AUS vs PAK ICC World Cup 2023 Match 18 Results

AUS vs PAK ICC World Cup 2023 Match 18 Results: Coming off of illness to be the match-winner was the destiny Zampa had yesterday. And it is a destiny that he wouldn’t complain about much either. While he controlled the bowling department by snapping four crucial wickets, on the other end, where batting mattered, Warner and Marsh turned into fireballs to level up Pakistan on the table by defeating them by 62 runs.

Table of Contents

Centurions were a better treat than a Manchurian for Australia

AUS vs PAK ICC World Cup 2023 Match 18 Results — That’s the jump of ‘the century’. Getty Images

Australia were quite hungry coming into the match, not for food but for points. And Warner (163) and Marsh (121) fed them well with two beautiful centuries. One more loss was beyond thinking at this moment, considering the fact that they could only smile once in the first three games. Now with this win, they are in the top four for the first time in the competition, sharing the same points but with a better run rate than Pakistan, who are a place behind them. Did Australia overcome the danger of an early exit? It’s a bit too soon to tell.

CHECK OUT:

Australia vs Pakistan CWC 2023 Match 18 Highlights

AUS vs PAK ICC World Cup 2023 Match 18 Results

Australia had to pose a huge total this time considering the depth of Pakistan’s lineup. And in batting, they pretty much did it, setting a 368-run target. It was a wall to climb for Pakistan. At the start, it seemed like they would, as the openers started well, as always, building a 134-run partnership. All was well for Pakistan until Australia started plucking wickets at regular intervals.

Pakistan started chasing in a more cautious way. Shafique and Imam occasionally scored boundaries, and the first powerplay could add a decent 59 runs to their scoreboard, losing none. Pakistan’s score flowed slowly until Marcus Stoinis entered the scene, baiting on and getting the wicket of Shafique, who walked back to the pavilion with 64 runs on his bat. He shortly sorted out the scene of the second opener and sent off Imam, who had scored 70 runs till then.

Babar Azam soon went off when Cummins had a stunning catch in Zampa’s over. Even after 30 overs, Pakistan had hope on their side, crossing 200 already. And they got a little of it when Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel decided to stand for a while and hit Australia with boundaries with ease whenever they got the chance.

Shakeel went back soon, but Iftikhar Ahmed went rioting over Australia with three sixes in an over. The stunned Aussies could smell danger, as at one point, Pakistan needed 103 runs from 72 balls, which was fairly achievable. But Zumba struck again to give a black day to the Greens by taking the wickets of both Rizwan and Iftikhar in consecutive overs. With that, Pakistan fell down after climbing almost to the top of the wall. And they could never manage to climb up as Australia had caused them lethal injuries by then. The tail of Pakistan gave up 63 runs before the target, and Australia is back in the winning pool.