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Australia have recorded a very strong 21 run win over Pakistan to keep their World T20 campaign alive in Mohali on the back of a half century from captain Steve Smith and fantastic bowling performance from James Faulkner.
Faulkner would end up with five wickets defending a score of 193, brought about by a massive Steve Smith and Shane Watson partnership.
The match started in the favour of Australia, but Pakistan would even things up very quickly. On the back of Usman Khawaja, Australia would move along at about 9 runs per over but two wickets in the powerplay and one straight after kept Pakistan in the contest.
Steve Smith was then joined by Glenn Maxwell who scored 30 and played one of his more mature innings. With Maxwell disappearing. Shane Watson would then put on 79 runs with Smith at about 12 runs per over.
Watson would end with 44 and Smith 61. Smith did a great job of working it around and picking the gaps, while Watson had a strike rate of over 200.
Pakistan’s bowlers struggled to keep their bowling accurate and consistent, serving up far too many bad balls.
In return, Pakistan had a similar powerplay to Australia, scoring at about eight runs per over but losing two important wickets.
Sharjeel Khan was the chief destroyer early on, but when he departed for 30 off 19 the pressure was on. Umar Akmal and Khalid Latif then joined for a strong partnership but there was little to follow and a regular flow of wickets hampered the Pakistan sides process.
Adam Zampa bowled fantastically picking up two wickets, while Josh Hazlewood was fantastic keeping things very economical and only going for 26 runs off his four overs.
James Faulkner was the pick though, bowling countless slower balls and ending up with five wickets and a man of the match to boot.
Australia then, keep their campaign alive needing to beat India on Sunday to qualify for the semi-finals. Pakistan on the other hand having played their last match are now out of contention.
Australia 4/193 (20) – Steve Smith 61 (43), Shane Watson 44 (21), Glenn Maxwell 30 (18), Imad Wasim 2/31 (4), Wahab Riaz 2/35 (4)
Pakistan 8/172 (20) – Khalid Latif 46 (41), Umar Akmal 32 (20), Sharjeel Khan 30 (19), James Faulkner 5/27 (4), Adam Zampa 2/32 (4)
Australia defeat Pakistan by 21 runs.
Australia and Pakistan do battle in a must win game at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in the ICC World T20. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage of the match from 8:30pm (AEDT).
The way that the Group B ladder of the Super 10 Phase now reads, whichever team loses this game is effectively out of contention to make the semi-finals.
New Zealand sit in first place with three victories, then come the hosts India with two. Australia and Pakistan sit on one a piece with Bangladesh out of contention and yet to win a game.
Australia still have a game up their sleeves, however for Pakistan this will be their fourth and final game of the tournament’s second round. Even if they win here, they will have to hope it is big enough to push well ahead of Australia in terms of net run rate and then hope India lose their final game.
With a game still to play, Australia may have the tiniest of chance still if they lose here. They couldn’t afford to lose by very much at all, as to keep their net run rate intact and then would need an absolute drubbing of India in their final game to surpass them and Pakistan on the ladder.
Australia have looked less than impressive in their two matches so far. They played New Zealand first up, falling short in a 143 run chase with some absolutely abysmal batting. In a game where they could have just glided singles the whole way home, they came out smashing and paid dearly for it.
They did managed to beat Bangladesh in their second game, but even that was far from convincing and relied on some shocking fielding from the Tigers.
Pakistan on the other hand have had an up-and-down tournament to say the least. They started strongly, amassing 200 runs against Bangladesh, before falling to India in a terrible way where their batting simply gave out. Their third game saw them take on New Zealand, with a comfortable win for the Black Caps.
Pakistan’s form has gone from bad to worse during the tournament, and it is hard to say which area of their game is the most important, or can be relied on. Pace bowling though, particularly that of Mohamed Amir, is going to be hugely important.
For Australia, it is about getting through the early period and containing Shahid Afridi. Getting to the end of the first powerplay unscathed is so, so important. Australia bat a long way down and for people like Glenn Maxwell and James Faulkner to do their job, a platform must be built.
Prediction
Australia have too much to play for here, and you can never be sure what you will get from Pakistan.
Be sure to join The Roar for live scores and coverage of this all important World T20 match from 8:30pm (AEDT) and don’t forget to add your own comments in the section below as the action unfolds.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde