Australia won by 41 runs
PLAYER OF THE MATCH : David Warner
Batter
Bowler
Turned out to be a good game in the end, although even in Pakistan's best moments, they were almost always playing catch-up today. At least the rain stayed away, so that's something to be grateful for. Fingers crossed that Nottingham's weather forecast for tomorrow is proved wrong. Until then, this is Sagar Chawla signing off on behalf of Rishi Roy, Vineet Anantharaman, Hariprasad Sadanandan, Sriram AS and our scorer Harish.
Aaron Finch: Certainly did put us under pressure. Guys like Hassan and Wahab are good strikers of the ball. Hard to stop when they're on a roll. Just had to bowl our best ball, whether it's a length ball or yorker. When you're slightly off, on a small ground like this, you're punished. Didn't bat out our fifty overs which was disappointing. When you go with an extra batter, you back the batsmen to do the job. Probably tried to go a little too hard too early. It was a tough call to leave out Zampa. When you lose your all-rounder to injury, have to choose one or the other. An extra batter or extra bowler. Went with the extra batter today. Backed Maxwell to bowl the overs. Was a tough call on Zampa. Has been bowling nicely.
Sarfaraz Ahmed: Definitely very disappointing. Lost three wickets in 15 balls from 140/3. To take positives, Hassan Ali batted well, Wahab batted well. Fought in the end but could not finish it off well. Except Amir, others did not bowl well. For me, this was a 270-280 pitch. To win matches, top four has to perform. Made runs but couldn't convert. To win matches, top four must score runs. India-Pakistan is a big match so we'll try our level best.
David Warner, Man of the Match: When I got out, we had 70 balls to go. As a batter, you want to bat 50 overs. We should've been around 340-350, credit to Pakistan's bowlers. Their second spells were outstanding and they made it hard for us. It was a used wicket; it was a tad dry and they bowled very straight lines to me and gave me no width. There was a bit of movement early on, so I had to be a lot tighter. This century means a lot as a batsman. Some great efforts from Pakistan. Our bowlers were fantastic but it was a great game.
18:01 Local Time, 17:01 GMT, 22:31 IST: It was from dire situations that Pakistan rose, in both innings. First, they instigated Australia's collapse of 84/8, when it seemed like 350 was a certainty. And then, from 160/6, the hitting prowess of Hassan Ali and Wahab Riaz gave Australia a bit of a fright with Sarfaraz giving them company. But before it got too threatening, Mitchell Starc - like he had done against West Indies - closed it off for Australia, showcasing his match-winning abilities whereby he snatches those fifty-fifty moments at the death.
Most consecutive wins vs Pak (ODI)
14 South Africa (1995-00)
12 New Zealand (2014-18)
09 West Indies (1992-93)
09 Australia (2017-19) *
K Richardson to Shaheen Afridi, out Sarfaraz Run Out!! That's the end of that. Australia have closed it off. Length ball around off, knocked towards cover. Sarfaraz sought a single for it, came out of his crease, probably expecting the ball to bounce over the fielder. But Maxwell reaches out one-handed, a clean pick-up, and then makes a direct-hit at the non-striker's end. Washes away Pakistan's hopes with it. Sarfaraz run out (Maxwell) 40(48) [4s-1]
K Richardson to Shaheen Afridi, THATS OUT!! Run Out!!
K Richardson to Shaheen Afridi, no run, climbs from short of length, Afridi struggles to ride the bounce and it juts off the top of his handle towards mid-off
K Richardson to Shaheen Afridi, no run, overpitched outside off, Afridi beaten on the attempted drive
K Richardson to Shaheen Afridi, no run, back of a length delivery on top of off, Afridi blocks
END OF OVER 45
3 Runs
PAK: 266 - 9
1 W Wd 0 W 0 1
Shaheen Afridi
1 (2)
Sarfaraz Ahmed
40 (48)
Starc
9-1-43-2
Starc to Shaheen Afridi, 1 run, slips down leg, Afridi clips it for a single behind square
Starc to Shaheen Afridi, no run, somehow lines up a length ball that's tailing in from a length, defends
Shaheen Afridi, left handed bat, comes to the crease
Starc to Amir, out Bowled!! A pacy full toss has accounted for Amir as he drags it back off the inside edge. Pakistan almost done. And it's that man Starc again, decisively turning the game in favour of Australia when the pressure is on. Did it against West Indies, and here again. Amir b Starc 0(2)
Starc to Amir, THATS OUT!! Bowled!!
Starc to Amir, no run, short of length delivery in the channel of off, Amir beaten as he bounces up in the crease to defend
Starc to Amir, wide, short ball down the leg-side, Amir ducks
Harsha Bhogle: Had said in my World Cup preview that Australia were vulnerable if Stoinis were to be absent because they had three reserve bowlers and one reserve bat, neither of whom had a significant second skill
Mohammad Amir, left handed bat, comes to the crease
Starc to Riaz, out Caught by Carey!! Australia excited about a caught-behind appeal. Finch seeks suggestions from all directions, and only with one second on the clock, does he go for the review. Not a very confident one. But wait on, the review has yielded gold. There's a spike on UltraEdge. Massive wicket, and probably the end of Pakistan? Short of length, straightens from round the wicket and Riaz fences it through. Only a feather. And it's enough to clip Pakistan's wings. Riaz c Carey b Starc 45(39) [4s-2 6s-3]