“It was challenging at the top, it was swinging and seaming around”, man-of-the-match Wade said.
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Though Pakistan were not required to score huge runs, they lost wickets at regular intervals, which led to their downfall.
Hafeez passed 50 in the 25th over, and Pakistan was 1-101 at the halfway mark. Need to build partnerships, haven’t done that in the past two games.
But Pakistan took runs off the other bowlers, as the chase was never in trouble.
With little run-rate pressure, Pakistan were able to bat patiently and pick off the odd bad ball, which they did very effectively, hitting 26 boundaries to Australia’s 17. His promotion will surprise many just hours after head selector Trevor Hohns described him as a bowling all-rounder though Marsh has a much better record with the bat in the limited-overs formats.
For Pakistan, Hasan Ali scalped three wickets while Mohammad Amir and Imad Wsim took two wickets each.
Australia had faced only 16.3 overs when Wade joined No. 6 Glenn Maxwell and the duo turned the tide of the innings with a partnership of 82 runs from 14.4 overs. “The team’s going really well, the younger guys are playing well and I feel like we’re in a really good spot”.
Half of the Australian team already back to pavilion.
Cummins thought he had Shoaib caught behind, but it was overturned on review. They were backed up by Imad Wasim (2 for 37), the left-arm spinner, whose 10-over spell in the middle of the innings tied the batsmen down and slowed the scoring. Junaid, who was brought in place of Wahab Riaz, had two close lbw appeals against the risky David Warner turned down before he induced an edge to wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan on 16.
Big WICKET for Pakistan!
Australian captain Steve Smith of Australia looks horrified after dropping a slips catch against Pakistan.
Steve Smith has won the toss and elected to bat first.
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Taking the reins with Azhar Ali injured, Hafeez showcased astute captaincy and deftly mixed his bowlers to frustrate and befuddle Australia’s batting. Shoaib Malik also missed the first match due to illness and he could replace Mohammad Nawaz for the Sunday’s match, if declared fit.
