Stanlake tears through Pakistan for easy win

HARARE: Australia fast bowler Billy Stanlake rediscovered his aggressive streak to demolish Pakistan’s top order and set up a nine-wicket win for his side in the second match of the T20 tri-series in Zimbabwe.“The boys have been talking to me in the last few days about being a little more aggressive, so that’s why I came out and tried to do that,” said Stanlake.The tactic brought almost immediate success, and he went on to record figures of four for 8 in his opening burst, the most economical spell by an Australian in T20I cricket, and second only to James Faulkner’s 5 for 27 the last time these two teams met.His efforts were a complete turnaround from Australia’s last T20, against England, when Stanlake was carted for 47 in just three overs.Stanlake’s wickets, backed up by three quick strikes from Andrew Tye at the death and one each for Jhye Richardson and Marcus Stoinis, kept Pakistan to 116 all out, a score which Australia chased down with ease, captain Aaron Finch registering an unbeaten 68 as they cantered home with more than nine overs to spare.Shoaib Malik, who became the first male cricketer to play 100 T20Is in this game, briefly rallied alongside Asif Ali before a horrible mix-up led to his run out for 13. It was left to Pakistan’s lower order to guide the team beyond 100.Hasan Ali hurried D’Arcy Short’s pull to provide Pakistan with an early wicket, but Finch ensured there were no further slip-ups for the Australians.He countered Pakistan’s spin threat with faultless attacking strokes, twice launching Mohammad Nawaz over long on and leathering leg-spinner Shadab Khan for three more sixes as the game ended in a flurry of runs.Finch hit six sixes in all, and the game ended with a dropped catch at long on that went for four, summing up Pakistan’s day.Score BoardAustralia won tossPakistanMohammad Hafeez c Finch b Stanlake 0Fakhar Zaman c Carey b Stanlake 6Hussain Talat c Finch b Stanlake 10*†Sarfraz Ahmed c Finch b Stanlake 4Shoaib Malik run out 13Asif Ali b Stoinis 22Shadab Khan c Head b Tye 29Faheem Ashraf c Tye b Richardson 21Mohammad Nawaz c Agar b Tye 6Hasan Ali c Agar b Tye 0Usman Khan not out 0Extras (lb1, w4) 5Total (all out, 19.5 overs) 116Fall: 1-0, 2-12, 3-19, 4-24, 5-47, 6-61, 7-91, 8-114, 9-116, 10-116Bowling: Stanlake 4-0-8-4 (1w); Richardson 4-0-22-1 (1w); Stoinis 3-0-17-1 (1w); Tye 3.5-0-38-3 (1w); Agar 4-0-27-0; Maxwell 1-0-3-0AustraliaD Short c Hussain b Hasan 15*A Finch not out 68T Head not out 20Extras (lb5, w9) 14Total (1 wicket, 10.5 overs) 117Did not bat: G Maxwell, N Maddinson, M Stoinis, †A Carey, A Agar, A Tye, J Richardson, B StanlakeFall: 1-35Bowling: Usman 3-0-31-0; Nawaz 2-0-22-0; Hasan 2-0-18-1; Shadab 3.5-0-41-0Result: Australia won by 9 wicketsMan of the Match: Billy Stanlake (Australia)Umpires: Jeremiah Matibiri (Zimbabwe), Russell Tiffin (Zimbabwe). TV umpire: Iknow Chabi (Zimbabwe). Match referee: Jeff Crowe (New Zealand)

from The News International - Sports https://ift.tt/2KwRSr6