Wahab Riaz bowled the spell of his life to inject life into the contest, but Australia rode their luck and a fine innings from Steven Smith to win the game by six wickets. Pakistan have only themselves to blame for the defeat, as first their batsmen threw it away after getting starts, and then the fielders dropped two big catches at crucial junctures of the match. Live Updates: Australia vs Pakistan, ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 quarter-final
Aaron Finch and David Warner failed to get going right at the start, with Finch falling LBW to Sohail Khan for two. Finch consulted with Warner before going for the DRS review, but it proved to be a complete waste as the ball would have struck the middle of middle and leg. Wahab then came on and had Warner out slashing to third man for 24. Live Scorecard: Australia vs Pakistan, ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 quarter-final
Michael Clarke came in at No. 4, but looked a far cry from his usual fluent self. Wahab was bowling one of the quickest spells seen so far, and banged one in short to Clarke. The Australian captain fended the ball off his body to short leg to be dismissed for eight. That brought out Shane Watson, promoted ahead of Glenn Maxwell. Wahab by this point was spewing venomous snorters, and got after Watson from Ball One. Top 10 batsmen in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
Wahab had Watson completely unsettled, staring him down and applauding him for merely surviving. He continued to keep Watson in complete submission with a barrage of short balls. Watson finally succumbed, top-edging the pull to Rahat Ali at fine leg when he was on four. Unfortunately for Pakistan and for Wahab, Rahat dropped an absolute sitter. Watson went on to score a fighting half-century. Top 10 bowlers in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
That proved to be the start of the end of Pakistan’s fight, as Steven Smith took charge. He batted serenely, seemingly indifferent to what was going on at the other end. His 65 came off 69 deliveries and ensured Australia came within striking distance of a win before he was trapped in front of the wickets by Ehsan Adil. Maxwell came in and played a ridiculous swipe that took the top edge to third man where Sohail Khan failed to hold on to a tough chance. After that it was only a matter of time as Maxwell played his customary cameo as Australia pulled off a resounding victory. Top 10 fielders in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
If there was any doubts about which team were favourites to win the third quarter-final of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 between Australia and Pakistan, the Pakistani batsmen laid them to rest. The mercurial men in green hit the self-destruct button every time they seemed like they would take charge to leave themselves defending a paltry 214. Top 10 wicketkeepers in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
Sarfraz Ahmed and Ahmed Shehzad got off to a watchful start, putting on 20 in 4.3 overs before Sarfraz was done in by Mitchell Starc. The credit for the wicket ought to go to Shane Watson though, who took a blinder at slip that swerved away at the last moment. Four runs later, Ahmed Shehzad was dismissed by a delivery from Josh Hazlewood that would have made Glenn McGrath weep with joy. It was the out-swinger’s dream: pitching on middle and off, moving enough to take the outside edge, and carrying through to Michael Clarke at slip.
Haris Sohail and Misbah-ul-Haq then performed the usual resuscitation, adding 73 for the third wicket. Misbah looked good, bringing out the big hits at periodic intervals. The slog over midwicket was eventually his undoing though, as he holed out to Aaron Finch of Glenn Maxwell for 34 off 59 deliveries. Haris was out soon after, edging Mitchell Johnson behind to Brad Haddin for 41 off 57. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: SCHEDULE & MATCH DETAILS
After that it was just a procession, as one Pakistan batsman after the other got in, looked good, and then threw it away with a poor shot. Umar Akmal swiped a rank short ball from Maxwell to Finch at deep midwicket for 20. Shahid Afridi came out all guns blazing, hammering three fours and a six in his 15-ball 23 before smashing one to Finch, again at deep midwicket. Sohaib Maqsood looked to go over cover, and ended up splicing the ball to the fielder instead having scored 29, while Wahab Riaz — the last man with any batting prowess — edged Starc to Haddin to help Starc overtake Mohammed Shami once again as leading wicket-taker of the tournament. Pakistan managed to huff and puff to 213 to give their bowlers something to bowl at. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Complete Coverage
Brief scores:
Pakistan 213 in 49.5 overs (Haris Sohail 41, Misbah-ul-Haq 34; Josh Hazlewood 4 for 35, Mitchell Starc 2 for 40) lose to Australia 216 for 4 in 33.5 overs (Steven Smith 65, Shane Watson 60*; Wahab Riaz 2 for 54) by 6 wickets.
Man of the Match: Josh Hazlewood
(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a self-confessed Sci-Fi geek and Cricket fanatic. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)
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