All-round Australia sets up knockout clash against India
The shot that stood out in Smith’s knock was when he exposed his stumps to Riaz, but the bowler responded with a lame leg-side full toss and Smith dispatched it for one of his seven fours.
Before the pair came together, things were on an even keel as Pakistan struck at regular intervals. Usman Khawaja started the game with a few attractive back-foot shots before Shahid Afridi introduced Riaz. Having been hit for a four in his previous delivery, Riaz bowled a full and straight delivery to hit the wickets when Khawaja tried to create some room.
Riaz struck in his next over again when David Warner failed to withdraw from a cut shot at the last minute and was bowled off a fast incoming delivery. Afridi’s next bowling change worked, too, as Imad Wasim accounted for Finch with an arm ball.
At 57 for 3 in 7.2 overs, Pakistan was in control, but Smith and Glenn Maxwell, a local boy through his affiliations with Kings XI Punjab, anticipated the length of the bowlers well to add 62 in 6.2 overs. Maxwell’s straight six off Sami after having pulled him for a boundary indicated that he was in the zone. But Wasim had him caught for 30 at long-on.
Pakistan’s chase was rocked at the top as Ahmed Shehzad and Sharjeel Khan got out to Hazlewood and Faulkner against the run of play within the Power Play overs, but Pakistan’s first 50 contained eight fours as the batsmen kept playing their strokes.
Umar Akmal’s brisk 32 ended when he missed a straight ball from Adam Zampa and was bowled playing a sweep shot. That brought Afridi out and, like in his entire career, he entertained the big crowd with two huge sixes before Zampa pulled his length back to have him stumped for a seven-ball 14.
OnceAfridi, who had earlier bowled well for his 4-0-27-0, walked back to the dugout in the 14th over, Pakistan’s campaign was effectively over, and though Latif fought hard and Shoaib Malik chipped in with an unbeaten 40 in 20 balls with two fours and two sixes, it was far from enough.