HOBART: Marcus Stoinis played an exhilarating innings, scoring 61 runs to help Australia defeat Pakistan in the third T20I and complete a clean sweep at the Bellerive Oval on Monday.
Chasing a modest target of 118, Stoinis powered Australia to chase the total in 11.2 overs at the loss of three wickets.
Stoinis came out to bat after Jake Fraser-McGurk’s dismissal with the scoreboard reading 30-2 in 3.3 overs and turned the match on its head with his belligerent hitting.
Australian captain Josh Inglis scored a meagre 17 runs during the 55-run partnership with Stoinis for the third wicket. Abbas Afridi broke the stand with the wicket of Inglis, who scored 27 off 24.
Stoinis continued his onslaught and smashed five sixes and as many fours on his way to his 27-ball knock of 61 runs to steer his team to a dominant victory.
For Pakistan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Jahandad Khan and Abbas took one wicket each.
Earlier, Pakistan opted to bat first after winning the toss and made two changes in their Playing XI, resting captain Mohammad Rizwan and pace bowler Naseem Shah.
However, the decision to bat first did not bore fruits as Spencer Johnson, who took a five-wicket haul in the second T20I, removed Sahibzada Farhan (9) in the second over.
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Babar Azam and Haseebullah Khan (24) knitted a 44-run stand for the second wicket in 31 balls before the latter fell prey to a googly by Adam Zampa.
Aaron Hardie further dented Pakistan as he dismissed Usman Khan (3) and captain Salman Ali Agha (1) to leave the visitors reeling at 70-4.
Babar played a 41-run knock from 28 balls with the help of four boundaries before Zampa ended his stay at the crease.
Pakistan struggled to regain their footing and fell apart spectacularly, losing five wickets for a mere 26 runs, ultimately bundling for a paltry total of 117 runs.
For Australia, Hardie led the attack with the figures of 3-21, while Zampa and Johnson took two wickets each. Xavier Bartlett and Nathan Ellis also contributed with one wicket each.
For the unversed, the hosts are leading the three-match T20I series 2-0. They defeated Pakistan in the shortened first match by 29 runs after setting a target of 94 in seven overs.
In the second T20I, Pakistan bowlers, led by Haris Rauf’s four-wicket haul, restricted Australia to 147 for 9. However, the visitors were dismissed for a mere 134 runs, losing by a narrow margin of 13 runs.
Playing XIs
Australia: Jake Fraser-McGurk, Matt Short, Josh Inglis (c)(wk), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Aaron Hardie, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson
Pakistan: Babar Azam, Haseebullah Khan (wk), Sahibzada Farhan, Usman Khan, Salman Agha (c), Irfan Khan, Abbas Afridi, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Haris Rauf, Jahandad Khan
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