ICC World Twenty20, Highlights: Pakistan beat Australia by 16 runs in high-scoring thriller

Pakistan beat Australia by 16 runs in a Group 2 encounter of the ICC World Twenty20 tournament at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur. Catch highlights here: (Scorecard | Text Commentary | Match report)

 

18:42 (IST): So, a brilliant batting effort from Pakistan and a resilient bowling display later on earned them a worthy 16-run win over Australia at Mirpur today. Australian captain George Bailey said there were plenty of positives considering they were two wickets down in the first over chasing 193. Pakistan skipper Mohammad Hafeez said it was Umar Akmal's day, who scored 94 runs off just 54 deliveries and said that his team was developing new match-winners. Umar Akmal, the Man of the Match, said that he had the backing of the team as well as the management to play his natural game.

 

18:28 (IST): Pakistan beat Australia by 16 runs in a high-scoring Group 2 game at Mirpur. Australia were bowled out for 175 chasing 193.

18:26 (IST): WICKET! Brad Haddin c Malik b Bilawal Bhatti 8. AUS 173/9 (19.4 overs) chasing 192.

 

18:24 (IST): WICKET! Mitchell Starc run out Shahid Afridi 3. AUS 172/8 (19.2 overs). Need 20 runs off 4 balls to win.

18:23 (IST): Australia need a seemingly impossible 23 runs off the last over to win. AUS 169/7 (19 overs).

 

18:17 (IST): WICKET! Nathan Coulter-Nile b Umar Gul 0. Australia 163/7 (18.2 overs). Need 29 runs off 10 balls to win.

18:16 (IST): Saeed Ajmal gives away just one run in his last over. Australia 162/6 (18 overs). Need 30 runs off 12 balls to win.

 

18:11 (IST): WICKET! Aaron Finch b Ajmal 65. Australia need 30 off 14 balls to win. AUS 162/6 (17.4 overs).

 

18:08 (IST): WICKET! Brad Hodge c Saeed Ajmal b Umar Gul 2. Australia need 37 runs off 21 balls to win. AUS 155/3 (16.3 overs).

17:59 (IST): WICKET! The captain departs! George Bailey b Shahid Afridi 4. Australia 146/4 (15.1 overs). Aaron Finch got his 4th T20I fifty earlier in the over with a four!

17:55 (IST): Australia need 54 runs to win off 36 balls as captain George Bailey comes in to bat along with the set Aaron Finch! AUS 138/3 (14 overs).

 

17:44 (IST): WICKET! Anti-climax! The million-dollar man has to go! Glenn Maxwell c Ahmed Shehzad b Shahid Afridi 74. AUS 126/3 (11.4 overs).

 

17:39 (IST): This could be the fastest ever T20I century by Glenn Maxwell. The current fastest is Richard Levi, who got it in 45 balls. AUS 119/2 (10.3 overs).

 

17:35 (IST): Maxwell is batting on 70 and he has faced just 26 deliveries. Australia 117/2 (10 overs).

17:28 (IST): Maxwell on fire! The million-dollar man gets to 54 off just 18 balls and completes his first T20I fifty. 30 runs off that last over from Bilawal Bhatti! Insane! AUS 102/2 (8 overs)

17:23 (IST): This is turning out to be a run fest! 15 runs off the seventh over! Australia 72/2 (7 overs).

17:18 (IST): Kaboom! What an exciting match this is turning out to be! Australia get 13 runs off the sixth over including a six and a four from Aaron Finch. And guess what? The bowler was the most trusted Saeed Ajmal! AUS 57/2 (6 overs). Aaron Finch (18*), Glenn Maxwell (31*).

 

17:09 (IST): Glenn Maxwell hits Mohammad Hafeez for an 85 m six and gets another one on the last ball of the fourth over! AUS 35/2 (4 overs).

 

16:55 (IST): WICKET! Shane Watson c Kamran Akmal b Zulfiqar Babar. What a start for Babar! He has weaved a web of surprise for Australia early on! Australia 8-2 (1 over).

 

16:53 (IST): WICKET! Gone second ball! David Warner b Zulfiqar Babar. Australia 4-1 (0.2 overs).

 

16:40 (IST): Pakistan post 191/5 in 20 overs against Australia. Umar Akmal 94, Kamran Akmal 31; Nathan Coulter-Nile 2/36.

 

16:36 (IST): WICKET! Umar Akmal c Maxwell b Starc 94. Pakistan 180/5 (19.1 overs).

 

16:33 (IST): SIX! Umar Akmal is just 11 runs away from a hundred now. 91 m! Pakistan 175/4 (18 overs).

16:27 (IST): Shahid Afridi is on a rampage! He has quickly raced to 14 off just six balls and that last over from Shane Watson had a 98 m six and an overhead four in it, thanks to Afridi. Pakistan 162/4 (17 overs)

16:19 (IST): WICKET! Sohaib Maqsood b Nathan Coulter-Nile. Pakistan 147/4 (15.5 overs).

 

16:17 (IST): Last five overs coming up for Pakistan. They need to get the maximum runs out of them. PAK 140-3 (15 overs). Umar Akmal (70*), Sohaib Maqsood (4*).

 

16:04 (IST): WICKET! Kamran Akmal c David Warner b Nathan Coulter-Nile 31. Pakistan 121/3 (12.5 overs).

 

15:59 (IST): Umar Akmal brings up his 6th T20I fifty with a six in just 28 balls. Pakistan 114/2 (12 overs).

 

15:54 (IST): At the halfway stage, Pakistan look good now at 83/2 (10 overs). Umar Akmal hit Shane Watson for a six off the fourth ball of the tenth over, the first of the innings. Umar Akmal (34*), Kamran Akmal (24*).

 

15:45 (IST): DROPPED! Umar Akmal was trying to hit Nathan Coulter-Nile for a six but it was dropped by Brad Hogg in the deep! Pakistan 56/2 (8 overs). Kamran Akmal (9*), Umar Akmal (23*)

 

15:37 (IST): So, the powerplay has yielded 36 runs for Pakistan but they have also lost two wickets. Pakistan 36/2 (6 overs). Kamran Akmal (7*), Umar Akmal (8*)

 

15:26 (IST): WICKET! Mohammad Hafeez b Shane Watson 13. Commentator's curse! Pakistan 25/2 (4.2 overs).

 

15:25 (IST): Mohammad Hafeez has adopted the right approach to things in order to stabilise the Pakistan innings. He is defending the good deliveries and is on a lookout for the bad ones to place them for nice, easy boundaries. He got two consecutive fours in that last over from Doug Bollinger. Pakistan 25-1 (4 overs).

 

15:12 (IST): WICKET! Ahmed Shehzad c & b Doug Bollinger 5. That was a poor shot from Ahmed Shehzad! He was trying to pull that one from the off-side but it was not short enough. A top-edge was produced by Shehzad and it went straight into the air as Bollinger caught it off his own bowling. Pakistan 7/1 (1.4 overs).

 

15:10 (IST): An interesting first over to start things up in the match. Ahmed Shehzad hit Mitchell Starc for a four off the first ball and then took a single off the next. Kamran Akmal barely survived a caught behind dismissal on the very next ball but it had bounced before it went in wicketkeeper Brad Haddin's direction. Pakistan 6/0 (1 over). Kamran Akmal (1*), Ahmed Shehzad (5*)

Playing XIs

Australia

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

Pakistan

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

14:33 (IST): Australia win the toss and elect to bowl first vs Pakistan at Mirpur. Junaid Khan makes way for Zulfiqar Babar in the Pakistan team who choose to play an extra spinner.

 

 

Preview

Injury-plagued Australia begin their quest for the only major title missing from their overflowing cupboard when they clash with shaky Pakistan in the ICC World Twenty20 in Dhaka on Sunday. Pakistan's seven-wicket drubbing at India's hands on Friday night should give Australia added confidence for the group two Super-10 game at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium. But skipper George Bailey refused to take victory for granted, insisting instead that it was spin-heavy Pakistan that held the advantage.

"I don't think we have any advantage," Bailey said. "If anything, they have probably got the advantage in terms of having played here and got used to the conditions.

"We have not played at this ground yet. It is going to be fresh for us. We have to adjust pretty quickly."

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. (Read more)

In the shortest format of the game, the Australians have clearly gone for a horses-for-courses policy by including 43-year-old Brad Hogg and 39-year-old Brad Hodge in their 15-man squad. The Australians have the experience, the depth and variety to pick their first XI against any opposition.

One of the most unpredictable teams in modern day international cricket, fourth-ranked Pakistan would be aiming for a 2009 repeat. Under new coach Moin Khan, the team will be hoping for an injection of fresh ideas.

The batting will be boosted by the presence of Muhammad Hafeez, Umar Akmal and evergreen all-rounder Afridi. In Saeed Ajmal they have a quality spinner who will find the slow turning tracks of the sub-continent to his liking. The responsibility of the fast bowling department shall be borne by Umar Gul along with youngsters Bilawal Bhatti and Muhammad Talha.

Faulkner to miss Pakistan tie

Australia will miss all-rounder James Faulkner for their opening World Twenty20 match against Pakistan here on Sunday. Faulkner, who rose to prominence with Indian Premier League franchise Rajasthan Royals, is yet to recover from a knee injury.

Australian captain George Bailey said Faulkner could have played the match but didn't want to risk aggravating the injury further. (Read more)

Squads

Australia: George Bailey (captain), Doug Bollinger, Dan Christian, Nathan Coulter-Nile, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Brad Haddin (wicketkeeper), Brad Hodge, Brad Hogg, Glenn Maxwell, James Muirhead, Mitchell Starc, DAvid Warner, Shane Watson, Cameron White

Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez (captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Bilawal Bhatti, Junaid Khan, Kamran Akmal(wicketkeeper, Mohammad Talha, Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi, Sharjeel Khan, Shoaib Malik, Sohaib Maqsood, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Akmal†, Umar Gul, Zulfiqar Babar