Diksha Chaurasiya
Australia sailed past Pakistan to make it four wins in four, all but sealing a semi-final spot following their Group A skyexchange cricket game against Pakistan.
On a Headingley surface primed for big scores – aided by high temperatures, a fast outfield and breeze from one side – Australia took the easy call of batting first. It was an out-and-out Ellyse Perry show, her 48-ball 71 becoming the cornerstone for their total of 199/7. Placed pretty at 96/1 in nine overs, they looked set for more, but Pakistan found breakthroughs in phases, even though they never clawed in enough to control the game.
Perry took off with a commanding square drive off her second ball, having been summoned to bat minutes into the innings. Beth Mooney was sent back first ball, caught by a fantastic reflex slip catch by Gull Feroza. But Pakistan’s joy was shortlived, resurfacing only with Nashra Sandhu’s double-strike in the tenth over. Between that, Perry and Georgia Voll powered through to a 57-ball century stand.
Looking to take on Sandhu in her first over, Voll and Ash Gardner fell in the space of three balls. But Perry didn’t flinch, ticking off her first T20 World Cup fifty in ten editions. She lost Georgia Wareham next ball though: from 100/1, Australia slipped to 107/4. There was enough batting still to come.
Perry and Annabel Sutherland navigated through the next phase by cleverly taking on the spinners. Perry used her feet brilliantly to carve out gaps, while Sutherland played with a heavy leg-side field by going inside-out. To compensate, Pakistan would often drop it short, but neither batter had difficulty putting those away on either side of the square.
With four to go, and Australia at 151/4, Pakistan managed to make a dent with Sutherland’s wicket, but Nicola Carey walked into crack three fours in four balls. Perry, meanwhile, entered the 70s with a scoop, having already unleashed the ramp as early the fourth over, showing just how much in control she was throughout the knock. And even though she couldn’t add more, Carey carried them to 199, a total that ended up being a tall task for Pakistan.
The chase got off to a horror start with a mix-up in the second over leading to Gull Feroza’s run-out. Another run-out followed in the fourth over, but Pakistan kept themselves in the hunt: a hat-trick of fours by Iram Javed off Gardner carried them to 50/3 after six.
That’s when Australia pulled things back: by the ninth over, Pakistan could only amble to 65/4. Perry’s second act followed, a first-ball wicket accounted for the set Muneeba Ali, and she finished her only over with Aliya Riaz’s scalp. At 74/6, the chase had lost all steam. A third run-out in the 11th over led to sunken heads in the dugout; the writing was on the wall. Pakistan would end up far from their target.
Sophie Molineux and Sutherland quickly wrapped up the rest, and Pakistan folded for 86 all out, succumbing to a fourth straight loss. Australia now face India five days later, while Pakistan have a chance for consolation against the Netherlands later in the week.
Brief scores: Australia 199/7 in 20 overs (Ellyse Perry 71, Georgia Voll 39; Sadia Iqbal 2-31, Nashra Sandhu 2-33) beat Pakistan 86 in 13.4 overs (Muneeba Ali 32, Fatima Sana 17; Sophie Molineux 2-6, Ellyse Perry 2-9) by 113 runs.
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Jordan Bent
IPTV Portugal
