Finch, Stanlake lead Australia to nine-wicket win against Pakistan

Published July 2, 2018
Australian cricket players celebrate the wicket of Pakistan batsman Muhammad Hafeez, center, as he walks off the pitch during the T20 cricket match at Harare Sports Club, Monday. — AP
Australian cricket players celebrate the wicket of Pakistan batsman Muhammad Hafeez, center, as he walks off the pitch during the T20 cricket match at Harare Sports Club, Monday. — AP

Australia thrashed Pakistan on Monday to win the second T20I of the Zim-Aus-Pak tri-series by nine wickets in Harare.

Thanks to Aaron Finch's 68 runs off just 33 balls, the Aussies cruised to victory in the game in just under 11 overs. D'Arcy Short (15) was the only batsman out for the team in the 117-run chase.

Earlier, all-rounders Shadab Khan and Faheem Ashraf again proved their underrated prowess with the bat as their cameos helped Pakistan put together 116 runs against Australia after the team's top order had endured a horrific collapse.

After the top five batsmen were out for just 47 runs on the board, middle-order batsman Asif Ali staged a late resurgence with 22 runs off 20 deliveries.

Shoaib Malik, who became the first male player to complete a century of T20Is today, was run out for 13. Faheem (21) and Shadab (29) then helped Pakistan reach 116 in their second match of the tri-series being played in Zimbabwe.

Aussie pacer Billy Stanlake, who took four wickets for his team while giving away only eight runs in his four-over quota, was declared the player of the match.

Pakistan, in the series opener yesterday, had beaten Zimbabwe by 74 runs.

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