Hello and welcome to the LIVE coverage from the third quarterfinal between Australia and Pakistan at Adelaide. Scorecard
Pakistan have been bowled out for a modest total of 213 runs after batting first against Australia. The well-oiled Australian bowling unit landed crucial blows at regular intervals to bundle out the opposition for a modest total. In fact, it could be said that the poor shot selection by most of Pakistan’s batsmen also played a part in them losing the plot. The pacers generally bowled with good control to join the dots and frustrate the batsmen. The strategy worked superbly for them.
It was the impressive Mitchell Starc, who made the initial breakthrough by snaffling Sarfraz Ahmed’s wicket. Sarfraz’s tendency to guide it through the slip cordon cost his wicket. The metronomic Josh Hazlewood, known for his unrelenting control and untiring stamina, then struck by sending Ahmed Shehzad back to the pavilion. For the umpteenth time in his career, Misbah-ul-Haq had to lead from the front.
He bided his time before clouting Glenn Maxwell for a couple of sixes. However, in an attempt to up the scoring rate he perished and was dismissed by Maxwell. Haris Sohail had his fair share of luck, before he threw his wicket away. Pakistan found themselves in more trouble, when Umar Akmal too gifted his wicket away. Shahid Afridi slashed and bashed his way to play a cameo, but today was the day he needed to crack a half-century.
Teams:
Australia: David Warner, Aaron Finch, Steven Smith, Michael Clarke(c), Shane Watson, Glenn Maxwell, Brad Haddin(w), James Faulkner, Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood
Pakistan: Ahmed Shehzad, Sarfraz Ahmed(w), Haris Sohail, Misbah-ul-Haq(c), Sohaib Maqsood, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Khan, Rahat Ali, Ehsan Adil
Toss and team news: Pakistan won the toss and opted to bat. Australia have made one change to their team by replacing Pat Cummins with Josh Hazlewood, while Pakistan are unchanged.
Preview: Hosts Australia will have to counter a rising and unpredictable Pakistan in the third cricket World Cup quarter-final at the Adelaide Oval.
While four-time World Cup winners Australia can easily be termed as favourites going by the past performance and the arsenal they possess, pressure of expectations will be high on Michael Clarke’s men.
They finished second in Pool A with four wins. They lost a match against New Zealand and shared a point with Bangladesh due to rain. They will once again be hoping to overcome the pressure of expectations and Pakistan on a pitch expected to suit fast bowlers.
Meanwhile Misbah-ul Haq’s Pakistan are on a roll. They won four consecutive matches to enter the last eight contest after losing the first two games against India and the West Indies.
The worry for Pakistan will be whether it can weather Australia’s bowling attack, as only one Pakistani player has hit a century in the tournament so far, and that was only in the dying stages of their win over Ireland last week.
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World Cup Live Score: Australia vs Pakistan, 3rd Quarterfinal
