Pakistan defeat Australia by 16 runs

DHAKA: Pakistan has won a scintillating contest of bat and ball by 16 runs against Australia in the T20 World Cup Group 2 match at Sher-e-Bangal stadium, Mirpur.

Australia got off to the worst possible start losing two wickets in the first over of the innings as Zulfikar Babar sent back D.Warner and S.Watson with just 8 runs on the board.

Maxwell came in to bat earlier than he expected and immediately got down to some big hitting.

What followed was a scintillating display of aggression which at one point nearly took the game away from Pakistan. Maxwell hammered a 48 ball 74 with 7 fours and 6 maximums as the Pakistan bowlers had no answer to this incredible display of hitting.

It was only after he needlessly got out in the 12th over that Pakistan sensed a chance to get back into the game.

Australia kept on losing wickets at regular intervals and eventually lost A.Finch for 65 off 54 balls in the 18th over to make such a steep chase nearly impossible.

Some excellent bowling by the Shahid Afridi (2-30), Saeed Ajmal (1-33) and Umar Gul (2-29) after the dismissal of Maxwell tightened the grip on the match for Pakistan.

Over all Zulfikar Baber was the pick of the Pakistan bowlers picking up 2/26 off 4 overs, bowling some tight overs at crucial moments.

Earlier, Pakistan had reached a good total 191 with the help of a breath taking 94 runs off just 54 balls from man of the match Umar Akmal.

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Australian Innings

Over 20: Bhatti bowls last over for Pakistan. Starc run out on second delivery. Haddin (8) c Malik b Bhatti.. Bilawal Bhatti cleam bowls Hogg (3). Australia 175/all out.

Over 19: Gul bowls. Coulter-Nile cleaned bowled for a duck on the second delivery. Australia 169/7

Over 18: Ajmal bowls. Finch (65) clean bowled by Ajmal on third delivery. Coulter-Nile in to bat. Australia 162/6

Over 17: Umar Gul bowls. Hodge (2) c Ajmal b Gul. Haddin in for Australia. Finch finds the boundary on the on-side.

Over 16: Bailey clean bowled by Afridi on first ball of the over. Brad Hodge in for Australia. Finch finds the boundary on the third delivery for four. Australia 153/4

Over 15: Ajmal back into the attack for Pakistan. Outside edge by Finch goes for four on last ball. Australia 146/3

Over 14: Afridi bowls. Finch edges fifth delivery over third man for four. Australia 138/3

Over 13: Zulfiqar bowls. Finch sweeps Zulfiqar to fine leg for four on third delivery. Babar finises with 2/26. Australia 132/2

Over 12: Afridi bowls. Maxwell (74) c Shehzad b Afridi. Australian skipper Bailey comes to the crease. Australia 126/3

Over 11: Umar Gul bowls. Maxwell dropped by Saeed Ajmal on second ball. Australia 122/2

Over 10: Saeed Ajmal bowls. Maxwell hits second ball over mid-wicket for six. Maxwell sweeps for four over square leg. Australia 117/2

Over 9: Zulfiqar Babar back into the attack for Pakistan. Australia 105/2

Over 8: Bilawal Bhatti bowls. Finch hits first ball through mid-wicket for four. Maxwell cuts third ball to point for four. Maxwell hits it over mid-wicket for six. Maxwell straight down the ground for six, scores half century. Bhatti balls no-ball which goes for four byes. Maxwell drives through the covers for four. Thirty runs off the over. Australia 102/2

Over 7: Afridi in to bowl for Pakistan. Finch hits it over square leg for six. Maxwell sweeps Afridi for six over square leg. Australia 72/2
-Pakistan were 42/2 at this stage-

Over 6: Saeed Ajmal in for Pakistan. Finch smashes fourth ball for six over mid-wicket. Finch cuts fifth ball for four. Australia 57/2

Over 5: Umar Gul in for Pakistan. Maxwell guides fourth ball to third man for four. Maxwell hist last ball over point for four. Australia 44/2

Over 4: Hafeez bowls his second over. Maxwell hist thrid ball over mid-wicket for six. Maxwell hist last ball over sqaure-leg for six. Australia 35/2

Over 3: Zulfiqar continues spell. Maxwell sweeps third ball for four over square-leg. Maxwell hits fourth delivery over extra-cover for four. Australia 20/2

Over 2: Hafeez bowls for Pakistan. Australia 11/2

Over 1: Zulfiqar bowls for Pakistan. Warner hits first ball over point for four. Warner (4) b. Zulfiqar on second delivery. Watson drives for four. Watson (4) c. Akmal b. Zulfiqar. Australia 8/2

Pakistan Innings

Pakistan have amazed a daunting 191 in 20 overs in their Group 2 match against Australia at Sher-e-Bangla Stadium Mirpur

Pakistan started off nervously, once again losing Ahmed Shehzad and skipper M.Hafeez with only 25 on the board in the 4th over.

Then walked in Umar Akmal to accompany his brother Kamran and immediately started dominating the Australian bowling attack.

Both the Akmal's played some aggressive shots combining them with clever running to muster a brilliant 3rd wicket stand of 96 in 8.3 overs before Kamran was out for 31 with 4x4s.

Mixing aggression with some sensible batting Umar Akmal played a gem of an innings hitting 9x4s and 4x6s in an entertaining 94 off just 54 balls.

After Kamran’s dismissal in came Afridi and also did his bit hitting 2x4s and a six to contribute an unbeaten 20 off 11 balls.

Australia now need 192 to win this crucial game for both the teams at nearly 10 an over.

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Over 20: Umar Akmal (94) c Maxwell b Starc. Afridi guides second ball to third man for four. Edge by Shoaib Malik to third man for four. Pakistan 191/5

Over 19: Bollinger bowls. Pakistan 180/4

Over 18: Strac bowls for Australia. First ball hit over extra-cover for four by U.Akmal. U.Akmal hist six over mid-wicket on fifth delivery. Pakistan 175/4

Over 17: Watson bowls his last over. Afridi hits six over long-on on third delivery. Afridi chips over mid-off for four. Pakistan 162/4

Over 16: Coulter-Nile smashed for four over mid-wicket by U.Akmal on first delivery. S. Maqsood (5) bowled. Shahid Afridi in for Pakistan,
Pakistan 148/4

Over 15: U.Akmal flicks Bollinger to fine-leg for four on first delivery. Pakistan 140/3

Over 14: Hogg continues spell. Pakistan 131/3

Over 13: Coulter-Nile back into the attack for Australia. U.Akmal cuts second ball for four. K.Akmal (31) c. Warner B Coulter-Nile. Sohaib Maqsood comes to the crease. Pakistan 123/3

Over 12: A. Finch brought in for Australia. U. Akmal hits six over mid-wicket on second delivery, cuts next delivery for four. Another six by U.Akmal over mid-wicket on fifth delivery to complete his fifty. Pakistan 114/2

Over 11: Hogg continues spell. K. Akmal plays it over extra-cover for four on second delivery. Pakistan 96/2

Over 10: Watson bowls his third over. U.Akmal hits a six over mid-wicket to bring up fifty partnership. Pakistan 83/2

Over 9: Australia bring in B.Hogg. K. Akmal sweeps second delivery for four. K.Akmal smashes four through extra-cover. Pakistan 69/2

Over 8: U. Akmal smashes Coulter-Nile for four over square-leg on second delivery. U.Akmal straight drive for four on fifth ball. Pakistan 56/2

Over 7: Watson bowls his second over. U.Akmal drives through covers for four on fifth delivery. Pakistan 42/2

Over 6: Coulter-Nile begins his spell for Australia. U.Akmal shames it on 4th ball to long-on for four. Pakistan 36/2

Over 5: Shane Watson brought into the attack for Australia. Hafeez bowled on second delivery. Umar Akmal in for Pakistan. Pakistan 29/2

Over 4: Bollinger continues spell. Hafeez pulls fourth delivery to mid-wicket for four. Another four by Hafeez on fifth delivery. Pakistan 25/1

Over 3: Starc bowls his second over. Kamran Akmal shames four through covers on second delivery. Pakistan 14/1

Over 2: D.Bollinger starts his spell for Australia. A.Shehzad (5) c and b Bollinger on fourth delivery. M.Hazeez comes to crease. Pakistan 9/1

Over 1: Ahmed Shehzad, Kamran Akmal open for Pakistan. M. Starc starts proceedings for Australia. A.Shehzad smashes a four to point on the first delivery. Pakistan 6/0

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| WATCH: M.HAFEEZ |

| WATCH: G.BAILEY|


SQUADS

PAKISTAN: Ahmed Shehzad, Kamran Akmal†, Mohammad Hafeez*, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Sohaib Maqsood, Shahid Afridi, Bilawal Bhatti, Umar Gul, Zulfiqar Babar, Saeed Ajmal

AUSTRALIA: DA Warner, AJ Finch, SR Watson, GJ Maxwell, GJ Bailey*, BJ Hodge, BJ Haddin†, MA Starc, NM Coulter-Nile, GB Hogg, DE Bollinger

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TOSS

Australia won the toss and elected to bowl

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MUST WIN FOR PAKISTAN

After surrendering tamely against India in their World Twenty20 opener on Friday, Pakistan would be looking to bounce back with a vengeance against Australia today (Sunday) in a bid to stay on course for a place in the semi-finals.

And they intend to use their potent spin attack to conquer the formidable Aussies.

The influence of spin in the potentially explosive clash is on everyone’s lips.

Moin Khan, the Pakistan coach, has expressed confidence in his team’s spinners while Australia captain George Bailey has conceded it’s going to be a challenge for their batsmen.

Saeed Ajmal has the most wickets for a spinner against Australia. Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Hafeez have done well in the past and Zulfiqar Babar is also likely to get a look in if Pakistan think of playing three specialist spinners. “Well, they can be [susceptible against spin], but of course they’ve been playing really good cricket for a very long time,” Moin said. “But I still believe in my spinners. I think we’re capable to get them.

“We have lots of options in the team. We didn’t bowl Shoaib Malik [against India], but we’ve got the option there. We have good spinners with us, so we’ll see. It depends on the type of pitch we get in the next match. So we’ll definitely do according to the opposition.”

Bailey is well aware of the threat, and wants his batsmen to stand up to the challenge of playing in conditions suitable and familiar to their opposition.

“We went through the Pakistan team in our meeting last night, and there are so many match-winners,” he said. “I think historically we have struggled against their spinners. If we are to win, we have to play their spinners well.

“I think we have seen most of them now, in different times. What you do is talk about experiences from the past and try to make it better. They have three spinners among the top ten in T20s so they are a very strong spin side. The conditions can be challenging for us, but we have a strong batting line-up that can overcome that.”

Brad Hodge is the only player from the current squad who has played in Bangladesh in the last year or so and the team took to television footage to arm themselves for the upcoming battle. They watched Pakistan’s opening match in the World T20 and noted how India’s Amit Mishra used a bit of drift and dip to restrict and dupe the batsmen, and how Ajmal maintained accuracy while bowling quicker.

“I think most of the guys watched it in the hotel last night,” Bailey said. “It was a great chance to see how India and Pakistan played. There was a lot of information to be gathered. Most guys took the opportunity.”

“Hodge has been great for us. He has given us a lot of information on how the wicket might play here and how it changes from day to night; also about players that we haven’t seen.”

Bailey would bank on the team’s variety, particularly in their own bowling attack. Australia have called up, 43-year old left-arm chinaman Brad Hogg, who will be assisted by legspinner James Muirhead and part-timer Glenn Maxwell.

“I think we have a little more versatility, in terms of what we can do with the ball,” Bailey said. “I think we have a little more power with the bat. These are the two differences [between this squad and the one that played in the 2012 World T20s].”

Australia, already missing premier fast bowler Mitchell Johnson due to a toe infection, will also be without all-rounder James Faulkner for the opening match.

Bailey said Faulkner, a hard-hitting right-hand batsman and left-arm seamer, had still not recovered from the knee injury that forced him to miss the recent tour of South Africa. “We will just monitor him,” the captain said. “He is an important player. He has certainly played a huge role for Australian sides in the T20 and one-day formats.”
Australia, who have won the 50-over World Cup four times and are a leading Test side, have made the final of the World Twenty20 just once in four attempts, losing the title to England in 2010.

Bailey said the current squad was different from previous ones, but needed to be consistent to win a maiden T20 title.

Bailey said it was important to start with a win in the group which also includes defending champions the West Indies, India and hosts Bangladesh. “In a tournament like this, momentum is really important,” he said. “Starting with a win gets you off and running and I don’t think you can afford to drop many games. The more wins the better.”