Player of the Match
Player of the Match

That's it from all of us. Thank you for tuning in. See you tomorrow for the final of the series. Goodbye and goodnight :)

Mitchell Marsh, Australia Captain: Well done to Pakistan, hopefully we turn around tomorrow. The series was still alive before today, as I said Pakistan outplayed us. Hopefully we can improve and come back tomorrow. They put us under great pressure in the powerplay; it was probably a 160-170 wicket. We have got experienced guys who know that partnerships are really important in run-chases. We were not able to do that today. So some really good lessons.

Salman Ali Agha, Pakistan Captain & Player of the Match: It has to be a perfect game. We batted well in the powerplay and middle and we were outstanding with the ball. Fielding was outstanding. I can easily say it was a perfect game for us and we want to replicate it tomorrow. That's why I promoted myself at No. 3 because I know I can play spin well and intend to do the same in Sri Lanka. (On Usman Khan's knock) We know he is a very good player of spin bowling, probably the best player in our team against spin. We knew his ability and we know it's going to come soon. Hope he plays in the same way. We want to continue to play in the same way and I want the same from my team....tp forget the 2-0 and come again (play in the same fashion). Hopefully we can come and entertain the Lahore crowd again tomorrow.

Opting to bat first on a relatively better pitch, Pakistan went all guns blazing and stuck to their aggressive style of play. Saim Ayub got to 23 in no time and then Salman Agha brought every shot in his armory to the fore, racing to 76 off 40 balls and never allowing anyone to settle. Babar Azam couldn't create an impact once again and was struck LBW by Adam Zampa for two. From there, Usman Khan stepped up and scored a pivotal half-century, ensuring the platform for a big score wasn't thrown away. In the end, Pakistan posted an impregnable total taking into consideration their rich spin bowling resources. Australia never really got going and Pakistan's introduction of spinners in the powerplay worked perfectly. There was no innings of note, only some starts, making it a one-sided contest in the end as Australia's struggles against spin continue. Pakistan were smart and assessed the conditions splendidly, bowling slower than their counterparts. Abrar Ahmed and Shadab Khan picked up three wickets each, Usman Tariq got two and Mohammad Nawaz was tidy as well. There was no respite for the visitors and wickets kept falling regularly. A lot of thinking and reflection awaits Australia before the all-important World Cup. They will need Steve Smith and perhaps Glenn Maxwell, both with heaps of experience playing in the subcontinent

Mustafa Moudi : "While Australia have dominated in other 2 Formats, they have failed to do well in this shortest format which is the reason why it took really long for them to lift the first T20 WC and that too with bit of Luck. I feel they need to focus on Specialists, who can also bat sensibly rather than a Lot of All-Rounders who just believe in slogging without actually shaping their innings towards the target !!"

Umer: "Call it a B team or whatever but this is some seriously good performace by the Pakistan team just on the erge of the worldcup"

Ryan: "If Babar's batting can match his catching, his stocks will certainly rise. Really feel for him."

Aabis: "Reckon this is the perfect combination for Pakistan. They should keep this playing eleven for the t20 world cup in Sri Lanka. Conditions there will suit spinners. With addition of Faheem Ashraf, they will have an option of a fast medium if need be, otherwise play one between Naseem/Shaheen/Salman Mirza and keep Usman Tariq, Abrar, Shadab, Nawaz, Saim Ayub. Agha can also spin his arm if need be. There can't be a better bowling attack considering spin conditions in Sri Lanka."

sheppy_ son97: "I've long thought the ICC need to consider removing the toss in bilateral international games. How many times do we see the toss determining who wins especially in the subcontinent. The idea behind no toss would mean the home teams would prepare much more balanced pitches knowing they have to bat/bowl under the worst conditions"

15.4
W
Usman Tariq to Kuhnemann, OUT, Around the wicket, drops short and gets it to spin across off, he comes down the track and edges it to first slip! Pakistan win by a hefty margin of 90 runs! Fittingly Salman Agha takes a clean catch and he has clearly led from the front in this game with his bat and tactical acumen

MP Kuhnemann c Agha Salman b Usman Tariq 2 (4m 4b 0x4 0x6) SR: 50

15.3
1
Usman Tariq to Zampa, 1 run, length ball googly on middle, connected to deep midwicket
15.2
1
Usman Tariq to Kuhnemann, 1 run, Around the wicket, tosses it up wide of off and he pulls it away to long-on. A big pause, as if he got zoned out and wasn't fully in the present moment, not an easy action to decipher.
15.1
1
Usman Tariq to Zampa, 1 run, over the wicket, shorter and outside off, forehands it to long-off

END OF OVER:
15 | 7 Runs 1 Wkt | AUS: 105/9 (94 runs required from 30 balls, RR: 7.00, RRR: 18.80)

  • Adam Zampa1 (1b)
  • Matthew Kuhnemann1 (2b)
  • Abrar Ahmed3-0-14-3
  • Shadab Khan4-0-26-3
14.6
1
Abrar Ahmed to Zampa, 1 run, One slip in place. Slower googly from wide of off, allows it to come closer at him, patted to short cover-point
14.5
W
Abrar Ahmed to Short, OUT, Mistimed it, straight into the hands of Babar Azam at long-off! Pushed fuller and gets it to turn away from off, takes the bait and loops it up, Babar didn't have to move much to gobble that up. Short's fighting knock comes to an end, Pakistan just one wicket away from a resounding series win

MW Short c Babar Azam b Abrar Ahmed 27 (12m 23b 3x4 0x6) SR: 117.39

14.4
4
Abrar Ahmed to Short, FOUR, Stands tall and thrashes it into the gap at long-on and deep midwicket, slower wrong'un on middle, planted his front leg and timed it to perfection, beautiful stroke!
14.3
1
Abrar Ahmed to Kuhnemann, 1 run, Pushed in the air and drops short of Babar at long-off
14.2
0
Abrar Ahmed to Kuhnemann, no run, Around the wicket, tossed up and turning it towards off-stump, blocked with soft hands
14.1
1
Abrar Ahmed to Short, 1 run, driven along the floor to long-on for a run

END OF OVER:
14 | 10 Runs 2 Wkts | AUS: 98/8 (101 runs required from 36 balls, RR: 7.00, RRR: 16.83)

  • Matthew Short22 (20b)
  • Shadab Khan4-0-26-3
  • Usman Tariq2-0-13-1
13.6
W
Shadab Khan to Abbott, OUT, Over the wicket, chopped it back onto the stumps! Back of a length and came back prodigiously, too close to cut, and the wheels continue to come off for Australia

SA Abbott b Shadab Khan 0 (7m 1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0

13.5
W
Shadab Khan to Bartlett, OUT, Taken at long-on by Babar, Bartlett's ebullience comes to an end, took the aerial route but not much oomph behind the shot

XC Bartlett c Babar Azam b Shadab Khan 10 (1m 9b 0x4 1x6) SR: 111.11

13.4
1
Shadab Khan to Short, 1 run, Slower legbreak turning away from a wide off-stump line, presses it towards long-on region
13.3
1
Shadab Khan to Bartlett, 1 run, Quicker on a length outside off, clatters it away to short cover
13.2
6
Shadab Khan to Bartlett, SIX, Manufactures six with super hand-eye coordination, pumps it over long-on was fuller in his arc and he gave it full swing
13.1
1
Shadab Khan to Short, 1 run, Tries a ramp and is doesn't get the desired connection, off the bat and fielder mops it up in the deep

Shehryar Ahmed: "I have noticed Usman Tariq sometimes uses an extremely sideways action nearly parallel to the ground like the delivery to dismiss Green. Does he do it purely for confusion or when he's trying to do something different?"

13.1
1w
Shadab Khan to Short, 1 wide, Over the wicket, shorter and spins away from the marker on off, given a wide

END OF OVER:
13 | 7 Runs | AUS: 88/6 (111 runs required from 42 balls, RR: 6.76, RRR: 15.85)

  • Xavier Bartlett3 (6b)
  • Matthew Short20 (18b)
  • Usman Tariq2-0-13-1
  • Shadab Khan3-0-16-1

Benjamin Maina: "Pakistan's spinners out here writing a mystery novel. Australia currently dying by spin, one wrong read at a time."

12.6
0
Usman Tariq to Bartlett, no run, Looped up and keeps it stumps-to-stumps, jammed back to the bowler
12.5
1
Usman Tariq to Short, 1 run, Over the wicket, good length and spinning. back at middle, makes room and jabbed it to sweeper cover
12.4
4
Usman Tariq to Short, FOUR, Low-arm skinny and slow towards middle and leg, brings. the broom out and nails the sweep shot to perfection, executed to perfection

Australia 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st22MR MarshTM Head
2nd0TM HeadC Green
3rd7JP InglisC Green
4th24MT RenshawC Green
5th1C GreenCPL Connolly
6th22MW ShortC Green
7th22MW ShortXC Bartlett
8th0SA AbbottMW Short
9th6MW ShortMP Kuhnemann
10th4A ZampaMP Kuhnemann