Live
Live report - Australia vs Pakistan, Bengaluru
By Vithushan Ehantharajah (now), Sreshth Shah (earlier)Australia win by 62 runs!
The target of 368 looked too great at the halfway stage, and that's how it panned out. Australia's triumph, a second win in four, has them very much on the comeback trail after defeats to India and South Africa.
For Pakistan, that's now two defeats in as many after a promising start. It's a long competition, of course, and they should take heart from their batting efforts, particularly up top, with Imam-ul-Haq and Abdullah Shafique setting a platform of 134 which they could not quite make the most of. They now sit fifth.
David Warner's 163 sees him earn the player of the match award, with notable mentions to Shaheen Shah Afridi's exemplary 5 for 54 and Adam Zampa's match-sealing 4 for 53. In a run-heavy game, their figures stand out.
"We thought the threat was going to be the first 5 or 6 overs with the new ball," said Warner. "Once we got the pace of the wicket. For us to go out there and put a performance like that was very, very rewarding."
The groin issue that kept him off the field at the latter stages of that second innings is nothing to worry about. "It's just a little bit sore - it's just all cramps at the moment."
Babar Azam agrees the first 35 overs of the match, ultimately, sealed the deal for Australia. "Yes, to be honest. We were not up to the mark. If you drop catches like David Warner (on 10), they won't spare you.
"After that, in the bowling, we were not bowling a consistent line, especially on a big scoring ground. All credit to the fast bowlers and spinners for the way we came back in the last 15 overs."
Our full match report will be with you soon, along with a couple of other pieces on the game. As far as things here, that's all folks. See you tomorrow!
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Zampa, at it again
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Oh no... Saud goes!
Another dodgy back-foot shot is skied but Marcus Stoinis makes sure he's back in the game with an excellent catch running back from cover. Cummins put a little extra into that delivery, hence the misjudgement going out to the off side with Shakeel unable to get around the pull shot in time.
Iftikhar Ahmed, your time is now...
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The rebuild is in effect
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Saud Shakeel starting to go through the gears. He and Rizwan had at least ensured one boundary was struck per over. But with the required rate veering to 9s, he's decided to show a bit of invention. That second four in the above sequence was a deft little ramp off Starc to fine leg, a shot he was moving into before the left-armer had got into his gather.
Pat Cummins brings himself back into the attack with this partnership 56 off 49, and Pakistan needing 137 from 96
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Babar... is... out
Woweee... what a flip that is! Adam Zampa has the prized wicket of Babar Azam for just 18! A ball sits up to be hit, but it's on the Pakistan skipper a little too quickly and his attempts to smear it to the midwicket the fence only serve to test Cummins' reflexes at midwicket, who takes a smart catch.
What a moment! Out comes Saud Shakeel with 193 needed from 142 deliveries.
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Stoinis strikes again!
Both openers down and out, thanks to Big Stoin. Imam goes flaying a wide delivery a little too fine, caught in the deep low by the fielder at third.
Alas, that brings both big guns to the crease. And Mohammad Rizwan has wasted no time joining Babar Azam in double figures, getting there with two fours in three deliveries off Cummins. He even had the temerity to drop to one knee and sweep the Australia captain out to midwicket in between. This is the game right here.
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Stoinis strikes!
Marcus Stoinis strikes with his first ball! Abdullah Shafique cloths a short ball in the air to Maxwell at midwicket. The opening stand is broken on 134 at the start of the 22nd over.
In walks the skipper Babar Azam, with 234 needed from 28.5 overs...
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Another goes down!
Imam-ul-Haq gets his life on 48! Mitchell Marsh the guilty fielder this time, tipping one over the bar after the left-hander tried to whip Glenn Maxwell over to midwicket.
Imam brings up a 20th ODI half-century with a tickle around the corner, well-worked from about middle and off as Maxwell darted in one of his offies from around the wicket. It's a fifth consecutive 50-plus score against Australia, two of which have been hundreds.
This is also the first time all four opening batters have registered half-centuries (or more)in an ODI World Cup match.
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The bug is spreading
In a week where members of Pakistan's squad were laid low by illness, another virus is spreading from their camp.
Australia have registered their first drop of the day; an inexplicable error from Sean Abbott (sub-fielder) pressed up next to the sponge out at deep square leg. Pat Cummins bowled short, Abdullah Shafique obliged with a poorly timed pull that somehow burst through Abbott's hands, dropping just over the boundary.
Along with a life for Shafique on 27 - Pakistan would have been 66 for 1 if it had been taken - it gave the chasers their first six. Shafique has just managed a second, against Cummins once more - this one gloriously smitted back down the ground, hitting the sponge flush at long on.
Pakistan require 274 from 35 overs.
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Power Play done, Pakistan 59 for 0
A solid start from the openers, particularly Imam-ul-Haq who is going about his business at better than a run-a-ball. A new challenger - top of this list - has entered the fray, with 309 left from the remaining 40 overs...
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Gearing up
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Ladies and gents, our first maiden of the day comes in the 6th over of Pakistan's chase of 368. Not quite the end of days. Far from it: they are 40 for no loss, clearly going about this their usual way. They're not a six-hitting team, but seven fours so far have them in good stead.
Remember, slow cooking is still cooking.
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Omen, anyone?
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Match Day Live with Bond, Pujara and Mumtaz
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Australia post 367 for 9!
37 Australia's haul from the last 7 overs, losing 5 wickets
Without question, a disappointing finish for Australia, having been 259 for no loss with two deliveries to go in the 34th over. Credit, though, belongs to Pakistan who were able to turn things around after a dire showing both with the ball and in the field. Shaheen joins father-in-law Shahid Afridi as the only two Pakistani bowlers to have two World Cup five-wicket hauls to their name.
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Shaheen gets five!
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The squeeze is on
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Outstanding fightback from the seamers, particularly Haris Rauf given the punishment he's received today. Together, they have kept the scoring quiet and removed Marcus Stoinis (LBW to Shaheen) and Marnus Labuschagne (caught on the midwicket fence off Rauf). Shaheen to bowl the final over... and picks up Starc with his first delivery! Currently on 4 for the match...
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HE'S GONE!
Talk about mockers from us here... Haris Rauf puts a bit of polish one some eye-wateringly expensive figures as David Warner pumps the ball straight to long-on to end his remarkable knock on 163.
He was shelled on 10 and 105 but it has been a stunning blitz from a cricketer a week shy of his 37th birthday. One which further embeds his names among the greats.
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Warner's 150, Australia's 300
David Warner moves to the third milestone of this innings with a slog sweep over midwicket. Mir, yet again, is the bowler on the wrong end of it.
It's taken the opener just 116 deliveries, seven biggies among the 18 boundaries so far, with Marcus Stoinis at the other end capable of some big hitting off the back of the 3 wickets lost for 25 runs.
Having been dropped on 10 and 105, Warner looks deadset on becoming Australia's first ODI double centurion. Shane Watson is current holder of Australia's highest score in the format - 185 against Bangladesh back in 2011. That might not have long left at the top...
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Marsh goes got 121... then Maxwell first ball!
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Pakistan have a wicket! And another! It had been a brutal acceleration, particularly after Warner (on 105) was dropped in the deep by Abdullah Shafique - who had to leave the field with a damaged finger - but the return of Shaheen Shah Afridi has resulted in a double breakthrough.
Maxwell's introduction was understandable given the platform. His swing, however, was a bit too wild, all told. Steve Smith comes to the crease...
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Four centuries in a row against Pakistan, David? Four?!
That's insane. Warner does the quadruple over Pakistan. His last four ODI innings against them: 130, 179, 107 and now this 21st century in the format, from 85 deliveries.
He should have been dismissed on 10, shelled by Usama Mir after Shaheen Shah Afridi managed to coax a top edge. It remains the only mistake Warner has made and one Pakistan are paying for dearly.
A ball later, Mitchell Marsh brings up his 2nd ODI century from a crisp 100 deliveries, on his 32nd birthday no less!
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Records tumbling...
183 Australia's previous highest opening stand at a World Cup (v Canada, 2011)
Warner and Marsh go top of the list, leapfrogging Shane Watson and Brad Haddin's previous best set 12 years ago. It has been a relentless assault, though Marsh has slowed a touch, with Warner's boundary off the third ball of the 27th over off Nawaz was the first in 20 legal deliveries. Typically, as I type that out, Marsh heaves the first Hasan Ali over midwicket for his fifth six!
This is also now the highest ODI partnership against Pakistan for any wicket...
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If you're a Pakistan fan (or Haris Rauf), look away now...
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Half-century No.19 for Mitchell Marsh
Just 41 deliveries needed for Marsh to register back-to-back fifties. He celebrates with a gorgeous straight six off Usama Mir, his third of the innings so far. Another 400-plus score looks inevitable...
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Warner ticks off his milestone
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Australia win the 1st Power Play convincingly
82 The second-highest ten over total v Pakistan at ODI World Cups
It has been a brutal assault from Australia's openers, albeit aided by some wayward lines and lengths from Pakistan's attack. Usama Mir could have nipped Warner in the bud with a simple catch when the batter had just 10 to his name, but he now has the opportunity to make amends with his leg spin as Haris Rauf switches end. Pakistan desperate for a breakthrough...
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Haris, Roofed!
Brutal, brutal batting from Marsh and Warner as Haris Rauf's first over goes for 24! Shot of the day already - heck, it almost certainly won't be bettered - was the six in there from Warner, dropping to one knee and slap-scooping a full delivery not just over square leg but off the top of the roof at the Chinnaswamy Stadium! Granted, this is a good batting deck, but an outrageous strike from the left-hander...
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Oh, Mir
Worst drop of the World Cup goes to the newbie. Basic, basic chance at mid on as David Warner (on 10) top edges off Shaheen. It would - and should - have been 22 for 1...
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An eventful first over...
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A stupid review for LBW when there's a clear inside edge. Outswinger past the outside edge. Off the face down to third as Warner looks to leave. Booming inswinger caught down the leg side (just pad, not that Shaheen holds back his appeal). Thumped back over the bowler's head for six to get Mitchell Marsh off the mark. Arrowed into off stump and just kept out.
Start as you mean to go on, lads...
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Get involved!
Those in the US can watch the game LIVE on ESPN+.
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A word from the World Cup debutant
"First of all, I would like to thank God. As a cricketer, it's your dream to represent your country, and I think the World Cup is the highest level. And if I am playing in the World Cup, there is no bigger opportunity, or moment, for me. So I am excited and will try to make this moment even more memorable with my performance."
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Will the real Shaheen please stand up?
40.8 Shaheen Shah Afridi's average in the 1st Power Play post-injury
It is no secret Shaheen's new ball edge has dulled somewhat since returning from last year's knee injury, as the number above suggests. He has been struck by a virus this week which he has battled back from, adding an extra layer of intrigue to what he can summon today. "He looks sharp and I'm excited to see how he bounces back," says Pakistan bowling coach Morne Morkel.
On a deck skewed towards the batters, a return to the form of old will be integral to Pakistan overcoming their blip last time out against India. Read Osman Samiuddin's piece on how the left-arm quick is struggling to hit previous highs.
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Pakistan win the toss, bowl first!
Babar Azam bags the flip of the coin. Just one change, he relays, as Shadab Khan loses his spot to Usama Mir, who makes his ODI World Cup debut. Australia unchanged after the victory over Sri Lanka. Queries over Adam Zampa's selection after Cameron Green was seen marking his run-up have been answered as he keeps his spot.
Australia: 1 Mitchell Marsh, 2 David Warner, 3 Steve Smith, 4 Marnus Labuchagne, 5 Josh Inglis (wk), 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Marus Stoinis, 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Pat Cummins (c), 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Josh Hazlewood
Pakistan: 1 Abdullah Shafique, 2 Imam-ul-Haq, 3 Babar Azam (capt), 4 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 5 Saud Shakeel, 6 Ifthikhar Ahmed, 7 Usama Mir, 8 Mohammad Nawaz, 9 Shaheen Afridi, 10 Hasan Ali, 11 Haris Rauf
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Match Day Live with Bond, Pujara and Mumtaz
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Welcome!
Salutations for this showdown at the Chinnaswamy Stadium for match 18 of the 2023 World Cup between Australia and Pakistan.
Tough one to call at the best of times, but particularly given the manner and meaning of previous results for both teams. Australia’s defeat of Sri Lanka suggested they are finally up and running after heavy losses to India and South Africa. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s seven-wicket loss in The Game of Games seems to have sandblasted away the confidence garnered after convincing wins over The Netherlands and Sri Lanka.
This is usually the place to write a few words about Pakistan’s unpredictability and Australia’s pedigree, and, to be honest, it is hard not to lean on those two reliable crutches, especially for an occasion that seems ripe for something funky. Who knows what that may be on a ground that rivals David Goggins for a love of runs?
On player skillsets and personalities alone, we could be in match-up heaven. Cummins v Babar, Zampa v Rizwan, Maxwell v time, Shadab (if selected) against himself (if selected), the Pakistan team v what remains of the viral infection that spread through their ranks last week.
Could we get a repeat of the emotional ringer that was the 2015 quarter-final? We’re about to find out.
For now, here’s an amuse-bouche in the form of our match preview...
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