Australia put their best foot forward in a revitalising 62-run win over Pakistan here on Friday.
If David Warner and Mitchell Marsh symbolised Australia’s insatiability with the bat, it was Adam Zampa’s guile on a difficult pitch that helped the five-time champions record back-to-back victories after beginning the World Cup with consecutive losses.
Brutal hundreds by Warner (163 off 124 balls) and Marsh (121 off 108 balls) led Australia to an imposing 367/9. The Pakistan batters fought valiantly but could only manage 305 as leg-spinner Zampa (4/53) inflicted timely blows.
As they labour to bring their World Cup campaign back on track, Australia will owe this win mostly to their strong batting performance, for which they will thank both Warner, who hammered his 21st ODI hundred, and Marsh, his second ton.
The Aussie openers amassed 259 runs in just 203 balls, and it was only the fourth instance in World Cup history that both openers notched centuries in the same match.
Australia needed a dominant show to spruce up their confidence and they got that from Friday’s game.
Lapses on field
Pakistan were guilty of being poor on the field and letting the Aussies off the hook. Left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi’s five-wicket haul (5/54) proved that with a little more discipline, they could have restricted Australia to a much lower total.
Warner, who was dropped twice on 10 and 105, and Marsh were at their marauding best against a Pakistan attack that lacked direction.
Australia’s other centurion and birthday boy Mitchell Marsh after reaching his second ODI ton in Bangalore. PTI photo
They were either too full, too short or strayed on to the leg side, and the Aussie batters did not need any second invitation to exploit the flowing freebies.
All this could have been a tad different for Pakistan had Usama Mir, who replaced Shadab Khan, held on to a simple skier from Warner off Afridi. Warner was on 10 then in Australia’s total of 22.
The Aussie pair shared the second-best opening stand in World Cups after 282 between SL’s Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga in 2011.
Spirited chase
Pakistan began their chase fearlessly. Openers Imam-ul Haq made his first fifty (70 off 71 balls) of this tournament, while Abdullah Shafique (64 off 61 balls) continued his fine touch after coming in for injured Fakhar Zaman. Together, they scored 134 in 127 balls.
Like Pakistan, Australia too dropped chances. Imam was dropped on 48 by Pat Cummins off Glenn Maxwell, while Shafique was given a life by substitute Sean Abbot off Cummins on 27.
However, Marcus Stoinis got rid of both Imam and Shafique in quick succession and Zampa scalped the prized wicket of Babar as Pakistan hit the slide button.
Pakistan’s lower order attempted a revival, but it was not to be.
“The first 34 overs with the ball and our fielding cost us. We dropped Warner and such batters don’t spare you. Honestly, we have to get up to the mark in the first ten overs with the ball and partnerships in the middle with the bat,” was Babar’s assessment of his team after their second loss of the tournament.
With inputs from PTI
