWLED! Starc knocks over Amir for a duck! PAK- 265/9, need 43 from 32 balls with just one wicket in hand.
Twist in the tale! Wahab Riaz is for a 39-ball 45 | A faint edge which the umpire failed to hear but DRS comes to help AUS. PAK- 264/8, Pakistan need 44 runs in 34 balls
They still have one over left. Will Finch gamble with himself or Maxwell right in the very last over? Or will he give one right now and leave it to his main bowlers in the remaining six? Interesting time of the game coming up
48 balls left.
54 runs needed.
3 wickets in hand.
Can Pakistan do it?
SIX! Wahab Riaz is doing it here for Pakistan. He picks up the slower one early and slogs it handsomely over mid-wicket for a biggie. 250 up for Pakistan! PAK- 254/7 | Pakistan need 54 runs in 48 balls
Wahab Riaz is going all out! First a six of NCN and then targets Maxwell for a four and a six to start the 40th over. Pakistan get a move on! PAK- 244/7 | Pakistan need 64 runs in 54 balls with 3 wickets in hand
FOUR! Just wide of Steven Smith at wide first slip! Starc goes very full this time, around off and angling away, Riaz tries to play a booming cover drive but it takes the thick outside edge and flies past Smith's right for a boundary. PAK- 216/7
OUT! Hassan Ali's cameo is over as Richardson picks up his second wicket! Australia can relax now. PAK- 200/7. Richardson bangs in a short ball again, it's around off and Hassan this time tries to play the cross-batted shot. But it takes the bottom half of his bat and flies down to Khawaja at fine leg. He makes no mistake
Back to back sixes for Hasan Ali. ! Richardson digs in a short ball outside off, Hassan hooks it with all his power and clears mid-wicket with ease. Then hoicks the next delivery over long-on. PAK- 182/6 after 32 ovs
Asif Ali edges one back to the keeper as Pakistan slide from 136/2 to 160/6. The wickets are coming in a procession for Australia. It is on a length outside off and Asif looks to run it down towards third man. But the delivery is a cross-seam one and that perhaps generates extra bounce. Ali is clearly surprised and ends up fending it behind. Carey completes the formalities. 136/2 at one stage, 160/6 now.
Great catch by Alex Carey to get rid of Shoaib Malik for a duck! Cummins picks up his 3rd wicket of the innings. Carey dives to his left and takes a great catch behind the stumps. Never easy to catch off the inside edge. Cummins serves a good length ball around off and gets it to nip back into the batsman. PAK- 147/5
Pakistan lose two in quick time! First Imam ul-Haq departs after bringing up his half-century after which Hafeez falls for 46 PAK- 146/4, Pakistan needs 162 from 138 balls.
Smashing shot! Starc delivers a short ball around off, Imam stands tall inside the crease and slaps it past the right side of the point fielder for a boundary. Imam moves onto 44. PAK- 121/2
FOUR for Imam! The sweeper could have done better there. Short in length outside off, Imam crunches it off his back foot through cover-point and the ball races away. Cummins in the deep is slow off the blocks, tries his best to keep it out with a dive but fails. PAK -107/2
Despite losing Fakhar and Babar earlier, Imam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Hafeez keep Pakistan in the hunt. Pakistan are currently playing on 107/2 at the end of 19 overs.
A huge blow to Pakistan as Coulter Nile gets the big wicket of Babar Azam. It was short delivery and Azam played a pull shot. However, the ball travelled straight to Kane Richardson near the boundary ropes.
Nathan Coulter Nile has been brought in by skipper Aaron Finch to deal a blow to Pakistan. Nile gives away six runs off his first over. The score reaches 46/1 after nine overs.
Richardson fails to get a breakthrough conceding 5 runs off his first over as Pakistan reach 40/1 at the end of 8th over.
Kane Richardson has been introduced to break the dangerous looking stand.
Despite losing Fakhar Zaman early, Babar and Imam are scoring fluently. After seven overs, Pakistan were 34/1. Babar 16, Imam 17.
Hitting three boundaries off Mitchell Starc's third over, Imam ul Haq take the score to 30/1 after six overs.
Babar Azam smashed two boundaries of the Pat Cummins' over to take the score to 18/1 after five overs.
Pakistan were struggling at 10/1 after four over. Babar Azam and Imam -ul Haq need to stay longer in this mammoth chase.
Pat Cummins struck early to send back Fakhar Zaman without allowing him to open the account. Zaman was caught by Kane Richardson at third man. A poor start by Pakistan in chase of 308.
Mohammad Amir, take a bow! Picks up the last wicket and finishes with a career-best 5/30 to help Pakistan bowl out Australia for 307 (49 ovs) Can Pakistan chase this down?
Pat Cummins is caught behind by Sarfaraz. Hassan Ali has got himself a wicket too! Hassan Ali goes short and cramps Cummins for room. Cummins picks the wrong shot to play as he tries to upper cut it. Too close to play that and also does not have the pace to work with. It goes into the mitts of Sarfaraz Ahmed. No real celebration from Pakistan but they are doing a tremendous job here. Pakistan continue to fight back. AUS- 302/8
Pakistan are fighting back! Wahab Riaz picks up NCN for 2. as Australia lose wickets in a hurry. Wahab Riaz is amongst the wickets now. A very good catch by Sarfaraz this. Riaz goes full and on off, Coulter-Nile looks to go big but ends up playing outside the line. The ball goes off the inside edge, almost wrong-footed Ahmed who reacts quickly and takes a good catch falling to his left. Pakistan continue fighting back here. AUS- 299/7
GONE! Cross-seam delivery by Mohammad Amir and a top edge from Marsh lands straight into the hands of Shoaib Malik. Marsh holes out! Australia have lost their way here! Third for Mohammad Amir and Pakistan are into the lower-order of Australia. Third wicket for Amir and he has been the stand out for Pakistan. He bowls a length ball and it seems to be the slower one. Marsh looks to loft it over the long on fence but only manages to get height on it. Malik there settles under it and takes it.
Dropped catches and misfields has cost Pakistan dearly.
Mohammad Amir is back into the attack and he strikes in the first ball. Usman Khawaja is the man dismissed on 18 as Australia lose their 5th wicket. The ball was pitched up slightly outside off and Khawaja went for the drive. However, the ball goes straight to Wahab Riaz at mid-off, who's compensating for his team's earlier mistakes.
David Warner's magnificent innings come to an end as the left-hander walks back to the pavilion on 107 off 111 balls. The ball was almost pitched in the middle of the pitch and he mistimes his shot. The ball slices up in the air and Imam-ul-Haq takes a diving catch at extra cover.
Wahab Riaz is frustrated as Asif Ali puts down a sitter at the third man area. The ball went straight to him and many would depict it as a simple catch but the fielder still failed to hold onto it.
CENTURY! Edge and the ball goes between the keeper and slips. Not the way he had thought off but it doesn't matter as David Warner completes his 15th ODI ton.
Shaheen Afridi cleans up Maxwell on 20. It was length ball going straight towards the stumps and Maxwell tries to push it down the off-side. However, the batsman fails to make a contact and the ball knocks the off stump.
Mohammad Hafeez, who has been slightly expensive, so far gets his first wicket of the match as Steve Smith departs on 10. The Aussie batsman charged down the track but fails to time the ball as it goes high up in the air, barely crossing the 30-yard-circle. Asif Ali, who missed a catch earlier in the innings, runs after the ball and makes no mistake this time.
A poor delivery by Shoaib Malik and Warner makes the most of it. A length delivery and Warner goes to his backfoot and slices the ball over the long-on fence. A Pakistani supporter tries to catch the ball in the crowd and he also pops it out.
The ball pitches outside off and struck David Warner on the pads and Pakistan players are excited. They believe they've got their man but the umpire is not interested. However, Sarfaraz goes for a review and TV replay shows the ball's impact was well outside the line. They lose their review.
Pakistan finally get the breakthrough and Aaron Finch who was causing more problem to the bowlers has to depart on 82 off 84 balls. Finch fails to read the slower delivery and gets a top edge while trying to play the ball across the line. The ball ballooned up and for a moment we believed that the catch would be dropped, looking at Pakistan's bad fielding, however, veteran Mohammad Hafeez keeps his calm and clutches on to the ball.
A solid stand between skipper Aaron Finch and David Warner has got Australia to a great start. The duo have stitched 122 runs for the opening wicket in 20 overs. While Finch is batting on 63, Warner is inching towards his half-century.
Aaron Finch brings up his second consecutive half-century off 63 balls, partners with David Warner for a 100-run stand and slams a six in the next ball itself
NOT OUT! Big shout for lbw against Finch off Wahab's bowling given not out. Pakistan keep the review after it stays Umpire's Call.
Dropped! Huge miss by Pakistan as Asif Ali puts it down at first slip, goes for boundary. Pakistan are going to regret this badly. This was a brilliant chance for them to get the breakthrough. A relieved Finch takes another boundary in the next ball
Australia are 56/0 after the first ten overs after being asked to bat by Pakistan. Hasan Ali strays in line and concedes four leg-byes. That's the end of the first powerplay. Australia have done well to not lose any wicket. Pakistan's bowling has been disappointing.
Australia openers Warner and Finch bring up 50-run partnership within five overs to give their side a balanced start
FOUR! Warner, who came under the scanner after struggling with his half-century against India in the previous match, slams another boundary to settle Australia.
Aaron Finch and David Warner already looking in fine touch for Australia. The openers have given a fine start to their side after the initial scare. After Finch's six, Warner slams a boundary
SIX! Finch claims the first maximum of the match after a poor start from Australia. He whacks one over the fence after pulling in front of deep square leg. AUS are 17/0 after 3.1 overs
Suberb start by Pakistan as they give away zero runs to the defending champions in the first over. Finch fails to open
Warner and Finch open for Australia. Amir opens the bowling as Australia vs Pakistan is underway
The two sides are singing their respective national anthems. Match to begin any moment now.
Pakistan Playing XI: Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Sarfaraz Ahmed(w/c), Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Amir
Australia Playing XI: David Warner, Aaron Finch(c), Shaun Marsh, Steven Smith, Usman Khawaja, Glenn Maxwell, Alex Carey(w), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Kane Richardson
"Would've bowled first too. A tinge of green and some moisture in the wicket. In a world cup, winning so many against Pakistan doesn't really matter much. We have to wait and see what the wicket plays like. I expect some swing and seam-movement. It depends on the game. India bowled really well to us as, as did Afghanistan. Marcus Stoinis is out with a side-strain, Shaun Marsh comes in for him, and Kane Richardson comes in for Adam Zampa."
"We are going to bowl first today. There's a bit of grass and moisture on the pitch, so we need to take advantage of that. Unfortunately we couldn't play the last game, but we practised hard in the last few days so the momentum is very high for us. Shadab Khan will sit out today and Shaheen Afridi comes back in for us. One of our Test umpires (Riazuddin) has passed away, and in honour of him, we're all going to wear black bands today."
Pakistan win the toss and opt to field first against Austrlaia at County Cricket Ground in Taunton
Australia clash with Pakistan at the County Cricket Ground in Taunton on Wednesday. 15 minutes to go for the toss as we bring to you live score and updates of the match.