Smith’s masterclass in Australia’s victory
Canberra, Australia - It didn't take long for Steven Smith to clamp down on any whispers he might be surplus to the requirements of the Australian T20I side.
A commanding half-century that combined pugnacity and poise in exactly the right doses steered Australia to what ended up being a stroll of a chase against Pakistan with victory by seven wickets on Tuesday. It needn't have been as easy as that, though, and didn't look nearly as comfortable when it lost David Warner and Aaron Finch inside the powerplay, more than a hundred runs still to get without the comfort blanket of an explosive Glenn Maxwell in the middle order.
It was an innings every bit as modern as T20 cricket requires of its players, but the 51-ball 80 Smith struck contained shots that wouldn't have been out of place at this year's Ashes. Eleven fours and a six, exactly a halfcentury of them, came in boundaries, and by the final two overs, Smith was properly peaking. You almost wished Pakistan, who had done quite well at the end of the first innings to post 150, had put up something more challenging than that, if only to watch a little bit more of the game's hottest player operating at his best.
He was helped by the belligerence of Australia's openers, making their intentions plain as early as the second over. Warner took apart Imad Wasim, finding four fours in what seemed like all four corners of the ground to get Australia off to a flyer, before his run of unbeaten scores was ended by Mohammad Amir. Their dismissals within three overs of each other was, in truth, the only time in the whole contest where it felt Pakistan was within a punter's chance of making a game of it in Canberra's first T20I, but having added 48 in the powerplay, Smith knew he could take his time to settle in without the asking rate spiralling out of control and found four boundaries in the next three overs. That was in stark contrast to the exceptionally frugal efforts of Pakistan's batsman.
Babar Azam was denied the fuller lengths, Haris Sohail was cramped for room with length deliveries that ended with him skying one in the air, while an improved Adam Zampa meant Pakistan didn't have the release in the middle overs.
The top order, once more, left Azam on his own to fend off the Australia attack. Fakhar Zaman's tortured existence at the crease lasted seven balls before driving a catch straight to mid-off, while Mohammad Rizwan struggled with the exact problem his predecessor was criticised so heavily for. The dot balls mounted at his end, only increasing the pressure on Azam to keep the runs flowing. It wasn't until Iftikhar Ahmed came in at No 6 that Pakistan took Australia's bowlers to task.
Exceptional work in the field saw Azam dismissed for exactly 50. Ahmed put on a display of brilliant hitting to make his first half-century. Kane Richardson came in for especially heavy punishment in his final over, which leaked 22, as, against all odds, Pakistan posted 150 thanks to Ahmed's 34-ball 62.