Hello and welcome to Sportstar's live coverage of the World Cup 2019 match between Australia and Pakistan at Taunton.
LIVE UPDATES
Maxwell runs Sarfaraz out at the non-striker's end and that's the end of Pakistan! Sarfaraz was backing up to far and Maxwell was alert and hits the stumps directly to run the Pak skipper out. Australia wins by 41 runs after a lower order scare from Pakistan! That was as always unpredictable from Pakistan right from the first ball of the game. Here's Shawaz Lodhi on Pakistan - who are ' Unpredictably predictable '
PAK 266/9 in 45 overs: Pakistan requires 45 from 36 balls. Starc on for his ninth. WICKET! Starc beats Wahab's outside edge but umpire turns down the bowler's and 'keeper's appeals. Finch takes a DRS call with just one second to go. Snicko says there was an edge and the umpire overturns the decision! What a massive call from Finch! Wahab departs for 45. Amir walks in to join Sarfaraz and goes! He chops a full one onto his stumps and Pakistan is nine down. Shaheen keeps out the final delivery. Over to Sarfaraz now.
Finch turns to Starc... Partnership now worth 54 from 49 balls. Three runs from the over. Starc now has two overs left.
PAK 254/7 in 42 overs: Six again. Riaz has again smoked one into the stands. This is surely going down to the wire if Sarfaraz and Riaz stay till the end. Pakistan now needs 58 off 48.
PAK 244/7 in 41 overs: Riaz bringing the long handle to good use and hits Maxwell to a boundary and a six. Pakistan now needs 66 off 56.
PAK 228/7 in 39 overs: Wahab Riaz gets into position and pulls Coulter-Nile over square leg. Sarfaraz still out there after Pakistan threw away the momentum in the chase. Can Pakistan pull it off?
PAK 200/7 in 34 overs: Hassan smokes Richardson twice to the off-side boundary! WICKET! Richardson goes short and cross-seam next up and Hassan couldn't resists going after him. But, he only manages to get a top edge into the hands of Khawaja at fine-leg.
PAK 191/6 in 33 overs: Hassan goes after Maxwell now! He pulls one off balance over the long-on boundary for a six! That should help with the required rate but Pakistan only have four wickets in hand.
PAK 182/6 in 32 overs: Hassan Ali is isn't going to go quietly into the evening. He tonks Richardson over the leg side for two successive sixes!
PAK 160/6 in 30 overs: WICKET! No big hits from Asif, Richardson with the wicket. The ball takes off from a good length, kisses the bat's edge and goes into the gloves of Carey. Hassan Ali walks in at No. 8.
PAK 149/5 in 28 overs: WICKET! Three in three overs! Shoaib is out off just his second ball and it's Cummins again! The ball cuts Shoaib in half, gets an inside edge. Carey collects it one handed on the dive. Pakistan is losing its way here. Asif Ali walks in.
PAK 146/4 in 27 overs: Finch brings himself on and Sarfaraz sweeps him to the square leg boundary for a four. The Pak skipper nearly gets stumped off the next ball but Carey fumbles in his take. Oh dear oh dear... WICKET! Hafeez mis-hits a full toss straight into the hands of Starc at deep mid-wicket! Not even Hafeez will be able to explain that dismissal.
PAK 139/3 in 26 overs: Imam walks down the track and lofts Coulter-Nile for a boundary to bring up his fifty but disaster strikes Pakistan immediately after. WICKET! Cummins bowls a short ball down the leg side and Imam ends up nicking behind to Carey. A lucky break for the Aussies. Sarfaraz joins Hafeez.
PAK 126/2 in 23 overs: Pakistan is coasting along at the moment. Starc has largely been ineffective during his second burst with the batters not making any mistakes.
The lights are coming on at the venue.
PAK 110/2 in 20 overs: Starc is back for his fourth over. Hafeez is taking the pressure off Imam with his high risk shots as Pakistan gets a move along after Babar's dismissal.
100 up for Pakistan in the 19th over! The pair bring up the fifty run partnership.
Australia's fifth bowler option could hurt the side today. No spin of Adam Zampa or the medium pace of Marcus Stoinis in its line-up. Maxwell's four overs have cost 27 already for no wicket.
PAK 97/2 in 18 overs: Hafeez is cutting loose on Maxwell. Sweeps him aerially for a four before coming down the tracks and lofting him straight for a six! 14 runs from the over.
PAK 74/2 in 15 overs: Australia has reeled in the boundaries in the last four overs. Imam and Hafeez look to rebuild again for Pakistan as the run-rate drops below 5 rpo.
PAK 56/2 in 11 overs: WICKET! Babar throws it away after a fluent start! Coulter-Nile with a bouncer, Babar top edges a pull shot to Richardson at backward square leg. He departs for 30 off 28 balls. Mohammad Hafeez is the new man in.
50 ODI wickets for NCN!
Babar clips Richardson to the fine leg and Pakistan goes past fifty at the end of the powerplay overs. Fifty partnership comes up between the pair.
PAK 46/1 in 9 overs: A boundary each off Richardson and Coulter-Nile. Babar and Imam don't look troubled with their medium pace. There is still some movement off the pitch for Richardson.
Kane Richardson comes in first change as Australia looks to take some pace off the ball.
PAK 34/1 in 7 overs: Babar is dishing out some crunching cover drives today, another one off the bowling of Cummins. Babar and Imam are only dealing in boundaries at the moment.
PAK 30/1 in 6 overs: Imam gets into the act, too. He gets a top edge for a boundary over the 'keeper's head. Starc follows it up with a tailing yorker but Imam covers the line well and whips it into the leg side for another four. Starc bowls one on the pads to end the over and Imam clips it fine for the third four of the over.
PAK 18/1 in 5 overs: Babar with a couple of glorious cover drives off Cummins!
PAK 6/1 in 3 overs: WICKET! Cummins offers a little width and Fakhar chases after it with a wild hack, which only flies into the hands of Richardson at third man. Babar Azam walks in at No. 3. He gets off the mark with a flashing drive over the point region for a four.
PAK 2/0 in 2 overs: Starc starts with a maiden! The pacer ends the over with a jaffa to Imam!
PAK 2/0 in 1 over: Cummins starts with a no-ball. The free-hit is too quick for Imam on the pull, he completely misses it. Cummins goes past Fakhar's outside edge to finish the over.
Imam and Fakhar Zaman walk out for the chase of 308.
Pakistan innings
We will be back for Pakistan's chase in another 20 minutes.
AUS 307 all-out in 49 overs: WICKET! Amir gets his five wickets! Starc goes for the big one of the final ball of his spell and Shoaib takes a sharp catch on the run at lon-on. What a comeback from Pakistan! Australia was 218/2 in 33 overs before being shot out for 307. It's still a huge total to chase down under these conditions for Pakistan. Australia also has all-pace attack of Starc, Cummins, Richardson and Coulter-Nile to contend with.
WICKET! Amir with a yorker tailing in onto the leg stump and strikes Carey full on his foot! The umpire raises the finger and Carey reviews it. Ball tracker says its three reds and the decision stands. Asutralia nine down. Kane Richardson is the last man in.
Amir comes on for his final over. Can he get a fifer and bowl Australia out?
AUS 303/8 in 48 overs: WICKET! Hassan with a well-directed bouncer and Cummins guides it into the gloves of Sarfaraz. Mitchell Starc walks in at No. 10.
AUS 300/7 in 47 overs: WICKET! Wahab gets himself on the wicket column! Coulter-nile goes for a booming drive but only manages an inside edge and Sarfaraz gets a good catch on the dive. Pat Cummins walks in to join Carey. Cummins gets a single and Australia trudges past 300.
AUS 291/6 in 45 overs: Another wicket for Amir! Marsh skies a slower delivery into the air and Shoaib takes a good catch at long on! Coulter-Nile is the new batsman.
AUS 278/5 in 43 overs: Just one run from the Amir over, who has been Pakistan's best bowler today.
WICKET! Amir returns for another spell and gets a wicket off the first ball again! Bowls one full with the mid-off up in the circle and Khawaja obliges with a lofted drive into the hands of Wahab, who pouches it low to his right. Carey is the new man in.
AUS 269/4 in 41 overs: Costly over from Wahab Riaz, who bowls too short to Khawaja and the southpaw dispatches them for successive boundaries. Marsh then puts away a full toss for a four.
AUS 256/4 in 40 overs: Pakistan pegs Australia back with quick wickets but Australia could still get a good score over 300. But all the good work with the ball is being undone with some sloppy fielding. Marsh drives Shaheen through mid-off and Shoaib lets it through him on the slide for a four.
AUS 243/4 in 38 overs: Shaheen strikes again! Imam-ul-Haq manages to hold on to this skier from Warner, whose bat turned in his hand while going for a big one. Fourth wicket falls for Australia. Warner departs for 107 off 111 balls. Khawaja is the new batsman.
Wahab Riaz returns and Asif Ali drops a catch off him again! He's dropped the centurion, Warner, who slashes one to third man. Wahab kicks the turf in frustration. Michael Clarke on air says "he can't believe" what's going on out there with Pakistan's fielding.
AUS 235/3 in 36 overs: A streaky boundary and that's David Warner's hundred! He pokes at a delivery outside off-stump from Shaheen, and the edge is away from the fielder at second slip and it runs away for a four. Helmet comes off and the opener has a big grin on his face. His first international hundred since his return to the Australian side after the ban.
Will Usman Khawaja get to bat today? If another wicket falls Alex Crrey could walk in. He scored a 25-ball 50, fastest by an Australian in World Cups, in the defeat to India.
WICKET! A wicket right after the drinks break. Poor from Maxwell, he misses a straight one and has his stumps rearranged by Shaheen Shah Afridi! That should be a big boost for the youngster! Shaun Marsh is the new man in.
AUS 219/2 in 33 overs: Maxwell wastes no time to get going. He goes after the bowling of Hafeez. Puts away two short deliveries to the boundary for a four and lofts one on the front foot for a six! Warner batting on 90 off 96 balls. Maxwell on 20 off 8 balls
200 up for Australia in the 32nd over. The Aussies look set for a huge score. 400 could be on the cards...
AUS 191/2 in 30 overs: Good follow up over from Shoaib, concedes just a single to Warner after five dot balls.
AUS 190/2 in 29 overs: WICKET! Smith never really looked settled but a strange shot from him considering Australia's dominant position and Warner going string at the other end. Smith comes down the track and tries to lost Hafeez over long-on, but only gets a leading edge to the covers region, where Asif Ali takes a well-judged catch. Hafeez twirls his moustache, he's still got it. Glenn Maxwell is promoted to No. 4
AUS 187/1 in 28 overs: Shoaib Malik with a no-ball now. This is the third no-ball of the Pakistan innings. Warner makes room and smokes the bowler over long-on for a huge six! Warner is now on 80 off 77 balls.
AUS 172/1 in 27 overs: Another cracking over from Amir! He had Warner in all sorts in the first three balls of the over. His figures read: 7-2-19-1
AUS 165/1 in 25 overs: A desperate DRS call from Pakistan and its wasted. Amir cuts Warner with a ball which tails in after pitching on a good length. Pakistan goes for a DRS review for a catch. Ultra edge shows no edge, and the ball-tracker shows the ball is hitting the ball outside the off-stump.
AUS 149/1 in 23 overs: WICKET! Pakistan brings Amir back into the attack and he provides the breakthrough of the first ball. Finch skies one into the air with a leading edge and Hafeez takes a good catch on the run. Finch departs for 82. The Pakistan fans at the venue are fired up now as Amir charges into to bowl. Steve Smith is the new batsman.
Warner cuts Hassan Ali for a four and goes to his third fifty of the World Cup.
AUS 136/0 in 21 overs: Hafeez comes over the wicket and its in Finch's arc, who smashes him over the leg side boundary for two successive sixes. Finch moves into the 80s and is now going at almost a run-a-ball.
Nothing going Pakistan's way after wining the toss. Warner has moves into the 40s now.
AUS 107/0 in 16 overs: Finch is feasting on the off-spin of Mohammad Hafeez! He smashes his way to his second fifty of the tournament. He hits two successive boundaries to bring up his fifty and Australia's 100-run mark before carting Hafeez over long-on for a massive six.
AUS 87/0 in 14 overs: Wahab raps Finch on the pads and the umpires says not out. Sarfaraz hesitantly asks for a review and the ball tracker shows the ball just clipping the bails; not enough to overturn the umpire's call.
Many might remember The Cooper Associates County cricket ground in Taunton from the 1999 World Cup when Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid hit mammoth centuries against Sri Lanka. Did you know that was the last ever ODI match in over 20 years before the 2019 World Cup? Know more about the venue here .
AUS 76/0 in 13 overs: DROPPED! Finch makes room and tries to slash Wahab over covers but gets a thick edge to first slip for Asif Ali, who puts down a regulation catch. Adding insult to it, the ball runs down to the boundary and the batsman flicks the next ball to the fine leg boundary for another four. Another episode to be added to Wahab's fiery spells not backed by his fielders at the World Cup...
Fifty up for Australia! Australia finishes the powerplay with 55 on the board, its best effort in this World Cup. The Aussies will be pleased with this start after being put in to bat.
AUS 49/0 in 9 overs: Wahab Riaz is introduced and he gets on to beat the face of Finch's bat with one that moves away with pace!
AUS 36/0 in 7 overs: Hassan Ali replaces Shaheen and Pakistan get some control back.
AUS 27/0 in 5 overs: While Shaheen is bowling half-trackers, Amir is on the money with his line and length, getting the ball to move away from Finch. The Aussie skipper is fishing outside the off stump but isn't getting bat on ball. Second maiden from Amir. His figures read: 3-2-3-0
AUS 27/0 in 4 overs: WHACK! Shaheen bowls short and Finch climbs all over it and deposits it over square leg boundary for a six with a pull shot! The bowler receives a similar treatment from Warner but only a four this time. 17 runs from the over.
AUS 7/0 in 2 overs: Shaheen Afridi doesn't get the start Amir had. He starts off with a couple of short balls, the second of which David Warner was quick to spot and he shuffled across and sent it away to the fine leg fence. A wide and a couple of singles end the over without any eventuality.
AUS 0/0 in 1 over: A maiden to start with. Terrific way to start proceedings for Pakistan. Amir did well to mix it up - fuller length ones, a couple on the good length area - and it has kept Aaron Finch guessing.
Aaron Finch and David Warner walk out. Mohammad Amir is warming up and will start proceedings with the new ball.
Australia innings
Time for the teams to walk out and the National Anthems.
Team news: Shaheen Afridi comes in for Shadab Khan for Pakistan while Kane Richardson comes in place of Adam Zampa and Shaun Marsh replaces Marcus Stoinis, who is out with a side strain.
Here are the playing XIs
Pakistan : Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez (wk/cap), Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Amir.
Australia : David Warner, Aaron Finch (cap), Shaun Marsh, Steven Smith, Usman Khawaja, Glenn Maxwell, Alex Carey (wk), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Kane Richardson.
Toss: Aaron Finch tosses the coin, Sarfaraz Ahmed calls tails and it is tails. So Pakistan has won the toss and will bowl first.
We are just about four minutes away from the toss.
Pitch report: It looks a good surface with a nice grass covering, quite green, but quite dry under the surface. There will be extra pace and bounce for the pacers, and once you get in as a batsman, you're in for a high-scoring game, say Rameez and Michael Clarke.
Rameez Raja is out there with the pitch report and well more than the pitch one thing that has brought us a huge cheer is - There is no rain !
The good news for now is - the teams are out and are warming up!
The much dreaded weather report: Forget the toss, forget the numbers, forget the history. All we need now is whether it will rain or not in Taunton? Rain sits pretty third in the points table (three washout matches - six points) and today we have 60% of rain chances, light rain chances, as per reports. Let us hope the showers aren't strong enough to force an abandonment. This is the month of June and in UK, rain isn't a surprise!
Aaron Finch will expect Australia to respond like a champion when it faces Pakistan in what could be a shortened Cricket World Cup match on Wednesday.
India ended the world champion's 10-match winning ODI run with a 35-run victory at The Oval on Sunday.
READ: Pakistan's Imam relishes World Cup battle with Australia's Starc
Australia will be without Marcus Stoinis (side strain) when it looks to hit back against the ICC Champions Cup holder at Taunton.
--------------------------------------------
Sarfaraz Ahmed: Pakistan fans will not boo Smith
Sarfaraz Ahmed insists Pakistan fans won't boo shamed Australia star Steven Smith during their World Cup match in Taunton on Wednesday.
Pakistan fans are expected to make up a large chunk of the crowd in the west country and there are fears they might follow the example of the India supporters who jeered Smith at the Oval on Sunday.
READ: Finch hopes washouts don't hurt Australia's World Cup
But Pakistan captain Sarfaraz says his compatriots will not resort to such tactics.
“I don't think Pakistani people will do that,” Sarfaraz told reporters on Tuesday. “Pakistani people love cricket, they love to support and they love the players.”
A large number of Indian fans chanted “cheater” at Smith, who's back in action following a year-long ball for his role in the ball-tampering scandal that rocked Australia during its tour of South Africa in 2018.
India captain Virat Kohli gestured in an effort to quiet the crowd and later apologised to Smith.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Australia open to batting reshuffle, says Ponting
Assistant coach Ricky Ponting said Australia is open to shuffling the batting line-up if the circumstances dictate a more flexible approach in the ongoing World Cup.
India posted a massive 352 for 5, riding on a professional performance by the top-order led by Shikhar Dhawan (117). In reply, Australia was dismissed for 316 to suffer a 36-run loss, its first in the tournament thus far.
Steve Smith (69) was promoted ahead of Usman Khawaja in the batting order to tackle the spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, and Ponting hinted that more shuffling could take place.
READ: Amir aims for another Taunton triumph as Australia awaits
“We wanted to have (favourable) left-hand, right-hand (match-ups) with those spinners and we thought Steven plays spin as well as anybody, so that was the only reason,” Ponting told cricket.com.au.
“It happens quite a lot in the modern game where you see that right-hand, left-hand combination, especially if they’ve got a lot of spin.
“If it’s past 35 overs, you’re probably not going to do it (bat Khawaja at four), Maxwell is going every day of the week after that. In the right time and right moment, I think it can work really well,” the former skipper explained.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Sarfaraz not happy with Taunton pitch, claims report
Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed is apparently not happy with the grassy pitch prepared for its World Cup match against defending champion Australia at Taunton on Wednesday.
According to a report in the widely circulated Jang newspaper from Taunton, Sarfaraz after inspecting the pitch at the Taunton ground was not happy that Pakistan would have to play on a track that clearly will have bounce, pace and help for the pace bowlers.
Pakistan was bowled out for just 105 runs by West Indies in their opening game at Trent Bridge after being peppered by shorts balls on a bouncy track.
The report quoting Geo News said that Sarfaraz is unhappy that Pakistan generally get pitches in ICC events that didn’t favour its game.
According to the report, Sarfaraz has complained that in contrast India always get pitches in ICC events which favour batsmen and spinners and these things are ideally suitable for Asian teams.
Pakistan is playing an ODI for the first time at Taunton and it will also be the first time Sarfaraz will lead the side against the Australians in an ODI.
The match will be streamed live on Hotstar.
Comments
SHARE