T20 World Cup: Australia all but through to semis with crushing win vs Pakistan
Australia are all but through to the semi-finals of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 after beating Muneeba Ali’s Pakistan by nine wickets on Friday (October 11) at the Dubai International Stadium.
Alyssa Healy and Co. strengthened their grip on top of Group A with wins in all three games. But it’s their net run rate of +2.786 that’s far better than India’s 0.576 and New Zealand’s -0.050.
Unless they lose to India by an exorbitant margin in their last league game in Sharjah, Australia are more or less in the top four in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). As far as Pakistan are concerned, they need to beat the White Ferns and hope for other results to favour them in a bid to qualify for the semis. They also need to up their net run rate of -0.488, which took a hit after their loss to the Aussies.
Gardner chokes Pakistan
After being asked to bat first, Pakistan huffed and puffed, getting bowled out for an under-par score of 82 in 19.5 overs. They recorded the lowest score of 40 by a team in the first 10 overs in this tournament. They made the slowest team fifty off 13.1 overs, looking clueless at certain stages.
Barring Aliya Riaz, who made 26 runs off 32 with three fours, none of their batters could put up a fight against the in-form Australian bowlers. Ash Gardner made life tough for the Pakistani batters with figures of 4-0-21-4. Annabel Sutherland and leg-spinner Georgia Wareham picked up two wickets apiece.
Sophie Molineux gave Australia the early breakthrough with the wicket of Muneeba. Megan Schutt also went past Nida Dar to become the all-time leading wicket-taker in Women’s T20Is. Pakistan missed their skipper Fatima Sana badly as she had a strike-rate of over 150 against India and Sri Lanka.
Healy powers Australia home
The run-chase was expected to be straightforward for Australia and it turned out to be exactly that. Australia lost the wicket of Beth Mooney, who made a run-a-ball 15, but scored 46 runs in the powerplay. Sadia Iqbal, who momentarily held the No.1 ranking in T20Is, got the prized wicket.
From there on, Healy stepped on the gas to take the fizz out of the Pakistani bowling unit. She made 37 runs off 23 balls with five fours. But she retired hurt after facing issues with her calf. By then, Australia were already in a position of command needing only 14 runs off 65 balls.
Ellyse Perry stayed not out on 22 of 23 as Australia romped home with nine overs to spare. Earlier, Tayla Vlaeminck, who replaced Grace Harris in the XI, twisted her shoulder while trying to save a boundary and had to go back. It remains to be seen if Healy and Vlaeminck get fit before the India match.