Hyderabad: Australia defeated Pakistan by 14 runs in nail biting warm-up match of ICC Men's ODI World Cup on Tuesday, at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, India.
Pakistani team was not able to successfully chased 352 runs in their second practice game and fell short by 14 runs to win.
Despite brilliant 144-run fifth wicket partnership by duo Captain Babar Azam and Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan couldn’t achieve the 352 runs target.
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Babar had to retire himself after scoring a brilliant 90 runs from 59 balls. Iftilkhar played 83 runs off 85 balls which included six fours and four sixes.
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After Babar Azam's exit, Mohammad Nawaz took over and played a brilliant inning of 50 runs off 42 balls, hitting six boundaries and a six.
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Pakistan continued to score runs, with Usama Mir, and Hasan Ali contributing valuable runs while pursuing a target of 352.
In the end, Pakistan finished their innings with a total of 337 runs for the loss of nine wickets.
In Earlier innings, Australia was set off with amazing start looking to hit the 100-run mark without losing a wicket when Usama Mir picked two wickets in two consecutive overs, removing David Warner off 48 and Mitchell Marsh off 31.
Glenn Maxwell played a fine knock of 77 runs off 71 with ten boundaries, he was followed by Josh Inglis who scored 48 off 30 in last 10 overs as they posted a total of 351 runs in 50 overs after opting to bat first.
Despite a wicket to his name, Rauf had a game to forget as he conceded 97 runs in just nine overs.
It must be noted that Shadab Khan led Pakistan in the absence of Babar Azam while Mohammad Haris replaced Mohammad Rizwan as the wicket-keeper.
It is pertinent to mention that these matches won't have ODI status because teams will have the flexibility to include all 15 members of their squad in the playing XI.
Pakistan will play their first World Cup game against Netherlands at the same venue on October 6.
