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That's it from us, Abhinav and Rajarshi, as we conclude our coverage for what has been a memorable tour for both Australia and Pakistan. Pakistan's next fixtures aren't until June, when they host the West Indies for a 3-match ODI series. As for the Australians, before their tour to Sri Lanka in June for 3 T20Is, 5 ODIs and 2 Test matches, the majority of this team will travel to India to fulfill their IPL commitments, for which you can tune in to us as we bring you live coverage and a lot more. Good night!
Both the innings this game had a similar story to it. Pakistan, having put in to bat, got off to an absolute flier. Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam helped put Pakistan 63 in the first seven overs, before a double-strike from Cameron Green in his first over pegged the hosts back. From thereon, it was just a case akin to swatting flies as soon as they started to turn into a menace; none of the Pakistani middle-order batsmen were able to convert moderately good starts into something materialistic. The ground fielding and catching were like chalk and cheese compared to how Australia did in the third ODI; every chance that was offered to them were gobbled up, more or less. The wicket of Babar Azam in the 16th over shifted the responsibility of finishing the innings on Asif Ali, his dismissal the following over left it for Khushdil to complete, and once Khushdil got out, there seemed no way the hosts could raise a score good enough to defend. But amidst all the chaos, Hasan Ali chipped in with two hits, one to and the other over the fence, and then the late flourish came from the unlikeliest of sources, as Usman Qadir helped Pakistan get to 162 with a 6-ball 18.
Despite having lost Travis Head halfway into the powerplay, Australia took 63 off it, and there seemed no way back. Inglis was hitting the ball brilliantly, but then the Rizwan-Qadir combo struck twice to send both the Australian keeper and then Marnus Labuschagne. Qadir, right after dismissing Labuschagne, went on to have an absolute nightmare of an over, as he failed to get a grip over his line and length, spraying the ball everywhere, and Marcus Stoinis, a slow starter against spin, could not have asked for anything better. Stonis went to smash 5 fours in his 9-ball stay of 23 runs before Mohammad Wasim came back in style, knocking his stumps over. Two overs later, Wasim did the same with Cameron Green, and Pakistan were still in the game. Some very, very sensible batting from Aaron Finch and Ben McDermott after that helped Australia shorten the game with comfort. Shaheen Afridi, though, still had something to add to the game, as he snaffled out the well-set Aaron Finch first, and then Sean Abbott in the penultimate over. But it was too late by then, as an equation of 4 runs off the last over was a ask too tall for the hosts, particularly with McDermott taking strike. Haris Rauf strayed on the pads, and McDermott sealed the deal for Australia with three wickets to spare.
Aaron Finch receives the T20I trophy. He walks over to his team with it, as they now pose for the cameras.
Aaron Finch, Australia Captain and Player Of The Match: It certainly was a great experience. The way our bowlers have attacked in the game, such an inexperienced bowling group, they were fantastic. Nathan Ellis had a tough start, but then he showed real character, he came back and got some really important wickets, some good things have been happening in our team at the moment. Everything that we do is with one eye at the T20 World Cup, and for 50-Over Cricket, one eye at the 50-over World Cup. There have been a lot of great performances this tour. Really proud of the entire group, there has been some tough times, with the bubbles and hubs and everything for a long period of time, but the resilience the guys have shown over the last couple of years has been fantastic. To see so many young cricketers come up and get the opportunity for Australia and do well, it is super exciting. We were happy with the score we restricted Pakistan to today, especially with the start they got. Babar and Rizwan have been such fantastic players at the top of the order for a long time, anytime you can keep them to under a 180, I think that's a real credit to our bowling group, particularly in the middle-overs, when they managed to take wickets and stall the game; Cameron Green, turning the momentum of the game there. Glad we don't have to bowl at Babar anymore for a while. From the Australian cricket team and everyone at Cricket Australia, we're very very grateful to have the opportunity to be the first Australian touring team for 24 years and we're incredibly grateful for what the fans and the PCB have given us. It's been a wonderful tour, and we've loved every bit of it. To all the fans, thank you very much. You've made it an incredibly special tour for a lot of people.
Babar Azam, Pakistan Captain: The way Rizwan and I got off to a great start, we got a lot of momentum in the first 10 overs. But after that, the back-to-back wickets ensured that we fell about 20 runs short. We don't have too many T20I matches ahead of the T20 World Cup later this year, so we have been trying different combinations. Unfortunately, two of our main spinners, Shadab (Khan) and (Mohammad) Nawaz weren't fit, so, there were opportunities for our youngsters. Usman Qadir bowled well. As a captain, I've been satisfied by our team's recent performance in white-ball cricket. The whole team put in a lot of effort in the One Dayers. The learning process is ongoing as always, we'll try and convert our good traits into better and our bad traits into good ones. I want to thank the Australian team for touring, they've come to play in Pakistan after 24 years, I hope they've enjoyed playing here. The way the crowd has supported both teams, I'm sure they've had a great time.
Oh well, they had to now. Haris Rauf bowled one right at McDermott's pads, and McDermott, who has kept the most cool among the Australian middle-order, flicked it right past fine-leg to seal the deal. Australia, along with the Test series triumph, will also take home the T20I shield from this truly historic Pakistan tour, winning the game by 3 wickets. It was turning into a bit of a claustrophobic situation for them, but they have got the job done.
19.1 Haris Rauf to Ben McDermott, FOUR! GAME OVER! THE VISITORS GET OVER THE LINE! A wayward length delivery sliding down the leg. Ben on the frontfoot walks inside the line and clips the ball off his boots to the left of short fine leg fielder for a boundary to take his team to the victory shores! Australia win by 3 wickets
Pakistan just don't let up, do they? This match could have been over so long ago, but then again, it's the unpredictable Green Shirts. Nothing can be anticipated from them.
19
overs
159/7score
W
0
1
W
0
0
runs
Ben McDermott
18(18)
Ben Dwarshuis*
0(2)
Shaheen Afridi
2/21
18.6 Shaheen Shah Afridi to Ben Dwarshuis, fuller length ball bowled outside off. Ben backs away but can only drive the ball straight to extra cover. Right then, we go into the last over! 4 required in 6 balls!
Video
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M Rizwan
B McDermott
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Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
Ben McDermott
Shaheen Afridi
