Tri-series final between Australia and Pakistan too close to call
Australia and Pakistan head into Sunday’s tri-series final just about neck and neck in terms of form in the tournament.
Each side completed a brace of victories over hosts Zimbabwe who found life without their stars difficult to say the least.
Pakistan avenged earlier defeat by Australia with a 45 run win over Aaron Finch’s men on Thursday powered by some potent batting from Fakhar Zaman and Asif Ali and backed up by an excellent bowling effort.
Australia come into the final having been given a scare by Zimbabwe in the final league game before they crept over the line.
Skipper Finch has pulled the team up by his bootstraps so far in this tournament being the most consistent batsman for Australia.
Finch’s record breaking hundred against Zimbabwe was a signal of his intent to get the team performing to their potential once again.
When the skipper failed the experience of Glenn Maxwell acted as a safety net, hitting avital fifty to get Australia in a position to clinch the thriller against Zimbabwe.
Pakistan would like to get more out of their top order and No.3 batsman Hussain Talat in particular will want to turn his starts into big scores.
The middle-order have covered over the sins of the top for Pakistan though with handy contributions from skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed , Ali and Shoaib Malik.
Shaheen Shah Afridi could yet prove to be the find of the tourney for Pakistan after he bagged three Aussie scalps on debut.
Shadab Khan continues to be a candidate for Pakistan’s most valuable player, adding runs from number eight to his excellent spin bowling.
Squads
Australia: Aaron Finch (c), Alex Carey (wk), Ashton Agar, Travis Head, Nic Maddinson, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Andrew Tye, Jack Wildermuth
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (c, wk), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Hussain Talat, Haris Sohail, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir, Usman Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Sahibzada Farhan
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