Australia Completes T20 Clean Sweep Over Pakistan with Dominant Final Victory
18 Nov 2024
Australia wrapped up a commanding 3-0 series sweep over Pakistan in the T20 series, sealing the third match with a seven-wicket triumph on Monday. Marcus Stoinis starred with a blistering 61 not out from just 27 balls, leading his team to victory in a rain-impacted encounter.
The series had already seen Australia dominate with a 29-run win in the first game, which was shortened to seven overs per side due to weather conditions in Brisbane. In the second match, fast bowler Spencer Johnson delivered a career-best performance, claiming 5 wickets for 26 runs to help Australia win by 13 runs.
In the final game, Stoinis put on an explosive display, hitting five sixes, including three in one over off Shaheen Shah Afridi, and five fours. His quickfire knock guided Australia to a comfortable 118/3 in just 11.2 overs, as the Pakistani bowlers struggled, particularly Afridi and Haris Rauf, who combined to give away 77 runs in their six overs.
Earlier, Pakistan faltered dramatically with the bat. Despite a fast start in the powerplay from Babar Azam and Haseebullah Khan—who had replaced Mohammad Rizwan as a change for this match—their innings fell apart. Pakistan lost nine wickets for just 56 runs, ultimately finishing with a modest total of 117 runs in 18.1 overs. Babar Azam, despite his early aggression, was dismissed for a duck by Adam Zampa, who sparked Pakistan's collapse. Zampa claimed both Haseebullah and Babar’s wickets, the latter with a sharp googly.
Babar’s dismissal also marked a milestone, as he surpassed Virat Kohli’s tally of 4,188 T20I runs, moving to 4,192, behind only Rohit Sharma, who leads with 4,231 runs.
With the Pakistan middle order crumbling under pressure, fast bowlers Aaron Hardie and Spencer Johnson contributed key breakthroughs. Hardie dismissed Usman Khan (3) and Salman Ali Agha (LBW), while Johnson, named Player of the Series, wrapped up the tail. His final scalp was No. 11 Sufiyan Muqeem, as Australia completed a comprehensive bowling performance.
In response, Australia’s top order didn’t have an entirely smooth ride. Both openers, Jake Fraser-McGurk and Matthew Short, fell early in the powerplay, leaving the chase somewhat in the balance. However, Josh Inglis and Stoinis provided the finishing touches. Inglis fell cheaply, caught trying to scoop Abbas Afridi to short fine leg, but Stoinis accelerated the chase, hitting three sixes and a four in one over from Shaheen Shah Afridi. With that flurry of boundaries, Australia wrapped up the chase with ease.
Pakistan, who had triumphed in the preceding ODI series 2-1, reflected on their disappointing T20 campaign. Despite a strong World Cup campaign earlier in the year, Pakistan’s struggles in the shortest format continued, as they failed to capitalize on good starts in the middle overs.
“It’s obviously a big achievement winning the ODI series, but we could have done much better in the T20s,” said Pakistan’s stand-in captain, Salman Ali Agha. “In the middle overs, we didn’t capitalize on the strong starts we got, and that hurt us.”
Australia, on the other hand, will take plenty of confidence from their 3-0 series win, with standout performances across the board, particularly from Stoinis and Johnson.