Stoinis lets rip as Australia crush Pakistan for T20 series whitewash

HOBART, Australia: Marcus Stoinis slammed five huge sixes in an unbeaten 61 as Australia crushed Pakistan by seven wickets in Hobart on Monday to secure a 3-0 T20 series whitewash.

Chasing a meagre 118, the hosts hit the target in the 12th over to hand Pakistan a reality check after the visitors won the preceding ODI series 2-1. Stoinis was unstoppable once he got going, also blasting five fours in his 27-ball masterclass.

“It’s really nice to get another win and go 3-0 up,” said Australia skipper Josh Inglis. “When he’s going like that, it’s really hard to stop,” he added of Stoinis. “One of those sixes was probably the biggest I’ve seen.”

The match at Bellerive Oval was a dead rubber after Australia won a rain-hit match in Brisbane by 29 runs and then in Sydney by 13 runs. After opting to bat, Pakistan raced to 62-1 before crumbling to 117 all out in the 19th over with Babar Azam top-scoring on 41 and Aaron Hardie taking 3-21.

Jake Fraser-McGurk began the run chase with consecutive boundaries from Shaheen Shah Afridi before the speedster dismissed Matt Short for two, caught at mid-on by Irfan Khan. Fraser-McGurk (18) followed next over, undone by the sheer pace of Jahandad Khan in another mis-fire by the 22-year-old.

But Inglis kept the scoreboard ticking over alongside Stoinis, who let rip in the ninth over, punishing Haris Rauf for 20, including a massive six that landed on the stadium roof. Their 55-run partnership ended when Inglis scooped Abbas Afridi to Rauf on 27, which brought Tim David to the crease.

He was bystander to Stoinis, who brought up his fifth T20 half-century with another giant six before seeing them home. “There’s lots of positives, the way some of the players batted and bowled, these youngsters will come good,” said Salman Agha, Pakistan’s skipper for the night with Mohammad Rizwan rested.

Pakistan won the toss

Pakistan Innings

Farhan c Bartlett b Johnson 9

Babar Azam b Zampa 41

Haseebullah † c Short b Zampa 24

Khan c Ellis b Hardie 3

Agha (c) lbw b Hardie 1

Irfan Khan run out (Johnson) 10

Afridi c Short b Hardie 1

Khan c Stoinis b Ellis 5

Afridi c †Inglis b Bartlett 16

Rauf not out 0

Muqeem b Johnson 1

Extras(lb 1, nb 1, w 4) 6

Total: 18.1 Ov (RR: 6.44) 117

Fall of wickets: 1-17, 2-61, 3-64, 4-70, 5-91, 6-92, 7-92, 8-116, 9-116, 10-117

Bowling: Xavier Bartlett 3-0-25-1, Spencer Johnson 3.1-0-24-2, Marcus Stoinis 1-0-15-0, Nathan Ellis 3-0-20-1, Adam Zampa 4-0-11-2, Aaron Hardie 4-1-21-3

Australia (T: 118 runs from 20 ovs)

Short c Irfan b Shaheen 2

Fraser-McGurk c Usman b Jahandad 18

Inglis (c)† c Haris b Abbas 27

Stoinis not out 61

David not out 7

Extras: (lb 1, nb 1, w 1) 3

Total: 11.2 Ov (RR: 10.41) 118/3

Fall of wickets: 1-16, 2-30, 3-85

Bowling: Shaheen Shah Afridi 3-0-43-1, Jahandad Khan 3-0-17-1, Haris Rauf 3-0-34-0, Sufiyan Muqeem 1-0-9-00, Abbas Afridi 1.2-0-14-1

Result: Australia won by 7 wickets

Player of the match: Marcus Stonis

Umpires: Donovan Koch, Shaun Haig