Australia’s Marcus Stoinis plays a shot during the T20 international cricket match between Australia and Pakistan in Sydney, Australia.
| Photo Credit: AP

Marcus Stoinis bludgeoned 61 not out off 27 balls as Australia swept Pakistan 3-0 in the Twenty20 series with a seven-wicket victory in the final game on Monday (November 18, 2024).

The hosts had a 29-run win in a rain-shortened seven-overs-a-side match in the first T20 in Brisbane, before fast bowler Spencer Johnson then grabbed a career-best 5-26 to propel Australia to a 13-run win.

Stoinis smacked five sixes – three in one over off Shaheen Shah Afridi — and five fours as Australia raced to 118-3 in 11.2 overs. Fast bowlers Shah Afridi (1-43) and Haris Rauf (0-34) conceded 77 runs off their combined six overs in a one-sided game.

Earlier, Pakistan lost nine wickets for 56 runs on the way to a meagre total of 117 in 18.1 overs despite Babar Azam (41) and Haseebullah Khan (24), one of two changes made from the second game, scoring at a brisk pace in the powerplay.

“It’s been a great week,” Australia captain Josh Inglis said. “We’ve had a lot of fun as a group. When Stoinis is going like that, he is really hard to stop.”

Haseebullah replaced regular white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan, and Salman Ali Agha took over as Pakistan’s fourth T20 skipper in 2024. Left-arm fast bowler Jahandad Khan was preferred to Naseem Shah.

Leg-spinner Adam Zampa (2-11) ignited Pakistan’s slide when he had Haseebullah caught at short fine leg. He then clean bowled Babar with a sharp googly.

Babar surpassed Virat Kohli’s Indian tally of 4,188 runs in T20s and moved up to second place with 4,192 in 126 games. Rohit Sharma leads the way with 4,231 in 159 matches.

Aaron Hardie (3-21) removed Sydney Usman Khan when he holed out at deep cover for three, while Salman played across the line against the fast bowler and was out leg before.

Shah Afridi smashed two fours and a six in his quickfire 16 and helped Pakistan cross the 100-run mark. Australia’s player of the series Johnson (2-24) wrapped up the innings by clean bowling No. 11 Sufiyan Muqeem.

Australia openers Jake Fraser-McGurk (18) and Matthew Short (2) fell inside the batting powerplay before Inglis (27) and Stoinis hurried the run chase.

Inglis couldn’t clear short fine leg as he tried to scoop Abbas Afridi in the 10th over before Stoinis hit three sixes and a four in Shah Afridi’s one over to complete the win.

Pakistan won the preceding ODI series 2-1 but its struggle in T20s continued. It was knocked out in the group stage of the World Cup in June.

“It’s obviously a big achievement winning the ODI series, but we could have done much better in the T20s,” Salman said. “I think in the middle overs, we didn’t capitalize on the start.”

New Zealand’s Lockie Ferguson celebrates the wicket of Sri Lanka’s Kusal Janith Perera during the second Twenty20 cricket match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in Dambulla, Sri Lanka, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

New Zealand’s hat-trick hero Lockie Ferguson said defending a total of 108 to win the second Twenty20 match and draw the series against Sri Lanka in Dambulla on Sunday (November 10, 2024) was “massive” for an inexperienced Black Caps team.

Trailing 1-0 in the series after a four-wicket loss at the same ground on Saturday (November 10, 2024), New Zealand were only able to put a modest score on the board as Sri Lanka spinner Wanindu Hasaranga took 4-17 despite being clearly hampered by injury.

Ferguson struck to dismiss Kusal Perera at the end of Sri Lanka’s sixth over, however, and sent back Kamindu Mendis and Charith Asalanka with the first two balls of the eighth to become the sixth New Zealander to take a T20 hat-trick.

“Obviously it was split over two overs, so there probably wasn’t the same excitement you would normally get around a hat- trick,” paceman Ferguson said.

“I probably bowled the worst ball for the actual hat-trick ball, a little strangle down leg side, but I’ll definitely take it.”

A calf injury brought Ferguson’s evening to an end soon afterwards but all-rounder Glenn Phillips chipped in with three wickets from four balls in the final over, including that of opener Pathum Nissanka for 52, to dismiss Sri Lanka for 103. It was the lowest tally the Black Caps had ever successfully defended in a T20 international and added to an upbeat mood in New Zealand cricket after the test side stunned India with a series sweep and the women’s team won the T20 World Cup.

“It was insane, really,” Ferguson said of the victory by five runs. “I guess when we went out to bowl, (captain Mitch Santner) said, ‘let’s make them work really hard for it’. It was a pretty amazing victory.”

Wicketkeeper Mitch Hay, playing only his second match for his country, also had a night to remember with five catches and a stumping to claim the record for the most dismissals in a T20 international.

Ferguson said drawing the series was a real achievement for the young squad.

“It’s massive,” the 33-year-old said. “Winning overseas, particularly in this part of the world, is so difficult because the conditions are so different to what we’re used to at home.

“I think coming here, the attitude’s been fantastic throughout, and they’ve really got into the fight early and competed really hard.” (Reporting by Nick Mulvenney; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

File picture of Hardik Pandya holding the T20 World Cup trophy at the felicitation ceremony for the team at Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai
| Photo Credit: PTI

Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya is all set to lead India in the three-match T20 International series against Sri Lanka starting July 27.

However, one of the heroes of India’s T20 World Cup victory last month will take a break during the three-match ODI series, which is scheduled in August, due to “personal reasons”.

“Hardik Pandya was India’s T2O vice-captain under Rohit Sharma. He is completely fit and available for the three-match T20I series and will lead the side,” a senior BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

Rohit retired from T20 Internationals at the end of the World Cup.

The T20Is against Sri Lanka will run from July 27 to 30 in Pallekele, followed by the ODIs from August 2 to 7 in Colombo. The squad for the series is expected to be announced in the next couple of days.

While there is still no clarity on who would be Pandya’s deputy, the toss-up is between Shubman Gill, who recently captained India to a 4-1 series win over Zimbabwe, and Suryakumar Yadav, who led the side during the T20Is against South Africa last year.

About the ODIs, the official confirmed that Pandya has asked for leave and has already communicated this to regular skipper Rohit Sharma, who is also taking a break from this series.

“The break from ODIs is for very personal reasons. Hardik doesn’t have any fitness issue as is being floated in the media,” the official said.

For the ODIs, KL Rahul, who led in the last ODI series in South Africa, and Gill are in contention for the leadership role.

Thrust on domestic availability

BCCI secretary Jay Shah has made it clear that even star cricketers must make themselves available for domestic engagements when they are free from national duty. But exceptions will be made for the likes of Rohit, Virat Kohli and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah.

The BCCI would, however, want all the other Test specialists to play at least one if not a couple of Duleep Trophy games in August as a precursor to the Tests against Bangladesh and New Zealand.

“This time there is no zonal selection committee for Duleep Trophy. Only national selection committee will pick Duleep teams.

“All Test team contenders will be picked. For Rohit, Virat and Bumrah, it will be their choice if they want to play or not,” the source added.