ICC Women's WT20: Australia Thrash Pakistan In Their Opener

Australia opened their ICC World T20 campaign in style with a crushing 52 runs win over Pakistan.

Alyssa Healy starred with both bat and wicketkeeping gloves to help Australia thrash Pakistan. With the bat, she scored 48 off just 29 to set the tone for the innings. She started the proceedings in style, hitting the fifth ball of the match for a huge six.  The wicketkeeper scored five boundaries in 10 deliveries to race to 31 from 16 after three overs.

As a result, Australia raced away to 58 for no loss at then end of the Power Play. Alia Riaz gave Pakistan a sigh of relief by ending Healy’s onslaught. Healy’s knock contained 8 fours and a six.

On top form in front of and behind the stumps – @ahealy77 is the #AUSvPAK Player of the Match! ? #WT20 pic.twitter.com/3ddXFIO22V

— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) November 9, 2018

Beth Mooney and Meg Lanning then scored 48 and 41 respectively, helping Australia pile up 165 for 5.

Mooney was dropped on two and looked shaky early on. However, she found her rhythm as the game wore on. But just like Healy, she too fell just shy of her fifty. On the other hand, Lanning looked comfortable during her knock, hitting three fours and a six to help Australia set a competitive total.

For Pakistan, Aliya Riaz and Nashra Sandhu picked up two wickets each.

Pakistan needed to pull off their highest-ever T20I run chase to upset their fancied opponents. However, they went on to suffer their 22nd straight defeat against Australia in limited-overs format.

Barring the brief period when Umaima Sohail scored 20 off 11, Pakistan rarely looked in contention to even trouble their opponents, let along beating them. Sohail’s dismissal in the fifth over effectively ended Pakistan’s hopes. The Asian outfit eventually ended up on 113 for 8.

Brief scores:

Australia women 165 for 5 (Healy 48, Mooney 48, Riaz 2-25, Sandhu 2-42) beat Pakistan 113 for 8 (Maroof 26, Mir 21*, Schutt 2-13, Wareham 2-18) by 52 runs