DUBAI: Ashleigh Gardner’s four-wicket haul remained the cornerstone of Australia’s nine-wicket thrashing of Pakistan in the 14th match of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 here on Friday.
Chasing a modest 83-run target, Australia comfortably knocked the winning runs for the loss of just one wicket and 54 balls to spare.
Openers Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney (15) gave Australia a flying start to the pursuit with a rampant 36-run partnership, which lasted with the latter’s dismissal in the fifth over.
But Healy continued smashing the Pakistan bowlers and had brought Australia in touching distance but severe cramps forced her to retire hurt in the 10th over.
She remained the top-scorer for Australia with a 23-ball 37, laced up with five fours.
Experienced all-rounder Ellyse Perry was then joined by Ashleigh Gardner in the middle and the duo made sure to steer Australia to an important victory without further damage.
Perry scored an unbeaten 22 off 23 balls, while Gardner made seven not out.
For Pakistan, Sadia Iqbal picked up the solitary wicket.
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Put into bat first, Pakistan only managed 82 before getting bundled out on the penultimate delivery of the innings.
The Green Shirts started their innings cautiously with stand-in skipper Muneeba Ali and Sidra Amin batting defensively.
To cope with the slow start, Muneeba looked to accelerate and target Sophie Molineux in the fourth over but ended up handing a simple catch to Phoebe Litchfield after scoring seven off 12 deliveries.
Pakistan then lost three more wickets in quick succession and had been reduced to 29/4 in eight overs.
Australia’s bowlers extended their dominance over Pakistan with regular strikes but Aliya Riaz offered a notable fightback and made sure to keep the scoreboard ticking until her dismissal in the final over.
She remained the top-scorer for Pakistan with a 32-ball 26 with the help of three boundaries.
Besides her, only Sidra Amin and Iram Javed, 12 each, and Nida Dar (10) made it to the double figures.
Ashleigh Gardner was the standout bowler for Australia, returning brilliant figures of 4/21 in her four overs. She was supported by Annabel Sutherland and Georgia Wareham, who bagged two wickets each.
The nine-wicket victory strengthened Australia’s command at the summit of Group A of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 with six points in three matches while Pakistan slipped to fourth with two points in as many matches.
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