Australia and Pakistan clashed in the 18th match of the ICC World Cup 2023 tournament in Bengaluru on October 20. Australia came into this match having lost two games and winning one. Pakistan had won two games and lost to India.
Babar Azam won the toss and chose to bowl first. But Australian openers David Warner and Mitchell Marsh added 259 runs for the first wicket to make him regret the decision. Warner scored 163 with 14 fours and 9 sixes and Marsh made 121 with 10 fours and 9 sixes.
Shaheen Afridi picked 5/54 as Pakistan pulled back the scoring rate somewhat as Australia made 367/9 in 50 overs.
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In reply, Pakistani openers Imam Ul Haq (70) and Abdullah Shafique (64) added 134 runs in 21.4 overs. But Marcus Stoinis dismissed them both and after their dismissals, Pakistan failed to maintain the required run rate which climbed with every wicket.
Mohammad Rizwan (46), Saud Shakeel (30), and Iftikhar Ahmed (26) all tried to score quickly and fell doing so. Adam Zampa picked 4/53, while Stoinis and Pat Cummins took two wickets each.
Pakistan was bundled out for 305 runs and lost by 62 runs. David Warner was named the Player of the Match for his 163 runs.
With this win, Australia moved to the 4th spot in the points table, while Pakistan slipped to the 5th spot. Australia will next face the Netherlands in Delhi on October 25, while Pakistan’s next clash will be against Afghanistan in Chennai on October 23.
The cricket fraternity reacted to Australia’s clinical win over Pakistan and lauded the winning team on X.
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