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Cummins three-fer swings the MCG Test back towards Australia
Pat Cummins bowled the delivery of the day – and perhaps the Test – to clean up Babar Azam and picked two other wickets to put Australia on top at the end of an engrossing Day 2 in Melbourne. Pakistan did a lot of right things for two-thirds of the day, before losing five wickets in the final session.
Bright sunshine and tough batting conditions greeted the two teams on Wednesday as Pakistan’s pacers made swift inroads after being held off by Marnus Labuschagne on Day 1. Labuschagne got to his half-century, but was nicked off the impressive Aamer Jamal, who finished as the pick of the Pakistan bowlers with three wickets. All of Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali and Mir Hamza picked two each as Australia just couldn’t string partnerships together. Mitchell Marsh came out swinging for a fiery 60-ball 41 but Australia managed 131 runs in the morning session for the loss of seven wickets. Pakistan gave away 52 runs in extras in their bid to try harder in favourable conditions, but they were exceptional with their catches.
The afternoon session was the lull after the storm as Australia’s quicks had their share of dominance in helpful conditions. Even as Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins probed the outside edge with their persistent off-stump channel lines, Pakistan openers Abdullah Shafique and Imam Ul Haq did enough to defy them. Nathan Lyon reaped the rewards of the sustained pressure as he got Imam to nick a flighted full ball to Labuschagne at first slip.
Pakistan duo of Shan Masood and Shafique shifted gears at the start of the final session. They targetted Lyon, as Masood danced down the track to hit a four down the ground on the spinner’s first delivery after Tea. Even Starc went for 13 in an over before Cummins made a double bowling change, ending Lyon’s post-tea spell at 4 overs. Shafique meanwhile got to his half-century and Masood was approaching his too, before Cummins turned the session – and the day – on its head.
First, he ended Shafique’s stay with a sharp catch off his own bowling, and then bowled a back-of-a-length ball that ducked in and breached Babar Azam’s defence in the space of two overs. Masood got to his fifty soon but Cummins brought back Lyon after drinks and dismissed the Pakistan captain. Lyon saw through Masood’s intention to take him on again and bowled slower through the air, forcing a miscued outside edge on a big hit to Mitchell Marsh at cover.
Australia ramped up their efforts to carve open Pakistan’s middle-order and Hazlewood provided just that. He cleaned up Saud Shakeel from round the stumps with a nip-backer on a length that breached the bat-pad gap. Less than 10 overs before stumps, Agha Salman attempted a drive away from his body to nick the ball behind and give Cummins his third wicket of the innings. With that Pakistan went from 68/1 at Tea to 194/6 at stumps, still trailing by 124 runs.
Brief Scores:
Pakistan 194/6 in 55 overs (Abdullah Shafique 62, Shan Masood 54, Mohammed Rizwan 29*; Pat Cummins 3-37, Nathan Lyon 2-48) trail Australia 318 in 96.5 overs (David Warner 38, Usman Khawaja 42, Marnus Labuschagne 63, Steven Smith 26, Mitchell Marsh 41; Aamer Jamal 3-64, Mir Hamza 2-51, Hasan Ali 2-61, Shaheen Afridi 2-85) by 124 runs
Sri Lanka survived an early onslaught to qualify for the 2026 T20 World Cup Super Eights, leaving Australia right at the exit door and hoping for a miracle.
The returning captain Mitchell Marsh and the returning-to-runs Travis Head were brutal in taking Australia to 104 in the first 50 legal deliveries, but some spectacular fielding and spin bowling helped Sri Lanka take 10 for 77 off the last 70 balls.
In front of a partying full house in Pallekele, Sri Lanka’s two most prolific batters, Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis, brought out both the axe and paper cuts to slice through the chase. Nissanka, who had earlier dropped Glenn Maxwell and then dismissed him with a stunner, went on to score an unbeaten hundred and take Sri Lanka home with two overs to spare.
In the absence of Matheesha Pathirana, who walked off with a calf injury in his first over, their spinners contributed six wickets to go with excellent closing from Dushmantha Chameera. Australia’s lead spinner Adam Zampa, among the best T20 spinners of all time, took no wicket and was lucky to go for only 41 in his four overs.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka 184/2 in 18 overs [Pathum Nissanka 100*, Kusal Mendis 51, Pavan Rathnayake 2*; Marcus Stoinis 2-41] beat Australia 181/10 in 20 overs [Mitchell Marsh 54, Travis Head 56, Josh Inglis 27, Glenn Maxwell 22; Dushmantha Chameera 2-56, Maheesh Theekshana 1-37, Dushan Hemantha 3-37, Dunith Wellalage 1-33, Kamindu Mendis 1-19] by eight wickets
[Cricinfo]
A win against Canada in their first T20I against them on Tuesday will firm up New Zealand’s spot in the Super Eight. This result will also knock out Canada; South Africa have already qualified for the next round from Group D with three wins in as many games.
New Zealand have faced Canada just three times in international cricket so far – each time in ODI World Cups. Their most recent meeting coming in the 2011 edition in Mumbai. They have won all three games and are poised to make it 4-0 against Canada in World Cups, despite the absence of Lockie Ferguson. The fast bowler has returned home for the birth of his first child and is expected to link up with the side ahead of the Super Eight. In Ferguson’s absence, Kyle Jamieson, who wasn’t even in the main squad in the first place, is set to make his T20 World Cup bow.
As for Canada, they had their moments against South Africa and UAE but they have failed to convert those into wins. On Friday in Delhi, they had UAE at 66 for 4 in the 13th over in a chase of 151, but they left the door ajar for Aryansh Sharma and Sohaib Khan to sneak home. Canada can’t afford such slip-ups against New Zealand – and then Afghanistan – if they are to notch up a win in this World Cup.
Kyle Jamieson doesn’t quite have Ferguson’s express pace, but can bang it away on a hard length and stifle the opposition batters. He also has some slower variations in his repertoire and his high-arm release could pose a big threat, especially to batters who are facing him for the first time.
Once known as “Vettori” in Canada’s club cricket circuit, Saad Bin Zafar will run into the team that was once captained by one of his heroes. The Canada left-arm spinner often attacks the stumps and keeps it tight, as his economy rate of 6.02 across 67 T20Is suggests. At 39, Saad knows he won’t be playing the game for long and will be eager to cause a few upsets on the big stage.
Jamieson is set to slot in for Ferguson unless New Zealand want to give veteran legspinner Ish Sodhi a game.
New Zealand (probable): Tim Seifert (wk), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner (capt), Jimmy Neesham, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy
Canada are likely to play the same XI that lost to South Africa and UAE.
Canada (probable): Dilpreet Bajwa (capt), Yuvraj Samra, Navneet Dhaliwal, Nicholas Kirton, Shreyas Movva (wk), Harsh Thaker, Saad Bin Zafar, Jaskaran Singh, Dilon Heyliger, Kaleem Sana, Ansh Patel
[Cricinfo]
Sri Lanka fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana left the field four balls into his first over, after collapsing to the ground clutching his left calf, and did not return to the field during Sri Lanka’s bowling innings against Australia. Having briefly received treatment from the Sri Lanka physiotherapist immediately after sustaining the injury, Pathirana hobbled off the field with assistance from support staff.
He then spent the majority of the innings being treated in the dressing room. Sri Lanka will likely send him off for scans as soon as the match finishes.
“Matheesha Pathirana experienced discomfort in his left leg calf while bowling during the match and was unable to continue,” a statement read. “He will not bowl further in this game. A scan will be conducted tomorrow to determine the extent of the injury.”
Pathirana had begun well against Australia, bowling two dot balls and giving away three runs (including a wide) in those first four deliveries. The last two balls of the over were delivered by Dasun Shanaka, who gave away a four and bowled a dot.
Pathirana is the quickest bowler in Sri Lanka’s attack, and a key part of their death-bowling plans for the tournament in particular. He is also the second Sri Lanka bowler to come under an injury cloud, with Wanindu Hasaranga already having been ruled out of the World Cup with a hamstring injury of his own.
After this game against Australa, Sri Lanka have another group match to play, against Zimbabwe. They have not earned qualification for the Super Eights yet.
(Cricinfo)
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