Australia suffered the ignomity of a 3-0 whitewash as they went down in an embarrassing way by 111 runs in the third T20I against Pakistan in Lahore as the hosts were overjoyed of clean sweeping Australia. A lot of things went right for Pakistan and they ticked the right boxes, for Australia it was a case of another meek surrender. They have progressively got worse and batting looks to be a big issue alongside bowling as well. There were many areas where the Aussies lost the plot and we will enlist three reasons for their loss in this game.
Losing 3 wickets in the powerplay in a massive chase dents Australia.Â
Chasing 208 for an unlikely consolation win, Australia needed to get a good start in the powerplay to lay the foundation and be ahead of the required rate. But what they got was the total opposite as for the umpteenth time they faltered in the powerplay by losing early wickets. Captain Mitchell Marsh was the first to go for 1 and he was soon followed by Matthew Short. Matt Renshaw too followed suit as the Australians were already reduced to 16/3 inside 3 overs.
The duo of Cameron Green and Marcus Stoinis made sure there were no more hiccups and took the score to 38/3 in 6 overs of powerplay which pointed to some sort of respectability considering the start they got, but it was still nowhere near enough and way below par chasing a huge total. It meant Australia who were as it is playing catch-up after conceding 207 were way on the back foot in the game. If we compare to Pakistan’s powerplay and the Men In Green were 55/2 in 6 overs. Now that is a difference of 17 runs that Pakistan was ahead with and lost one fewer wicket.
Going ahead to the World Cup for Australia that will be played in similar conditions in Sri Lanka, they will need to adapt better and find better ways of scoring runs. They need to be proactive but not reckless and needs solid foundations and keeping wickets in hand. Powerplay is an important phase in T20s and Australia have lagged behind in that phase in pretty much all its games and must look into how they can improve it in the World Cup.
Inability to play Mohammad Nawaz hurts Australia.Â
Australia have been clueless against Pakistan bowling and spin bowling in particular as in the previous games, they lost all their wickets to spin. In this fixture, yes Shaheen Afridi provided the breakthroughs with the new ball with a couple of scalps. But the chief destroyer was once again a spinner and this time it was left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz. Nawaz who had two good games economy wise got into the wickets column and ripped apart the Australian batting line-up.
Nawaz picked a wicket in the powerplay in the form of Matthew Short. Then he came back in the middle phase and dismissed the dangerous Marcus Stoinis. He was not done there as he next picked up Cameron Green in the same over to put Pakistan in the driver’s seat. He came back to pick up Josh Philippe and had another in the over as he picked up Cooper Connolly to complete his 5-wicket haul. Nawaz did pick a wicket in powerplay but the most damage he did was in middle overs and broke the back of Australian batting.
Australia did not have a clue which way it was going and how it was spinning and surrendered to the Men in Green. They were found wanting in their techniques and couldn’t quite do anything against Nawaz. Abrar too picked up a wicket but it was about Nawaz and his prowess with the ball that was the highlight of the innings. Australia must devise better plans and ways to tackle spinners because they will face these conditions in Sri Lanka and yes they might have been resting a few players, but these displays are no excuse for what they are doing and performing at the highest level.
Australia’s spinning depth with Adam Zampa injured exposes the visitors.Â
Australia’s spin department continues to struggle with their performances compared to Pakistan. This has exposed Australia in a big way as they are unable to take enough wickets especially in the middle phase of the game. It is allowing Pakistan to build partnerships and score big totals which is turning out to be a no contest yet. Adam Zampa is the only experienced campaigner in the side but apart from him others are inexperienced and new to the circuit. This has meant overdependence on Zampa.
In the third match, Matthew Kuhnemann bowled a lot better and impressed one and all with figures of 1/27 in 4 overs. But the others leaked runs. Matthew Short who is no longer part of World Cup squad finished with 1/31 in 3 overs. Cooper Connolly also leaked runs and gave away 47 runs in 4 overs apart from picking up a wicket. The big talking point was about Adam Zampa. The experienced campaigner could only bowl 2 overs and conceded 20 runs before going off the field injured because of some groin issue.
Australia must bowl better especially the spinners given the conditions in Sri Lanka. The spinners have to get their act together especially the inexperienced ones as Zampa will do his bit. Australia would also be hoping that Zampa gets fit in time for the World Cup and will hope this injury isn’t serious and he is fit to play Australia’s first game. He is an integral member of the side. If Australian spinners can come to the party, it will go a long way in helping them do well in this mega event, or else it will be a struggle for them.
So, Pakistan win the series 3-0 and complete the whitewash. Both teams will now head off to Sri Lanka for the World Cup T20 2026. Pakistan will play all their matches in Sri Lanka while Australia plays it Group stage matches there and may play their Super 8s game in India. So, a lot to look forward to in the coming month for both teams.
Also Read: PAK vs AUS: 3 Reasons For Australia’s Disappointing Loss In 1st T20I