Xavier Bartlett, who was hit for 52 runs with the ball, is keen for a quick response. “You’ve got to give credit where credit’s due. Pakistan played unbelievable, with both bat and ball, but we’re better for the run, and hopefully we can at least make the series 2-1 tomorrow.”
After Salman Agha had won the toss and opted to lead from the front for the hosts, hammering 76 off 40 balls with four thumping sixes, wicketkeeper Usman Khan kept up the pressure with a 35-ball half-century.
Cameron Green hits out against Pakistan in Lahore.Credit: Getty Images
Bartlett (1-52) went at 13 an over, and Matt Kuhnemann’s spin (1-40) was deposited for 10 an over, with experienced legspinner Adam Zampa once again the pick of the Australian attack with his 1-27, while Cooper Connolly (1-30) also did well.
Zampa snared Babar Azam lbw for just two to continue the concerns in Pakistan about their batting hero’s lean run.
Chasing 199 always looked a tough task, and once Abrar Ahmed, the spinner nicknamed Harry Potter for his wizardry, trapped Marsh lbw in the third over before Saim Ayub (1-32) bowled Travis Head the very next ball with one that kept low, it soon felt hopeless.
Abrar (3-14) then got Josh Inglis (five) with a devilish wrong ’un the next over, with only Cam Green’s sixth-over assault on Ayub, with two sixes and a four, giving a flicker of hope before Matt Renshaw was trapped lbw by Mohammad Nawaz for just two and Cooper Connolly was skittled by Shadab Khan (3-26) for one.
Once Green (35 off 20) was dismissed by Tariq (2-16), only Matt Short, fresh from the disappointment of being left out of the World Cup squad, was able to mount any kind of last stand with his 27 off 23 balls.
AAP
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