‘It’s about winning a tournament for Australia’ – Aaron Finch

Fakhar Zaman slammed a Twenty20 International career-best 73 to help Pakistan win their last league-stage game over Australia by 45 runs and take that momentum into the final, to be played in Harare on Sunday, 8 July.

Equally importantly, the result dashed Australia’s hopes of becoming the No.1 side in the format, but Aaron Finch isn’t too fussed about that.

“On this tour, there’s been no talk about us having to win the tournament to become No.1, it’s about winning a tournament for Australia,” Finch said before the final.

The sentiment is understandable, as Australia have had little joy on the field in recent times, and have had a torrid time off it in the aftermath of the ball-tampering incident in South Africa earlier this year.

But they still want to win the tournament, and Finch is wary of the Zaman threat.

“I think Fakhar Zaman has been outstanding and a real thorn in our side. He’s also been consistent in this format for a long time,” Finch said. “In T20 cricket, a lot of the time it’s the openers that set the tone, Fakhar is in good form.”

Indeed, Zaman, one of the stars of Pakistan’s ICC Champions Trophy 2017 triumph, has been a solid T20I batsman since making his debut last year. He has 555 runs at an average of 27.75, with a strike rate of 137.37, from 21 games. In the ongoing tournament, he has scores of 61, 6, 47 and 73.

Finch himself has been in good form, following up his 84 in the one-off T20I against England with 68* and a record-breaking 172 in the first two games of the series. He has gone off the boil since, with scores of 16 and 3, but is backing himself to come good in the final.

“I feel like I’m playing very well at the moment, I’m not too bothered by a couple of low scores to be honest,” he said.

“T20 cricket tends to be a little high risk at the start of the innings, as long as I’m moving well and hitting the ball in the middle of the bat, I’m pretty confident. Hopefully I can get a few in the final.”