Warner, Marsh hit tons as Aussies beat Pak
Bengaluru: David Warner and Mitchell Marsh symbolised Australia’s insatiability with the bat and Adam Zampa’s relentlessness with the ball as the five-time champions registered a revitalising 62-run win over Pakistan in the World Cup match here on Friday.
Brutal hundreds by Warner (163 off 124 balls) and Marsh (121 off 108 balls) led Australia to an imposing 367 for 9. Pakistan batters fought valiantly but could only manage 305 as leg-spinner Zampa (4/53) inflicted blows at vital junctions.
Australia need to profusely thank both Warner, who hammered his 21st ODI hundred, and Marsh, his second ton, for keeping their World Cup campaign on track with a blistering assault.
The Aussie openers amassed 259 runs in just 203 balls, and it was only the fourth instance in World Cup history that both openers notched centuries in the same match.
Australia needed a dominant show to spruce up their confidence after three middling efforts that fetched two defeats and a win in this tournament, and they did it with a bang. The only spanner in their easy rollicking was left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi, whose five-wicket haul (5/54) was just a sad reminder as to what other Pakistan bowlers could have done with a bit of thinking.
Warner, who was dropped twice on 10 and 105, and Marsh were at their marauding best against a Pakistan attack that lacked direction on a smooth M Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch with a quick outfield adding value to their shots.
They were either too full, too short or strayed on to the leg side, and the Aussie batters did not need any second invitation to exploit the flowing freebies.
All this could have been a tad different for Pakistan had Usama Mir, who replaced Shadab Khan, held on to a simple skier from Warner off Afridi, whose clever variations were a treat to watch, inside the ring.
Warner was on 10 then in Australia’s total of 22.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam gave the ball to Haris Rauf in the ninth over, hoping for a breakthrough. But the Aussies slipped into the top gear precisely from that over.
The right-arm pacer was carted for 24 runs in his first over. Warner started the carnage with a four and six and Marsh finished it with three fours in succession.
Thereafter, Australia’s run-rate hardly came under seven for the rest of the innings.
Hasan Ali found some early movement away from Marsh, but Warner took him head on with a series of pulls and flicks, including a monster six that thudded on to the roof.
Pakistan pressed their spinners Mir and left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawas into service but they made zero impact. They were quite unimaginative, and just kept feeding both Warner and Marsh, who preferred the ground route early on in his innings, with short balls which were effortlessly put away.
Australia notched up their 100 in the 13th over, 200th in the 30th over and 300 in the 41st over as their run machine marched forward inexorably.
Warner brought up his hundred, fourth consecutive against Pakistan in ODIs, with a single off Mir, and the signature jump-and-punch celebration followed to the joy of a near full house of crowd, that encouraged
both the sides. Birthday boy Marsh followed his senior partner soon in reaching the three-figure mark with a boundary off Mir, and he celebrated the landmark with a mighty roar.
