James Faulkner yesterday took a record five-wicket haul after Steve Smith hit an unbeaten half-century to help Australia post a 21-run win and knock Pakistan out of the World Twenty20.
The stage for a comfortable Australian win was set by an unbeaten 61-run knock from skipper Smith, who shared key stands with Shane Watson (44 not out) and Glenn Maxwell (30) to rescue his side from a shaky 57-3.
Faulkner took four wickets from his last six balls and also accounted for the dangerous Sharjeel Khan (30) to finish with 5-27, the best figures by an Australian in a T20 international.
Pakistan could only manage 172-8 in reply to Australia’s strong 193-4 on a docile track in Mohali.
Rookie leg-spinner Adam Zampa chipped in with two wickets in a commendable all-round show by the reigning 50-over world champions.
The defeat saw Pakistan, the 2009 winners, make a humiliating early exit from the marquee T20 tournament.
Pakistan lost wickets at regular intervals and were never really in the hunt despite a valiant counterattack by Khalid Latif (46).
After losing opener Ahmed Shehzad (1) cheaply in the third over, Sharjeel tried to speed things up before chopping on to his stumps off Faulkner.
Umar Akmal (32) lost his wicket to Zampa and “Boom Boom” Shahid Afridi was stumped after he danced down the track to attempt an ambitious shot to the same bowler.
The Australians were in early trouble but Smith, 26, batted sensibly to ensure his side did not squander the advantage of batting first.
Smith hit seven boundaries in his 43-ball knock and completed his second half-century in T20 internationals in the process.
Watson, who has announced he will quit international cricket after the tournament, came in lower down the order and provided some late fireworks in a 21-ball knock which included three sixes.
Paceman Wahab Riaz and spinner Imad Wasim took two wickets each in an otherwise lackluster show by the Pakistani bowlers and fielders.
Australia opted for a new opening pair in Aaron Finch and Usman Khawaja for the crunch tie at the Punjab Cricket Association ground.
Khawaja, enjoying a purple patch with the bat, showed his aggressive intent early as he hit an off-color Mohammad Sami (53-0) for two fours in the first over of the innings.
The left-hander then lofted Riaz over the fence for a six, but he was out one ball later, losing his middle stump to the fast bowler.
Riaz then dismissed David Warner (9) with a ball that knocked off the stumps in a spectacular fashion.
Finch (15) was the next to go, failing to read a slow and low ball from Wasim.
Smith and Maxwell then steadied the innings, with a quick-fire 62-run partnership before Wasim made the breakthrough.
Aaliyah Edwards on Monday pulled off the stunner of the opening round of the Unrivaled one-on-one tournament, beating top-seeded Breanna Stewart 12-0. The tournament to be played over three days featured 23 of the WNBA’s 36 players. A few had other commitments and a couple others were out with injuries. Stewart got the ball first against Edwards and missed a contested layup. Edwards then hit a three-pointer from the corner and a jumper from the elbow to go up 5-0. The player who scores keeps the basketball. Edwards hit two layups and a three-pointer to seal the win. Stewart, a two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player,
The Philippines curling team has been rocking it in Harbin, claiming the tropical nation’s first Asian Winter Games medal yesterday with a victory in the men’s final against South Korea. The team of Marc Pfister, Alan Frei, Christian Haller, Enrico Pfister and alternate Benjo Delarmente took gold with a 5-3 win at Harbin Pingfang Curling Arena. The Philippines Olympic Committee was quick to celebrate with a post on Instagram to mark the historic gold. “This is the first-ever medal for the Philippines at the Asian Winter Games, and the highest achievement for a Southeast Asian athlete in the Games’ history! What an incredible
Taiwan’s Lin Yun-ju and Kao Cheng-jui were defeated by their Chinese counterparts 3-0 on Saturday in the men’s doubles final at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Singapore Smash. Lin and Kao received their silver medals after being defeated by third-seeded duo Lin Shidong and Wang Chuqin of China 2-11, 4-11, 11-13. The Taiwan pair were left playing catch-up early in the match after the Chinese duo proved unstoppable in the first and second game. Although Lin and Kao picked up their pace in the third game and at one point took a 10-8 lead, they were crucially unable to take
Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien on Tuesday dumped compatriot and second seed Hsieh Su-wei out of the women’s doubles at the Qatar Open to set up another potential Taiwanese showdown, while world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka suffered a shock defeat in the second round. Wu and partner Jiang Xinyu, who earlier this year won the ASB Classic in Auckland and the Hobart International, defeated Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-2, 6-7 (3/7), 10-5 in 1 hour, 29 minutes on Grandstand Court 3 at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex. Wu and Jiang on Sunday advanced to the round-of-16 with a 7-6 (7/7),
RSS