World Cup 2015, Highlights: Australia Defeat Pakistan, Will Face India in Semis
Chasing 214, Australia lost early wickets but half-centuries from Steve Smith and Shane Watson helped the side to an easy six wicket win in the end. Pakistan fielders helped the opposition with several dropped chances. Here are the highlights from the quarters.
Steve Smith and Shane Watson helped Australia register a comprehensive win against sloppy Pakistan. This after a determined bowling attack kept the target down to 214. (SCORECARD | Fixtures | Photos)
Highlights from the match:
(All times in IST)
Captains speak:
Clarke sports a wide smile after the win. "Yes, it turned out to be a very close game," he says after the match. "I thought Wahab bowled really well but I am glad we managed to win."
Clarke also said that he expects another tough battle when his side faces defending champions India. "They have been playing strong cricket and Dhoni has been leading the team well," said the Aussie captain. "I expect another tough contest and cannot wait to play semis in Sydney.
Misbah is visibly disappointed after his final match for Pakistan. "We could have scored a few more runs but we lost wickets at key stages," said the Pakistani skipper. "Wahab bowled his heart out and I have never seen such a spell before. Had we not dropped catches, who knows we may well have won. (But) Overall, I am happy with how the team played this World Cup.
0404: It's all over! Watson and Maxwell remain unbeaten to help Aussies to a six wicket win. It will be Australia vs India semis at Sydney on March 26.
0357: This match is getting over in a rush! Watson and Maxwell hitting boundaries at will now.
0354: Dropped on 4, Watson goes on to complete 33rd ODI fifty! Australia need 31 in 18.5 overs.
0346: Maxwell lashing out against Wahab - adding insult to injury after being dropped earlier. Watson at the other end is eying a 50. Barring a collapse of epic proportions, Australia have final line in sight.
0335: Dropped! Another one goes down and this may well be the last straw. Maxwell swats and a top-edge is put down by a running Sohail Khan - Wahab the bowler once again. Watson was previously dropped on 4 off Wahab's bowling.
0333: Maxwell has scored 257 runs from his six World Cup 2015 matches so far. He is averages 65.25 and his strike rate of 190.37 means Pakistan will have to keep fighting incredibly hard. Australia need 61 from 22 overs.
0330: Out! Steve Smith falls for 65. He is judged LBW but the ball may have been missing leg. Marginal decision but Australia have no review after Finch called it wrong. It means Smith walks, Maxwell comes in.
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0319: FOUR! Smith dances down the track and slams the ball over mid-on.
0317: Smith and Watson finding the gaps, rotating the strike. After 25 overs Australia 138/3.
0313: Afridi comes on. Australia just need to milk the bowling and manipulate the field. Nothing flash is required.
0311: Haris Sohail comes on. Interesting move from Misbah!
0309: Watson goes on the attack. He is now looking to get on top of the short balls and whacking it to the fence. Has Pakistan bowled too many of those bouncers and have become predictable?
0305: Fifty for Steve Smith! This is his third on the trot and sixth overall. A responsible knock that took him 51 balls. And he not done yet.
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0259: Allan Border: It's like Steve Smith is batting on a different pitch.
0255: Pakistan bring up 100 runs in 19.3 overs. A confident drive from Watson helps his side reach three-figure mark. Obviously enough, required run-rate does not matter here as it is a battle of survival. Pakistan were 82/3 at exactly this stage.
0250: All credit to how Steve Smith has kept his calm today though. He has been a pillar at one end even as Watson has been pounded with the short stuff. This may also be because Watson has taken most of the strike.
0237: Dropped! Watson gets on top of a bouncer bowled by Wahab. It goes straight to Rahat who spills a dolly! Will that cost Pakistan the match?
0233: Wahab has switched on his fiery mode! He is bowling at lightening speed and as if his bouncers aren't thundrous enough, he is clapping up a storm to get the Pakistani fans to cheer louder.
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0222: The question is not if Australia will collapse - although the batting did against New Zealand in the league stages.(Scorecard)
The real question doing the rounds is if Pakistan will be able to maintain their intensity through the course of this match. Currently, it is a spicy contest!
0217: How many times does one see Aussie batsmen ducking away constantly? At Adelaide Oval, there is a battle with Pakistan bowlers making jittery Watson and Smith bow down frequently.
0211: Out! Clarke fends off a short ball. It falls softly into the hands of Maqsood at short leg. Australia now three down!
0206: Clarke has played just three World Cup 2015 matches and has scored 127 at an average of 42.33. He has a strike rate of 95.48 but today, he does not need to bat in top gear.
0204: Michael Clarke comes out and joins Smith. Australia in a bit of bother in what is a modest chase.
0200: Out! Warner upper cuts to third man but finds an alert Rahat Ali. Both openers now back with Warner scoring a 23-ball 24.
0145: Warner has carried on in his usual style. Losing Finch has had no impact as the attacking opener. Smith at the other end though, has been even better with a couple of dominant shots to the boundary.
0136: Steve Smith has joined Warner in the middle. The fulcrum on which Aussie batting is balanced on, young Smith has hit 176 runs in his six World Cup 2015 matches so far. He has averaged 44 with a strike rate of almost 88.
0131: Out! Finch falls for 2, is trapped LBW by Sohail. Batsman asks for a review but TV umpire makes him leave. Men in Green have a spring in their steps all of a sudden.
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0123: At 22, Ehsan Adil is thrown the ball to bowl the second over. He has three wickets from six ODIs played so far.
0120: A boundary and an unsuccessful appeal highlight the first over of the chase. Sohail Khan has 11 wickets from his six World Cup matches so far. Will he add more to his tally?
0115: Did you know? Australia have now taken 58 wickets in World Cup 2015. India top with 70. How many can Pakistan add to their 51 today? David Warner and Aaron Finch come out for the chase.
1246: Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram slams his team's batting display. "There was a plan but when things went against them, Pakistan batsmen were all over," he says. "Plan should have score 200 in 30 overs and then have a go in the last 10 overs. (But) They were losing wickets constantly and that was the end of any strategy."
Akram also hits out at Haris Sohail. "He picked out the fastest bowler in the Aussie side. It shows they are not evolving, they are not playing a thinking game," says the former speedster. Haris scored 41 before falling to Johnson.
1245: Former Australia pacer Brett Lee congratulates Australia for what was a dominant show with the ball. "Everybody contributed which was great to see. This was a good effort on the field," he said.
1236: Pakistan all out for 213 in 49.5 overs. Did you know? This is only the sixth time in World Cup history that a every batsman in an innings has been dismissed courtesy catches. It is the fourth time this World Cup that it has happened.
1222: Pakistan complete 200 in 46 overs.
1215: Out! Pakistan's batting implosion continues as Sohail Khan top-edges a Hazlewood delivery. It goes miles up and is collected calmly by Haddin. Pakistan 195/9.
12:04: Out! Another one bites the dust! Riaz manages to offer an outside edge and Haddin completes a clean catch behind the stumps off Starc's bowling. Pakistan 188/8.
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12:00: Out! Maqsood falls to Hazelwood. Trying to play the inside-out lofted drive over covers, hits it straight to Johnson, who juggles it once before completing the catch. Pakistan 188/7 after 41.3 overs.
11:57: That was quite an eventful over. Maqsood got a boundary but Starc peppered him with some short stuff. Interesting battle this!
1153: There is a contest on at Adelaide Oval as Riaz on one end and Starc and Faulkner battle hard. There were a few words exchanged as well. A four gives the batsman an edge before a quick bouncer puts him in check again.
1150: Batting powerplay is just a battle for survival for Pakistan as Wahab Riaz joins Maqsood.
1145: Afridi becomes the 2nd man - after Sri Lanka's Chamara Silva (2007) - to score five 20s in a World Cup. His knocks in World Cup 2015: 22,28,0,21*,22,23.
1134: Out! That's the end of Afridi who makes 23 off 15. He goes for yet another pull, this time not getting enough power. Finch at deep midwicket once again takes a catch - his third today. Hazlewood now has two wickets. Pakistan 158/6 in 34 overs.
1129: Afridi in no mood to 'build' an innings. This may well be his final World Cup match and he seems intent on doing nothing less than whacking the ball.
Did you know? Afridi has hit three 50s since December last year and all of these were against New Zealand.
1122: Pakistan complete 150 runs in 32.2 overs.
1113: Afridi has replaced Umar and he has already shown that it is his way or highway. The 'Boom Boom' man of Pakistan cricket has swung his bat wildly - it's a ploy that can either very destructive either way. He is batting with Sohaib Maqsood.
1108: Out! Umar Akmal is livid himself. He finds the fielder at deep midwicket. Finch there did not have to move an inch as he helps Maxwell claim his 2nd of the day.
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1059: Out! Haris falls on 41. He tried to go for what looked like a pre-meditated lazy drive, only to edge Mitchell Johnson to Haddin behind the stumps. Two new men in now and pressure back on Pakistan.
1050: Haris has moved into the 40s. The Sialkot batsman has Umar Akmal for company now.
1045: Misbah tried to slog-sweep Maxwell but managed a top-edge which went straight to Finch at deep midwicket. Pakistan 97/3 in 23.2 overs.
1044: Out! Misbah looks for another six against Maxwell but fails to find the power this time. He falls for 34.
1038: While all eyes are on Misbah, Haris at the other end has done well to consolidate himself. Apart from one rare swing, he has hardly played a wrong shot and is batting on 35.
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1033: After 20 overs, Pakistan are 83/2. Misbah and Haris have put on 59 for the 3rd wicket so far.
1028: Double bowling change from Australia. Clarke brings in Watson and Faulkner in bid to break what would surely be a frustrating partnership for the hosts.
1022: Misbah is targeting Maxwell's off spin and winning the duel. He slams yet another six - his second - off Maxwell over deep mid-wicket.
1019: Mitchell Johnson has bowled five overs so far. He has not had a single success yet but has also given away just 19 runs.
1015: If Pakistan lose the match today, it may well be Misbah's final outing for Pakistan. The captain had said he will retire after the World Cup. However, he is not ready yet to pack up his bags. "Favourites don't always win," he has said yesterday when asked about Aussie dominance in cricket. ""Obviously this World Cup and my career are still not over." (Read more here)
1005: It's a six from Misbah! Pakistan captain launches himself against Glenn Maxwell's spin and gets the first maximum of the innings.
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1000: Pakistan pick up a couple of fours with Haris Sohail dispatching Hazlwood in the 12th over. No panic in the batting camp yet. Team's 50 comes up in 12.1 overs.
0950: 10 overs up! Pakistan 37/2 with Misbah batting on 8 and Haris on 7. Hazlewood's five overs have cost just seven runs.
Pakistan after 10 overs in this World Cup:
46/1 (224)
25/4 (160)
14/2 (235/7)
41/1 (339/6)
35/1 (222)
65/0 (241/3)
0939: Mitchell Johnson brought in for the 9th over. His first of the day sees a boundary.
0928: Lucky escape for Misbah! Hazlewood delivery kisses leg stump to light up the bails but they remain firmly in place. This is the second time something like this has happened this World Cup.
0924: Out and Out! Pakistan lose openers in a rush. Starc induces an edge of Sarfaraz with Shane Watson taking an agile catch at 1st slip. Hazlewood then hits hard to remove Shehzad for 5.
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0915: Aussies have beaten the bat a couple of times already but it has not stopped Pakistan openers from going for their shots. Both Sarfaraz and Shahzad look to free their arms - a positive sign. Pakistan 13/0 after 4.
0905: Just one from the first over. Starc was on mark. He has six wickets from six matches at an average of 8.50. He will surely be looking for more today. Hazlewood to bowl from the other end. He has played three World Cup 2015 matches and has claimed two wickets.
0904: Australian players have black armbands in remembrance of former PM Malcolm Fraser.
0900: Shahzad and Sarfaraz open the innings. They take on Mitchell Starc.
0855: Did you know? Teams win 80% of matches at Adelaide (statistics from last 10 years) when defending a total in excess of 270.
0841: Teams:
Australia: Finch, Warner, Smith, Clarke, Maxwell, Watson, Faulkner, Haddin, Johnson, Starc and Hazlewood.
Pakistan: Shehzad, Sarfraz, Haris Sohail, Misbah, Akmal, Maqsood, Afridi, Wahab, Sohail Khan, Rahat and Adil.
0836: Clarke says the entire team was available for selection for the quarters. "That's always a great situation to be in," he said.
0834: Misbah feels momentum is with his team. "We have won four matches on the trot and the boys are very confident of making the most of those," he says just before the toss.
0830: TOSS! Misbah calls it right and Pakistan will bat first against Australia. The visitors in Adelaide remain unchanged while Australia bring in Josh Hazlewood in place of Pat Cummins.
History favours Australia, but Pakistan's astonishing ability to conjure magical wins promises enthralling cricket during their World Cup quarter-final at the Adelaide Oval on Friday.
Misbah-ul-Haq's men are determined to replicate the success of their predecessors under Imran Khan who won the tournament Down Under in 1992 -- and their paths bear an uncanny similarity. (Read More)
Key Stats
Played: 92
Australia wins: 57
Pakistan wins: 31
Tied: 1
No result: 3
First meeting:
June 07, 1975 Leeds Australia won by 73 runs
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Last five meetings:
Aug 31, 2012: Abu Dhabi Pakistan won by 7 wickets
Sept 03, 2012: Sharjah Australia won by 3 wickets
Oct 01, 2014: Sharjah Australia won by 93 runs
Oct 10, 2014: Dubai Australia won by 5 wickets
Oct 12, 2014: Abu Dhabi Australia won by 1 run
WORLD CUP
Played 8
Australia wins: 4
Pakistan wins: 4
June 07, 1975: Leeds Australia won by 73 runs
June 13, 1979: Nottingham Pakistan won by 89 runs
Nov 04, 1987: Lahore Australia won by 18 runs
Mar 11, 1992: Perth Pakistan won by 48 runs
May 23, 1999: Leeds Pakistan won by 10 runs (group stage)
June 20, 1999: Lord's Australia won by eight wickets (final)
Feb 11, 2003: Johannesburg Australia won by 82 runs
Mar 19, 2011: Colombo Pakistan won by four wickets
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Key Men
Australia
Mitchell Starc
The tall left-arm fast bowler has been the stand-out performer with the ball for Australia, his 16 wickets in five matches leaving him at the top of the bowling charts in the tournament.
Starc's consistent length and his ability to extract bounce almost enabled Australia to defend their paltry 151 all out against New Zealand in Auckland before the Black Caps squeezed home for the loss of nine wickets.
The 25-year-old should enjoy the hard and bouncy drop-in pitch at the Adelaide Oval where India's 300-7 against Pakistan at the start of the tournament is the highest ODI total ever at the ground.
Pakistan
Misbah-ul Haq
The gutsy skipper has led Pakistan from the front with four half-centuries in the first five matches when others around him were falling apart. His 56 against South Africa was crucial in the low-scoring game where Pakistan successfully defended 222.
The 40-year-old, who will quit one-day cricket after the World Cup, is the rock around whom Pakistan rally in a crisis.
Often criticised for a slow strike-rate, Misbah stunned critics by smashing a Test century off 56 balls against Australia in Abu Dhabi last November, equalling the record of West Indies legend Viv Richards.
Pakistan will hope for another landmark innings from their captain against the same rivals on Friday.
Pakistan Need to Stay Aggressive vs Australia
Aggression is the best defence against a team like Australia. And Pakistan's aggression has got a severe blow when Mohammad Irfan has been ruled out of the all-important ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 quarter-final against the host. (Read More)